As a former choir nerd, a self-induced title I am proud of, I was both excited and bummed that the Show Choirs had a pre-competition show the same night and time as a boys’ basketball game. Why bummed? Well, I can only be in one place at a time, so I apologize, I only caught Riverside in action, and I am glad I did.
First, this year’s production of their show is based on The Sandlot, one of my favorite movies of all time. Second, IT’S THE SANDLOT!!! In musical form, in less than 10 minutes, and 10 minutes was not long enough, because it was absolutely amazing. Seriously, the music, the timing, the choreography, the backup band, the costumes, the short bursts of dialogue, one home run after another.
The show was cute, funny, a bit raucous (in a good way), high energy and just good old-fashioned fun, just like the movie. The choreography looked really challenging and for a first performance, there are a few bugs to work out, but still, even with a few small hiccups, it looked polished already. I can’t wait for the general public to see them perform at Swingin’ on the River on February 22. Hastings hosts a Show Choir Competition, and all of the Raiders do perform during their competition, but only as an exhibition, not for scoring.
The groups did travel to their first competition, Gretna Prime Time in Gretna, Nebraska. Both Dynamic Edition and Riverside finished fourth overall and Nathan Barker took home the Best Performer award.
The next competition for the Raiders is on February 1 at Bloomington Kennedy, and trust me, it will be worth the less than half hour drive to go see the show if you can ‘swing’ it.