Over a hundred students and parents poured into the Student Center Theater on Saturday, Oct. 8 for the Fall Festival Variety Show. Featuring a talent show and a pageant, the annual Variety Show was a great opportunity for students to showcase themselves before an audience of their peers and parents.
The Hofstra Dutchmen, an all-male a capella group, kicked off the night with a strong rendition of the classic Queen hit, “Fat Bottomed Girls.” They stood in a line that stretched to the very edges of the stage. A member on the left-hand side beat-boxed while another ran to the front of the stage for a solo. There was something both comical and jarring about an all male chorus borderline chanting the song’s chorus.
For the next performance, senior Kelsey Kresge did a baton routine. She flipped and twirled three batons with fluidity and ease that could only be attained through rigorous practice. There was obvious force and power, but it appeared with elegance and rare talent.
Sophomore Simone Dube sang “Roxanne” by The Police. It’s a song played countless times from bars to festival stages and has been covered obsessively. But if Sting, lead singer of The Police, was in the crowd tonight, he would have believed Dube wrote it. Her vocals were full and tender, but crashed and plummeted with raspy technical prowess when the chorus arrived. The room sat completely engaged and silent, until the end, where there was an uproar of cheering.
Senior Matt Tanzosh’s performance brought the audience into unfamiliar territory. A good stand-up comic makes your grandma smile, a great one pushes you to the fringe. Commenting on everything from his job at a “magic crystal shop” to the degrading and mundane realities of the fast food industry, Tanzosh broke down walls that held back laughter.
RYTHMiX Tap Club was unexpected in the best way. Calvin Harris and tap dancing are not often paired together in mainstream culture. One would expect a clash, like two unknowns smashing into each other, but this was a unique and undoubtedly memorable close that justified calling it a talent show.
After the talent show portion was over, the Pride Court started with introductions of seven contestants: Liliana Cruz, Briana Cunningham, Victoria Florcyzk, Kilmer Merrit-Gawe, Daylen Orlick, Carol Pollock and Amanda Price. They sat on the stage, awaiting instruction from their hosts and judgment from the crowd.
They were asked to discuss their favorite moment or event at Hofstra. Answers ranged from stories about Relay for Life to experiences being a Welcome Week leader.
The talent portion featured a science experiment by Cruz, where two beakers overflowed with blue and gold colored “elephant toothpaste,” a foam-like substance.
Pollock rapped about how “that crown fits good,” referencing a hopeful win at the end of the show.
Merrit-Gawe sang, “I don’t need a crown to have pride tonight,” accompanied by three dancers who accented the chorus by singing “Hofstra Pride.”
Amanda Price gave a Broadway-like performance as pictures and videos acted as a timeline showcasing her experiences thus far at Hofstra.
Cunningham acted as a Pride Guide, giving a tour of her experiences at Hofstra.
Orlick both interviewed a video recording of himself and sang along with an a capella recording of himself.
Florcyzk was thrown into the air and performed acrobatic feats in cheer performance about why the crowd should vote for her.
At the end of Pride Court, contestants were required to share a fun fact about themselves. Answers ranged from being “allergic to glitter” to being “really short.”
The night ended in floods of students holding their paper ballots, walking out into their Saturday night.