ALLEGRA THATCHER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Impersonations abounded and a thorough mess was made during the lip sync battle on Friday night, Feb. 8, at the Guardians of the Divine Will household’s “After Party.”
With students crowding the J.C. Williams Center seats, stairway railing and upper rim of the building to get a view of the contestants, there was great excitement in the air as each act took the floor.
Seniors Hunter McDonnell and Nick Praetzel stole the show with perfectly enacted lyrics and synchronization in a rendition of “The Other Side” from “The Greatest Showman,” complete with showman hat, cane and shot glasses.
Emcees Jeremy Fisher and Jack Greves started the night around 9:07 p.m. with Greves performing “What Dreams Are Made Of” by Hilary Duff with several backup dancers, and the night got messier from there. The floor had to be cleaned between nearly every act in the second half.
“All in” was the general theme of coordinator Reece Hoyer’s final act to the tune of Beyonce’s “Love on Top,” in which he started out dancing with blue powder, costume changes and flour and ended in a kiddie pool drenched head-to-toe in black paint and glitter.
“This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” by Taylor Swift was presented by three girls in hoodies and sunglasses who showered the audience with confetti and silly string, and Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” performed by Chase Dorsett, featured a complete Michael Jackson outfit and Tom Glemkowski’s assistance in an anti-gravity lean.
The second half of the night amped up the hype with a complete beach scene to the Beach Boys’ “Komoko,” ending with a bucket of water over one of the participants, and Big Shaq’s “Man’s Not Hot,” complete with props such as frisbees, Rice Krispies and barbecue sauce which littered the floor.
The audience got a break from being splattered during The Daughters of Divine Mercy’s choreographed dance and the Napoleon Dynamite dance, featuring two lip syncers in “Vote for Pedro” shirts.
Some other favorites included “Somebody to Love,” performed by Michael Delaney, who enjoyed getting in the face of the photographers, throwing his jackets and scarves to the audience and ascending the staircase to make a lap around the upper level of the building, eventually turning his microphone into an air guitar for the finale.
The Guardians kept the energy up with a dance following the lip sync competition, which kept music pumping out of the J.C. well into the night.
“Legendary,” was the word sophomore Marita Ostrich used to describe the evening. “It was definitely worth the $3,” she said. “It was wild.”
Junior Chris Mancini was especially impressed by “The Greatest Showman” act. “They knew the words, and the dance moves were well-coordinated and classy,” he said.
Maggie Peter, a sophomore, said she did not expect Hoyer’s final act. “It looked like he turned into a real tin man!” she said. “I’ll come back next year.”