The fifth-form talent show blessed Raffini Commons on the fateful evening of April 6th. Eager to see the upper former performances, students packed into Freidman as the judges—Kaz Maksymowicz, Ava Price, Lucas Conrod, Jade Hill and Harrison Black—prepared their scoring cards.
After Charlie and Kevin, the fifth form reps, started off the night by performing a card trick, Hudson Stovall gave his rendition of “Let it Go,” wearing a silver cropped polo and ill-fitting pants. The students sang along and waved their flashlights, kicking the talent show off with excellent audience engagement.
Following this, David Kwon played an emotional rollercoaster of songs on the piano, transitioning from The Up soundtrack to La La Land to Runaway by Kanye. The audience was enthralled by the classical act and could not have been more surprised by the next performance of Cole Fidler’s shameless “interpretative dance,” a sight that could not possibly be described through any form of human language. As the crowd picked their jaws up off the floor, a group called “David and Goliath,” composed of Nash and Simpson boys, took to the stage to sing the Beatles for fifteen minutes, a relaxing change of pace to prior escapades. As the crowd went silent, Luka Clark came onstage with a recorder, a bucket hat, and a dream. He executed a version of “hot cross buns'' to a crowd silent in pure talent-induced awe.
The highlight of the evening took everything you thought you knew about talent and threw it out the window. The act was intricately crafted by Anna Asano, Elizabeth Johnson, Bella Perry, and Gretta White. Each of them dressed as a different Dean, performing a parody of “The Schuyler Sisters” from the hit Broadway musical Hamilton. The clever lyrics and head-to-toe outfits made this act nothing short of unforgettable. The performance went on to get first place and not a single person could hold back their laughter. To conclude the evening, “Mingrid and the Armourites,” a band starring Ingrid Cassidy and Meg Bohan, shared their musical gifts. All of Rafini sang along, some even holding up big signs in support. All in all, this year's talent show was a huge success, displaying the best of bravery, skill, and humor in our community.