Alternative fact: the 69th Annual Follies was unfunny and bland.
In reality, the cast of this show has been working for months to perfect this show. Tryouts were in December but people had to prepare weeks, even months, in advance in hopes of getting a spot in the show. After tryouts were completed, the cast was selected. Follies had a wonderful variety of interesting dances, beautiful solos, hilarious skits, and choirs that sung and danced.
The cast had three official performances, Thursday at 7:30, Saturday at 8:30 and Sunday at 2:00. They also had practice from 6:30-10:00 almost every night a couple weeks before the performances and a dress rehearsal in front of the 6th and 8th graders.
There were three choirs that performed which were Varsity Show Choir which is a choir made up of sophomores through the process of elimination for the purpose of this show, Concert Choir, which is made up of upperclassmen, and Chorale which are students in Concert Choir who dance and sing to the music. Follies of Mason City, Iowa has the record of the longest-running variety show in America. Over 20,000 students have participated in Follies and some have even gone on to being on Broadway and in Hollywood Productions.
Thomas Rowe, a senior, had a few words to say about Follies. “It was an enjoyable experience with my friends and it was fun to sing and dance with them for the last time. Follies is one of my favorite times of the year because we all get to spend a lot of time together and feel more connected. It was bittersweet being a Senior in follies because it will be the last time I’m acting on stage.”
Maya Jalukar is a freshman and a first time performer with Follies. “It was really fun getting to see all of the older kids in something they’ve been doing for years and an honor to know that one day that will be us. I was not nervous about performing because I’ve been in theater for a few years.”
Thank you to everyone who attended this year’s performance and we are all looking forward to next years!
-Margaret Kruse, Freshman