On Wednesday, February 6, the high school auditorium held the Second Annual ORRHS Talent Show. The Class of 2013 founded it last year as a benefit for their junior year. It served the Class of 2013 well for their senior year with 15 acts and a heavy turnout for the mid-week fundraiser. All proceeds from the Talent Show itself went toward the senior class, while the profit from concessions went toward the juniors.
Four well-known teachers served as the judges for the night: Mrs. Graser from the Science wing, Mrs. Guilbert from the Math wing, Mr. White from the History wing and Mrs. Morrell from the English wing. At the end of the show, their combined votes would be the deciding factor on the two acts to take home first and second place.
The show opened with two of the night’s three hosts, Abby Hiller and Erin Murphy, introducing the event and sending words of gratitude to the judges for participating and to Mr. Sardinha for his help in making the show happen and run smoothly.
As the hosts exited the stage, the first act of the night opened with a profound rendition of Radiohead’s thought-provoking “No Surprises.” Junior Justin Smilan took the lead vocals with his accompanying acoustic guitar, junior Mathew Pereira backed up on bass guitar, junior Jared Tyndall played electric guitar and sophomore Hannah Cormier performed on drums.
The second act of the night took a lighter note with a song dedication to well-known student Timothy Gonsalves. The act was senior Sophia Santos singing “Kiss Me,” by The Cranberries, accompanied by senior Daniel Donahue. After her turn in the spotlight, Santos joined Hiller and Murphy as the third host of the evening.
A cover of “Boat Song,” by J.J. Heller, was brought to the crowd as the third act of the night. It was sung by freshman vocalist Holly Frink, who was accompanied by freshman Abbi Morrill on guitar.
With a break from vocal numbers, sophomore Angela Weigal danced to the upbeat and saucy “Fever,” by Peggy Lee.
The crowd was entertained next with freshman Natasha Shorrock’s stand-up comedy act. Her refreshing jokes got the crowd laughing but really won them over when she dedicated her act to her friend Sarah, who was in the hospital.
Next, sophomore Alex Carr sang and played guitar to the timeless “Wonderwall,” by Oasis. The crowd was clapping happily along to the beat (albeit very offbeat as crowd-clapping usually goes) by the middle of the song.
As the last act before intermission, cousins Katrina and Evelyn Farias sang a duet of “More Than This,” by the current British pop sensation One Direction.
After a short intermission, the show resumed with sophomore Amy Bichajian performing a poetic ballet number to Ingrid Michaelson’s “Keep Breathing.”
Seniors Katie Kiernan and Maxwell Houck performed a crowd-pleasing duet cover of Bonnie Raitt’s touching “I Can’t Make You Love Me” with Kiernan on vocals and Houck on guitar and vocals.
The grand piano was pulled out next for last year’s runner-up, senior Fred Murolo. He dedicated the original song to judge Mrs. Guilbert and informed the crowd that it had taken him two hours to write the song.
Next, junior Natalie Martin, a previous contestant on the TV show “X-Factor,” sang to the crowd an a cappella version of “Beautiful Disaster” by Kelly Clarkson.
Last year’s talent show winner, Evan Lacombe, danced to the well-known Civil War-era tune “Johnny Come Marching Home.”
Junior Troy Rood serenaded the crowd with “Stars” from the ever-popular musical “Les Miserables” in the thirteenth act of the night.
Senior Nick Mathieu poured his heart out to the crowd with singing Gavin DeGraw’s “Soldier.”
Murolo and Houck took to the stage once more in the fifteenth and last act of the night. Murolo played piano and Houck sang to “100 Years,” by Five for Fighting. Murolo made a shout-out to fellow senior Aaron Holick and Houck invited the crowd to sing along to the well-known tune.
Finally, all contestants were off the stage and the judges went to deliberate in the lobby. In a fit of nostalgia, the three hosts united the crowd into a Backstreet Boys sing-along until the judges could make their decision.
When the judges returned, all contestants were brought onstage and the winners announced. Lacombe took home the runner’s up spot for his breathtaking dancing abilities and Murolo swept the first place title with his original piano composition. Embraces and celebrating continued onstage as the hosts said their final farewells, marking the end of the night.
By Jessica Correia
