Junior Follies returns to the stage

After the pandemic relegated it to a virtual performance last year, Junior Follies returned to the stage of Hanes Auditorium on February 4-5, featuring performances from over 80 students with the proceeds going toward this year’s prom.

The show was organized and produced by theater teacher Thomas Drago, junior Edlin Hodge, the stage director, and the Junior Class Council. The Improv team hosted the show, performing short, comical skits before and in between acts. Tickets sold for $10.

Ryan Kilgallen, a junior and co-president of the Junior Class Council, said that the show “went really well,” noting that “It was definitely nice to have such a big and time-honored event at our school.”

To keep the show moving quickly, Drago—who was directing the show for the first time—and the student technical crew made use of the main curtain to set up a band or musical act invisibly while the audience watched a different performance in the foreground of the stage. 

The decision allowed Drago to streamline “14 acts … into one seamless, entertaining, and efficient show.”

Drago said one of his main tasks involved “rebooting Junior Follies” and “re-teaching the student community just what [Junior Follies] is” and how “to reconnect,” since last year’s show had to be held virtually.

Performers said they enjoyed the show after so much time away from live performances. 

“Since we haven’t been able to perform in so long, the opportunity to do it again at Junior Follies is kind of what pushed me to do [an act],” Lucy Mills, a junior who sang “I Won’t Say I’m in Love,” said.

Mills described her performance as “really fun” and said that “it was amazing to be reminded of why I love [singing] so much.”

Amelia Brinson, a junior who sang “My Grand Plan,” said that, in addition to having fun performing, she hoped she connected with Junior Follies attendees.

“I had so much fun when performing, and I like to think that the audience was having fun while they watched!” she said.

Ava Pick, a senior, performed “Valerie” and “Falling/The One That Got Away” as part of the Lucky 13 a capella group. 

Pick described Junior Follies as “a little nerve-wracking, but a good experience overall.”

Sophomore Lee Morningstar said he “really enjoyed” Lucky 13’s performance, and he also praised Lola Mestas, who performed “Notturno” on the piano.

“[Mestas’s performance] was just another level,” Morningstar said.  

The Jazz Band performed a number of songs and was one of many musical acts on the bill, opening the show with a performance of “Zoot Suit Riot,” featuring Drago on vocals.

Other musical acts included the student band TGasp, who performed “Black Sheep” and “Celebrity Skin”; Ezekiel and the Lab Coats, who played “Scooby Doo” and “Bill Nye the Science Guy”; Ladies & Gents, who sang “She’s Gone” and “Love Song”; and the student band Relativity, who played “Step Away” and “Free Fallin’.”

Senior Diogo Gomes, who both performed in Junior Follies both days as part of the Jazz Band, described Eliza Hedeman-Brown’s performance of “Seven Nation Army” on the piano and vocals as “one of the best [acts] of the night.”

Gomes also commended “Funeral,” performed by Grace Davis on vocals with Katherine on the viola and Luca Kaminski on the guitar. 

Soong described the folk trio’s combination of viola and guitar as “quite unusual,” and she dedicated the song to anyone whose mental health was affected by the two years of isolation. 

Due to COVID19 restrictions, there were no concessions during or after the performances, and Drago decided not to do any cash exchanges at the door to prevent COVID transmission. While viewers were encouraged to stay masked at all times and measures were taken to distance everyone involved, masking was not enforced (beyond the stated requirement to keep masks on) by any of the organizers of the show.

Drago did note that masks, while necessary for safety, had a “major impact on performances” since masks “make it harder to hear the performers or see their facial expressions.”

Hanes Auditorium will next host the spring drama production Mamma Mia! from April 28-30.