This is the “Greatest Show”

With twenty-four different group and solo acts, this year’s Student Government’s “So You Think You’ve Got Talent?” show encompassed a variety of talents, from clogging to accordion playing. As parents, friends and students packed the seats in the main theater, the judges, Mrs. Jessica Burns, Dr. Mercedes Torres and Mrs. Katie Karchueny were thinking of what they wanted the winning acts to encompass.

“We have many students here that are very talented,” Dr. Torres said. “Something different, that is what I am looking for; something that will wow me, because it’s not only different, but incredible.”

After about two hours of performances with a short intermission when Student Government members sold concessions, the judges decided on their top three acts.

In third place were junior Abrihana Rivera and senior Natalie Perez with their mashup of different love songs throughout the decades, dating  from the 50’s to present day. As Perez played the ukulele, and they both sang the songs, Rivera held up posters decorated in the style of each decade to show the audience the change in time period as their mashup progressed.

“Right before we went on [stage], it was super nerve wracking. I was really scared of everything. I was thinking ‘I’m going to drop the mic, forget to switch the signs; I’m going to mess up,’” Rivera said. “But when I actually got on stage and we started singing, it was a lot better and also very reassuring to have Natalie there because I felt that if I mess up she’ll catch me.”

In second place was sixth grader Krystal Molina with her cover of “This is Me” from the recent musical film “The Greatest Showman.” Although she was one of the youngest acts, Molina managed to claim a spot as one of the top performances.

In first place were juniors Elias Levy, Theodore Rackauskas and Zachary Dishinger and sophomores Claire Tyler and Ella Noriega performing their rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The band performed with Levy as lead guitarist, Noriega as lead vocalist, Rackauskas as bassist, Tyler on drums and Dishinger on piano and back-up vocalist. The stage fogged up with dry ice smoke as they began their performance.

“I was really nervous when we were performing, but at the same time I was excited.  We were all really surprised to hear that we won because we had just started practicing together two weeks before the talent show,” Levy said. “I was really happy that we won because I had a lot of fun playing with them, and I think winning the talent show meant that everybody else was having fun listening to us.”

Hosting the show were SGA co-presidents seniors Carrie Kuecks and Paridhi Kapadia.

“It was beneficial for us to host the student talent show as another way to engage with the student body and promote our club. We look forward to the event every year since our students are beyond talented,” Kuecks said. “I really enjoyed hosting and watching the audience’s reaction to all of the beautiful acts as I hung out backstage.”

They also presented their club advisors, Mrs. Carbone and Mr. Laureano, flowers and chocolate to thank them on stage for all their support and hard work.

Some of the proceeds from the talent show tickets and concessions were donated to Project Alive.

Photos taken by Madison Lynn.