By SABINE GLOCKER
Guests were greeted by a long line full of family members of the performers and supportive students at Rausch Auditorium. The doors to the performance venue opened and the audience filled the room, leaving very few seats open once the show started.
The audience filled the room with excited chatter as they waited the start of the show in anticipation. The lights dimmed and the co-presidents of Curtain Call Clara Sciortino and Emily Doyle walked onto the stage to introduce the show.
The show consisted of 11 songs from movies and theater performances.
“The theme was love songs, and there was a mix of serious, sad and comedic love stories. The songs the directors picked were from favorite shows or just ones they wanted to work with,” freshman Curtain Call member Casey Dey said.
Singing about love can take on many different sounds—joyous and romantic, heartbroken and miserable, and so on. When asked about how love was an important topic to cover in the group’s performance, she said, “Love is a very popular topic because it is so beyond our understanding. Yes, there’s a chemical side to it, and a physical side, and an emotional side, but does anyone truly understand love? That’s why we see it so much onstage. It still needs to be explored. Songs of Love gave the audience different definitions of love and ways of expressing love for someone so the audience could understand, relate or learn.”
The performance included songs by the Beatles, ABBA and several songs from theater productions like The Book of Mormon, Camelot, and Carousel.
A crowd favorite was the second-to-last song “Baptize Me” from The Book of Mormon. The crowd laughed and cheered profusely when the performance ended. Performed by Dana Bailey and Michael Stahl, the song used subtle plays on words to make the audience think one thing when in reality the song was about baptism. The crowd was thrilled by the humorous song that was so greatly performed.
The performance also did a great job with the more classic musical pieces. Maria Kerlee performed “If I Loved You” from Carousel. Her voice was very similar to the voices people think of when they think of female singers from the 40s and 50s when the musical was first being performed. The audience sat in silent awe while she sang her solo perfectly. Her conclusion was met with much-deserved thundering applause.
The audience also loved the ABBA pieces. The first was “Honey, Honey,” performed by Laura Uyeki, Lindsey Long and Bronwyn Hagerty. The crowd was thrilled by their girlish behavior and loved how they would jump in the air and giggle excitedly.
The second ABBA piece was “Lay all Your Love on Me,” performed by Hannah Fagerbakke, Elena Cussler, Renee Blanchet, Erin Koehler and Casey Dey. Dressed in tropical attire similar to that worn in the 2008 film Mamma Mia!, a musical of ABBA songs, they thrilled the audience with their great singing and their attitude-filled movement.
Every piece was met with resounding applause and cheering. The performance was a huge success and everyone in the audience appeared to have thoroughly enjoyed it. During the performance, people would look to their neighbors and nod in an approving way.
Finally, rounding out the event, the director of the group came on stage. She and about two-thirds of the group sang together a medley of “525,600 Minutes” and “What I Did For Love.” Partway through the song, they walked out into the aisles and sang, thrilling the audience.
The show ended to magnificent applause and cheering. People whistled and celebrated their friends and family members. The performance was one that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. If you did not get to see this performance, be sure to catch Curtain Call’s next performance.
They are a group with the dedication and talent to thrill anyone who has a chance to witness them perform. The 11-song performance was a charming way to spend a Saturday evening.
