Spring Showcase

So to start my  break off on the right track for WISE, I attended my first performance that I was going to review, the spring showcase at the Hangar by the Running to Places group. I was particularly drawn to it because many of my friends from The Wiz were going to either be in it or attend. I thought this was a nice way to connect with them now that the performance is over.

So here we go.

The performance started out with a full cast performance of the dance to Thriller by Michael Jackson. I thought that this was done incredibly well. I think that they used the elevated central platform very well on top of which the lead male dancer was dancing. In addition their costume and make up was astounding and to be honest I was a little frightened at first. They looked like real zombies! Performance-wise I think that their dancing was very strong and was  pretty in-sync. The only thing is that I wish that they had a little more movement because at times it seemed a little stagnant. This could have been easily corrected with a few changing of position by the dancers. I feel like I missed part of the dance because only one third of the dancers were facing me the entire time. All in all, I think it was an incredibly well done dance and was one of the highlights of the showcase. After there were a few singing performances by individuals that although they were good, they didn't really stick out to me. I think that some of the vocals were a little shaky and in some cases there wasn't enough energy in their performances. This all changed though with the performance of In His Eyes from Jekyll and Hyde. This was sung by two of the girls from The Wiz and they were two who I hadn't heard sing a lot. I was astounded the song is a beautiful one but the two of them made it their own. Their vocals were impeccable and I can honestly say that I was either tearing up a little bit or there was a big bug in my eyes. I am guessing it was the first one. The did it as a duet with each of them singing a verse and harmonized during the refrain. At the end of the song I couldnt help but stand up and clap like a fool. After that there were a few more relatively so-so performances in which the vocals didn't blow me away. There were no major errors but I just felt that the energy levels could have been much better. The finale was a full cast performance of one of my favorite songs Seasons of Love from Rent. I may be a little biased in my review because I was pretty much standing up in my seat singing like a crazy person. This was an awesome song because they featured some really incredible voices while showing the talent of the entire troup. This was one of my favorite songs of the performance and the dancing wasn't too shabby either.

All in all I think that this was a pretty good show. I think that some of the performances were a little shaky and from what I have heard, the past showcases have been much better. Either way I think that it was entertaining and in my opinion the bright spots covered up some of the less spectacular parts.