A couple Friday’s ago, on April 17th, the Morris Hills Choir Department put on a fantastic display of what it means to find joy within music. Every year, Mrs. Uhler, along with the MH Choir Boosters, put on Broadway Night, which not only serves as a night to showcase all of the talent at Morris Hills but also serves as a way to raise funds for the choir department at MH. With these funds, the choir is able to lower the costs that accompany various unforgettable opportunities such as music day trips, the choir banquet, and specifically this year, the boosters made it possible for the Scarlet Singers to go to the White House at no additional cost to the students. With various other fundraisers throughout the year, the boosters are able to make these amazing experiences possible for students.

However, Broadway Night is one of the most profitable fundraisers for the boosters and is also a very special night as it involves the students within the choir program. Although this fundraiser helps the booster organization, it would be impossible to put together without the help of Mrs. Uhler. From the audition process for the event to the night, Mrs. Uhler is an essential part of the process and works constantly with students to make sure they are confident and comfortable in their performances.

Talking about performances, this year there were twenty one different performances ranging from group numbers such as “The Schuyler Sisters” to solo numbers such as “Part of Your World” and “My Favorite Things.” In these twenty one performances, there were also twenty one performers ranging from freshmen to seniors as well as from Broadway Night newbies to Broadway Night veterans. Sanjana Veggalam and Taapti Rana have participated in this event for the last three years and always deliver beautiful but yet comedic performances. This year, despite the technical difficulties of their performance, both kept a positive attitude and delivered an outstanding performance with a mix of multiple crowd favorite melodies. Sanjana comments her inspiration for the piece saying, “Taapti and I really like to do the pitch perfect rifoffs and we love to do it with our own songs especially!” And, despite this being their last Broadway performance, their joy and enthusiasm will always be felt within the choir community even after they have graduated.

But, even though it is bittersweet to let go of the seniors in the program, some new talent was also displayed on the Broadway Night stage. Shia h, a freshman at Morris Hills, performed “For Forever” from the musical Dear Evan Hanson, with him recalling his inspiration stemming from his first time seeing the musical when he was ten years old. He describes performing the song as “bittersweet” and “an emotional moment” as he truly felt what the character was going through as he sang the song. He especially highlights his enthusiasm for not only his own performance but the talent that everyone else displayed saying, “Being able to watch everyone’s performance really made me see everyone’s talent among the choir community and I really would love to see everyone perform again!”

With all of this wonderful talent at Morris Hills, Broadway night truly captured what it means to be a part of the choir community as well as being around so many talented performers. However, there are always a couple of performances that capture the audience’s heart and stand out, having a lasting impact on audience members. Jiya Feby, a sophomore at Morris Hills, notes that her favorite performance was “I Am Adolpho” which was performed by Roey Paglingayen. In her words, “Roey’s performance was my favorite to watch because the way he acted was hilarious.”

And yes, although Roey’s performance was filled with comedy as well as good vocals, for me one performance definitely stood out from the rest, not only bringing incredible vocal talent to the stage but also the emotion that lingers far after a performance is over. That emotion is what truly defines your ability to move people, and for me, Sophia Salazar and Kaden Green’s duet, “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors, did just that. Both of these seniors were able to grasp and convey this emotional song through their own friendship. Specifically, Sophia expressed her own feelings about performing the song, explaining, “I loved the fact that I got to sing a duet with Kaden, with whom I have been in choir since, as far as I remember, the 7th grade. This was my first Broadway Night, and I am so glad that my performance was with a great friend”. And, although she wishes she had participated in Broadway night sooner, as it was truly an exciting experience with all of her friends, her performance was definitely a powerful example of leaving it all on the Morris Hills stage and being an inspiration for all future Broadway night performers.