During my two years on staff, I’ve been asked to review many shows for the Art & Entertainment section. While some performances have been better than others, the majority of the time they are skillfully executed by everyone involved. ETHS has a very talented group of musicians and actors that work tirelessly to put on these shows. The styles of each show vary and that is what I love about them. While some are student written and performed, like YAMO’s “Choose Your Own Adventure”, others are already known plays and musicals that are brought to life on stage. You never just see a show by ETHS students, there’s always some twist that keeps each one special.

Junior year: Writer’s Showcase

This was my favorite show at ETHS. It had a different emotion portrayed in every scene or monologue. The student run show was a hit for me, it gave students the independence to do what they wanted with the show. There were many references to ETHS rumors and myths, like the school’s basement. Hannah Schoen’s outgoing personality made her performance of “Teachers of the Night’ by Kathryn Campbell even funnier when she explained where teachers go at night.

Matt Hunt and Charlie Fies scenes were  my personal favorite; they seemed to have a chemistry that really helped their performances. In “Hues” written by Mobolatan Henry,the size difference between Hunt and Fies, Hunt being the larger of the two, added to the already funny jokes; it had the theater bubbling with amusement.

Abby Osterlund’s “Feeble Bottle” brought heavy hitting emotion to the table when Olive Cantor talked about alcoholism and how it impacts people and the lives of those around them. The seriousness of this skit shows how even though the people writing and performing these pieces are young, they are still mature enough to understand the impacts of serious issues. The show had a great balance of comical skits and tear-jerking monologues that kept the audience wondering what was next.

Senior year: YAMO

YAMO was a huge hit this year for everyone who went to see it. If you have never been, I highly recommend it. It isn’t just any old high school play; there’s comedic skits, singing, dancing and inside jokes directed at ETHS students. As always, the cast cracked jokes about teachers and administrators. The PTA meeting was an especially funny addition as it completely exaggerated each of the PTA parents’ personalities. The YAMO Orchestra cannot be forgotten from this year’s show. The array of music they played had me eagerly waiting for the next song. They featured some classic AC/DC, as well as the well known song “All Star” by Smash Mouth and a personal favorite of mine, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. Since the theme was “Choose Your Own Adventure” the most thrilling part of the show was when audience members had the opportunity to choose from two options; however, I would have enjoyed experiencing more of these audience-driven choices throughout the show.