On February 12, the school auditorium was filled with parents, siblings, and friends eager to see their performer’s months of preparation and rehearsal come to life. The winter concert featured 15-minute performances from Midlo’s show choir teams: Just for Show and City Lights. The auditorium stage was transformed into a platform for some of the school’s best performers.
The night opened with City Lights, Midlo’s all-female show choir dressed in bright pink, green, and blue representing the Powerpuff Girls-inspired theme. Their performance featured preppy ponytails and a story following the Powerpuff Girls fight evil, and eventually turn the main villains kind. After a brief intermission, Just For Show took the spotlight with a unique, futuristic atmosphere. The mixed gender group performed a dramatic Matrix-inspired show that transformed the stage into an ultramodern world straight out of the film. The ladies were dressed in sleek black costumes, complete with a chic low bun; while the boys were decked out in floor-length black leather jackets.
However, although the performances were performed like clockwork in this winter concert, that does not mean that there wasn’t months of preparation leading up to the big night. It all starts with picking the themes of the shows at the beginning of the school year.
“I normally find a ballad or a slow number that I like and just think what would sing well on stage. Then, I just go from there and see what that song reminds me of, and then try a way to do a postmodern jukebox musical of it,” Mr. Finn, the senior chorus teacher, said.
Next, comes the months of choreographing, rehearsing, and vocal training to get the performers ready.
“We have our big choreo week, which is just a week where we stay at the school until nighttime just rehearsing our choreography,” George Wright (10) said. “The lights and the costumes are the last things that we add to the show.”
City Lights and Just For Show cannot be the only ones in the spotlight because none of the performances would be the same without the award-winning show band Hot Lips.
“We have had competitions where we’ve had to do it with a backing track without the musicians and it’s not the same energy at all,” Finn said. “The live band sound pushes the energy for the performers. It pushes the energy for the audience. It adds a depth to the performance that you just can’t capture with tracks because it’s just a fullness on stage.”
Each performance ended with a final bow from the groups as the audience cheered loudly and gave a well-deserved standing ovation. The February 12 show choir concert is just the first of many performances to come as this was the start of their long-awaited competition season.
“Seeing the opening curtain when everybody comes out and the crowd starts to go crazy, and the opening part where the kids start singing, and knowing that okay, ‘we’re gonna be balancing the band pretty well.’ That is always a really good moment,” Finn said.
