"Tony! Tony! Tony!" provides a variation of talent

The on stage instrumental accompaniment began to play as the curtains opened and the lights dimmed. The audience came to a standstill until the opening number broke the anticipation….

This year’s spring CFCC Variations show “Tony! Tony! Tony!” encompassed a selection of musical numbers from Tony award winning musicals. From “Hairspray” to “Sweeney Todd”, the best of Broadway was brought to the CFCC stage.

The cast consisted of the CFCC Variations Show Choir. In order to join the choir, students must audition at the beginning of each semester. The audition is open to any student attending CFCC.

If the student has a successful audition, he/she will be admitted to the concert choir class and assigned a role in that semester’s performance.

Joining the Variations Show Choir gives students a chance to get in class, as well as out of class, performance experience.

“Well, variations has expanded my horizons and the program enabled me to play multiple roles,” said Heather Simsay, 19, dramatic arts major. “I feel accomplished because I can portray 10 different characters in a show instead of just one. It was just so much fun and I’ve met a lot of great people and learned a lot of useful things in this semester alone.”

If a student decides to join the Variations Show Choir, they are required to take the concert choir class taught by Gregory Ruffer.

Brandon Teems, 21, music major, said how joining variations has given him the performance education to better his skills.

“I actually really enjoyed the show,” said Teems. “I heard a lot from the audience that this was one of the best shows they’ve seen from Variations. I joined Variations to get some stage experience and better my performance skills and I think that I have definitely improved especially through shows like 'Tony! Tony! Tony!'.”

The students spend weeks of preparation for their two shows. The fall show is normally a full length musical, while the spring show is a musical review, or a combination of numbers from different musicals. Both the fall and spring performances consist of a four- show run.

In regards to 'Tony! Tony! Tony!' the students showcased their vocal training and bouts of choreography while managing to make costume changes between the numbers.

Although the weeks of preparation resulted in one, cohesive performance, each student experienced the show differently.

Kayla Kopeck, 23, theater arts major, said “I really expected a kind of laid back performance, but it really turned out to be this super high energy, all dancing-all singing huge thing.”