REVIEW: “Band Geeks” sure to impress
By Meghan Bobrowsky,
Bluedevilhub.com Editor–
Davis High’s new musical “Band Geeks” is all about the struggle to fit in, working together and achieving dreams. It’s a spectacular show that showcases the talents of many students, including main characters Elliot (junior Jonathan Kalinen), Laura (sophomore Emily O’ Flaherty) and Nicole (senior Cooper Johnson).
Early on, the essence of the play is captured in the titular song, which voices the struggle of being nerds and getting picked on in high school.
Star Wars-loving senior Elliot becomes captain of the marching band and hopes that this will be the year the band makes it to the “Festival of Champions,” an elite band competition.
Friend and flutist Laura shares Elliot’s dream, which seems within reach until the band receives a new member: a stuck-up football player Jake (junior Diego Chapa), who is forced to be in the band as a punishment. The plot is simple until this point, but with the entrance of Jake, the story develops into an intricate plot-line with lots of upcoming surprises.
The band comes together with the unexpected help of Jake, only to fall apart when one of the members vandalizes the football team’s equipment. The band becomes a chaotic mess as students start to accuse each other. The members pull through in the end, learn to respect one another and succeed at the Festival of Champions. The ending appropriately sums up the values of friendship and hard work.
Many of the cast members showed off their singing skills by hitting extremely high notes and holding out notes for extended periods of time, and the actual band providing the music–conducted by William Zinn–played in perfect pitch and stayed synchronized with the actors on stage from beginning to end.
This is the very same stage that brought “The Liar” and “Into the Woods” to DHS last year; many “Into the Woods” cast members returned for “Band Geeks.” And while I enjoyed last year’s musical, it is clear that many of this year’s returners now have a wider range of notes and improved facial and body expressions–credit must be given to directors Gwyneth Bruch and Sarah Green for the shift.
“Band Geeks” is a must see for all those who enjoy singing, dancing and, of course, drama. The three remaining show days are Nov. 12, 13 and 14 at 7 p.m. in the Brunelle Theater. Student tickets are $10.
