From the staff that produces the Literary Magazine came an enjoyable night of student and in one case teacher talent along with edible treats. The 6th annual edition of Ned’s Coffee House under Ms. Pelletier came to WHS Friday night with the theme “Lights, Beats, Techno.”
The atrium overlooking the lobby was decorated with many colors of balloons along with blue streamers and yellow Christmas lights crisscrossing overhead. The biggest site though was the big white screen projector which was placed behind the stage. All through the course of the night different images played on the screen including a couple of musical eighth notes, and a proclamation that read, “The Kids want techno.” The acts could be seen in real-time on the projector while they performed making the scene appear as though you were at a rock concert.
Many of the groups involved were bands including “Appomattox”, “MC Silverman and the Three Amigos !, “Order of the Phoenix”, and performing together for the first time publicly “The Undefeated Cult.” The bands had different thoughts of what performing at Ned’s meant to them. MC Silverman, of “MC Silverman and the Three Amigos!” explained, “This (Ned’s Coffee House) gives us an opportunity for people to hear us.”
The audience definitely heard him later when he sang a song fully in Spanish.
Another highlight from the night included drummer Jake Scheinbart of Appomattox performing a drum solo during their song “Gypsy Knife” that received an ovation from everyone in attendance. “Order of the Phoenix” caught the crowd’s attention when they appeared in robes, fake beards, and wizards hats to model themselves after the well known Harry Potter series. Three of their four songs were original pieces based on the fifth book which the group was named after. As they left the stage many including Ben Roth shouted that they wanted to hear an encore. Ben explained, “They were way too legit to quit.”
Bands were not, however, the only ones who made the show a hit. Seven members of the Improve Troupe came to the show to demonstrate their comedic skills. Laughter echoed around the lobby while they performed two skits; “Change” and “The Dating Game.” “Change” was similar to a “Whose Line Is It Anyway” skit. In the skit a couple of the actors tried to find a pretzel and while communicating with each other a third member, located just off the stage, would sometimes suddenly tell them to change a word. The replacement word would usually send the crowd into laughter.
Three different individuals did poetry readings including WHS English teacher and Lit Mag advisor Ms. Pelletier. One act which did not fall into any of the other categories was “Eli Dupree’s Magical Mystery show.” This one of a kind show might have been the most creative of the night as Eli Dupree mixed poetic story telling with sound effects that were unusual and included sudden screaming. Eli had the crowd laughing at times, while at other times, the crowd responded with heartfelt applause.
A string of Christmas lights fell down, swinging over the audience, while the band “Pigs in Wigs” played. This would be the only hiccup of the night as Katie Speed and Dev Awasthi stared as Masters of Ceremony.
The night certainly had the light, the beat, and the technology that anyone could have hoped for, and now WHS will look forward to another bright show again next year.
