Thursday night of the 62nd NJCL convention celebrated the 40th edition of That’s Entertainment! JCLers crowded outside the doors of the Laurie Auditorium singing loudly together in anticipation of arguably one of the best talent shows in the nation.
Once the seats were filled, the lights were dimmed and the two hosts, Nelson and Heather, welcomed everyone to the 40th birthday of That’s Entertainment. Peter Arndt (WI) dedicated and performed an original song on his guitar. Rachel Gregory (TN) performed her original song on the piano. Claire Hodges (FL) performed an Irish step dance to the song “Enchanted.” The Desi Girls, a group of ten girls of the Louisiana delegation, performed an Indian dance to three different songs. Max Brey (FL) sang the song, “On the Street Where You Live.” Julia Pan (MA) sang her song “#Purple & Gold Forever” with Linda Qin and Edward Wang (MA) dancing. Adam Platek (NJ) demonstrated his skill with the Chinese yo-yo. Although all the acts were spectacular, there were winners. In fifth place was Kathy Li (GA) who sang “Fly Me to the Moon.” Parker Zachman (MN) received fourth place with his piece on the boogie piano, “Boogie for Bacchus.” Third place winner was Sophia Furfine (IL) who performed ballet en pointe. Second place went to Rae Halcomb (CA) performed a dance called “Painted Black.” The first place prize was awarded to Evan Cui (CA) for his jazz piano performance called “You Bring the Peanut Butter; I’ll Bring the Jams.”
The JCLers were not the only performers in the show. The SCLers brought their own humor to the table. A sleep deprived SCLer tried to tell the story of Caesar to a JCLer needing to study right before Certamen. The SCLer, try as she might, mistakes Caesar with Caesar salad and confuses Pompey and Pom-Poms. However, we learn that the three parts of Gaul are there, there, and Canada. The SCLers also took us on a trip to the Jurassic Creation Laboratory convention. There were the veloSCLraptors which understood the language of secret handshakes and the Susan SheaRAWRsaurus speaking Latin.
The 2014-2015 NJCL officers also tuned in to give a news segment, “The Convention Update,” hosted by President Ruiqi He and Second Vice President Narayan Sundararajan. In this segment, they interviewed the candidates for NJCL office. Communications Coordinator Aliyah Quereshi acted as an overly-spirited candidate; Parliamentarian Ashley Blazek and First Vice President Maya Nandakumar were Kat and Garth trying to sing the NJCL song in sync and on key. Historian Sarah Christian was candidate Debbie Downer.
Following the NJCL officers’ skit, the SCLers parodied the NJCL officers. Their costumes were so similar to their actual counterparts, it was hard to find the difference. After a telegram from Taylor Swift, the officers argue over whether they should bathe in Chipotle guac or have a five-hour long fireworks show. To settle the argument, they get up and whip to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”
The mysterious, yet recognizable Racketeers started to close the show, when a surprise closing act appeared. The winners of last year’s That’s Entertainment, Francis and Raffy Sto Domingo (SC), performed together for the JCL one last time.
The celebration of the 40th annual That’s Entertainment was quite successful. The jokes that the SCL brought and the acts that the JCL performed were memorable. All the work everyone, including the stage crew, had done made this year’s That’s Entertainment one of the greatest entertaining events of the week.
BY WOOJIN LEE, 2016 NJCL Editor
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Fall 2015 · Torch:U.S. · THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT