By Jonathan Moniz, Staff Writer
Ukulele. Not one, but three. A man remixing “jubstep” while having cash shoved into his pants. Interpretative dancing. A piano rendition of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda.”
This was only part of the lineup for the production of the 10th Variety Show, hosted by the UMass Dartmouth Theatre Company and 20 Cent Fiction.
Hosted as a fundraiser for Relay for Life and as a community event, the Variety Show had various acts ranging from comedy to poetry, and even performance with song and dance.
Directing the variety show were Fatima Fraga-Alvarez and Melinda Robinson, who helped organize the event.
The master of ceremonies was Bill Hanley, a member of both companies, or as he described himself, “writer of a serious fable about the devil and religion that ended in a Monty Python skit.”
First of the acts was Mental Note, who performed Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” The group relied entirely on vocals and performed in the acapella style, with one of the members providing beat-boxing and backgrounds to accompany the group’s vocals.
They then performed “Diary of Jane” and a Bon Jovi mashup of “Livin on a Prayer” and “It’s My Life,” with various members coming to the front of the group to take the lead singing for the roles as needed.
Three ukulele acts were lined up for the evening, the first of them being Tighe Ratcliffe, who performed a song in commemoration of his first love after asking the audience to record it.
Edward Dugan was up on the stage next, who performed an interpretative dance and poetry ensemble about starlings, with a video on the back of birds in the sky.
Following Dugan was a performance from the hit musical Wicked with the song “What Is This Feeling?”
After that was a number of musical performances, with Samantha Wahl performing a softer song acapella, and Brooke Aubin, Tyler Rebello, and Lyndon Davis performing “A Man’s Gotta Do” from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
Before the intermission, another interpretative poetic movement was held by Justin Bloomberg, going by the stage-name “Jub” in which he performed the stages of a cactus’s life.
He also performed vocal dubstep remixes, using the tunes of various songs or tunes he invented on the spot, in addition to words and topic suggestions from the audience.
Many of the words that he used to mash into his songs and tunes included socks, silly string, concrete, turtles, and various random objects/words.
He opened the act by telling the audience that at anytime during his dubstep performance they should run up and stuff money in his pants, as he loosened his belt, or in his socks to donate to Relay for Life.
Then there was a break for refreshments and drinks in a brief ten minute intermission. Hanley announced that at the intermission all proceeds gathered would also go to Relay for Life.
The acts resumed not soon after, the new UMass Dartmouth student band Skyseekers performing their own song. Despite some technical difficulties, the group managed a succesful performance.
Then there was a performance from Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens, an upcoming play for 20 Cent Fiction, performed a song called “That’s Magic.”
Johnny Perreira performed a song he had composed for his little sister, whom he wasgotten separated from at an early age. He told his emotional story before his performance, joking about his vocal abilities, and proceeded to perform his song on a ukulele.
The ending acts were songs performed by Lionel LaFleur, who sang about an old man seeking to rewind his youth, and Dennis Fox.
With closing comments by Hanley about the success of the performance and the money they raised for charity, the 10th Variety Show ended amidst cheers from the audience.