By Vanessa Chen
The 9th annual faculty talent show, hosted by history teacher Jamie Rinaldi and English teacher Dave Weintraub on March 29, was a night that marked a new beginning for the South Community. 2014 has been a big year for South, and the transition was the main theme of the night.
Four new teachers (history teacher Corey Davison, English teacher Beilin Ye, English teacher Mickeyl Lenzi, and English teacher Samuel Lee) were chosen by the hosts to participate in a contest, cleverly putting Rinaldi and Weintraub’s thematic conceits of the evening into play.
The new teachers engaged in activities that assessed the compatibility of their teaching abilities to South’s criterion. Though the mood remained lighthearted and jocular, the rubric served as a subtle reminder of the rigidness compulsory to South’s academics.
Sleepyhead (a band consisting of Rachel McNally, Chris O’Rourke, Derek VanBeever, Brian Hammel, and Davison) opened the show with two new singles from their album “Wild Somethings,” which will be released April 8.
This week, their album will be available for streaming on the Big Takeover.
They were followed by Ms. Ye, who played Scott Joplin’s “Bethena” on the piano.
Next, Pat Farland and his daughter Claire engaged in a playful back-and-forth banter, acting out John Forster and Charles Gounod’s “The Ghost of Bleak House,” before transitioning to “Into the Mystic,” which featured Steve Smith, Derek VanBeever, Brian Hammel, and Cory Davison.
Katani Sumner and Bob Parlin’s duet of “You’ve Got a Friend” was followed by Ms. Sumner’s incredible solo in “Respect.”
Though the night started slowly, the energy was at a high by the time Joel and the Joelettes (Joel Stembridge, Mary Scott, Josepha Blocker, Shelly Borg, Donna Gordon, and Kathy Farnsworth) hit the stage, all donning costumes for their performance of “Shout,” which included a throwback to the type of old-school style dancing that I’ve only ever witnessed in campy 70s movies.
After intermission, the night reached its apotheosis with “Good Times, Bad Times” and “The Ocean,” performed by Fred Zeppelin (Gene Stein on guitar, Dave Weintraub on drums, Derek VanBeever on guitar, and Ben Youngman on vocals and tambourine).
The next section of performances paid tribute to the retiring faculty members. The English department ran a skit to find “The Next Bob Jampol,” Jampol and Bob Parlin sung “Wake Up Little Suzie,” and a film entitled “Happy at Newton South” (2014, dir. Michael Kozuch) that featured Brian Hammel as Dancing Boy (you read that right) and cameos from fellow students and faculty members was shown.
Alan Reinstein played “Send Your Mom a Letter,” and Paul Estin composed a compendious composition christened “A Biologist’s St. Patrick’s Day Song” about the effects of alcohol that balanced the scientific and the comedic well.
The night came to an end with the New Orleans Jazz Parade, which brought most of the teachers—both fresh and familiar—on stage, celebrating the changeover.
Though the night remained a relatively low-key gathering (I spotted four other seniors, and a couple groups of students), I enjoyed the show, and I highly recommend it.
In addition, all the proceeds go to Newton South Faculty’s Students in Need Fund, which provides financial assistance to students for such activities as exchanges and field trips.
