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Center Stage: Glee Club's End of Season
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Sophomore Andrew James and Junior Jason Ban rehearsed with assistant director Ted Arthur in the Long Center in Lafayette.
The gentlemen of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club warmed up for the End of Season performance.
Geared up and ready to go, director Bill Griffel led the Glee Club in an energized surround of “Ambassadors of Song”.
All of the members of Lighthouse performed with the Glee Club for their last time Saturday night.
In a Glee Club classic, the gentlemen paid tribute to Nat King Cole in a jazzy medley featuring the specialties of the group.
Senior Peter Carroll delivered a hilarious but equally sentimental lavaliere to his mother, singing “When You Come Home” and citing some of his favorite mother-son memories over his college career.
Charley Smith, a senior from Greenfield, entertained with the comedic “Mississippi Squirrel Revival”. The audience had just as much fun clapping along as the guys did on stage!
Even Bill jammed a little and got goofy with the gentlemen!
Instead of being performed at the end of the show, as is usual, “Strike Up the Band” was sung before half-time with the allusion to a new Glee Club closing number.
Simon May, the Assistant Manager of the Glee Club and Chairman of the Sirs, sang a final rendition of “When You’re Smiling” while the rest of the group jumped into the audience to sing to some very special ladies.
Voiceovers performed during half-time with energized and powerful acapella vocals.
Ba Na Na gets emotional on the Long Center stage with the classic Righteous Brothers song “Unchained Melody”.
Ted rocked out at the piano with Nick Miller singing by his side during Ba Na Na’s new song “At the Hop”!
Steve Sanders presented his original piece “Indiana”, with a very sentimental story of how it came to be as well as how much it means to have the Glee Club perform it. After the song was performed, Steve was met with a well-deserved standing ovation.
An eager John Foerster sprinted out for his solo as the Tin-man in the Glee Club’s 5-Minute version of the “Wizard of Oz”.
John "Woody" Foerster, father of senior John Foerster, received the Distinguished Service Award. It recognized all he has contributed to the Glee Club.
Alumni of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club were invited to join the current members onstage for some old favorites, such as “The Creation”, “Brothers Sing On”, and “Prayer from Lohengrin”.
Flashbacks let loose and took us back to Beatlemania with a mash-up of “Hard Day’s Night” and “Hey Jude”.
As a special tribute to these four seniors, the “Boiler Boys” were rejuvenated for a Jersey Boys medley that left the crowd roaring with applause.
Senior Michael Blakley looks as his fellow graduating seniors receive their cane. The cane-presentation is a longstanding Glee Club tradition at the End of Season show where each leaving senior is awarded with a cane, a staple of the original Glee Club full dress uniform.
All of the graduating senior members.
George Van Scoyoc, a long time Purdusire and loyal advocate for PMO and the Glee Club, was presented with a cane as well, as an honorary Glee Club member.
PICTURE TIME! The Glee Club gathered down at the front of the stage for a fun, final snapshot of the 2011-2012 group.
The Glee Club ended the show with a new arrangement of “I’ve Got Rhythm” and closed the performance with an emotionally charged “Hail Purdue”.
New Purdusir of Digital Media, Roy Johnson, pinned his carnation on his grandmother after her first time seeing the Glee Club.
Seniors Peter Carroll, John Foerster, Tim Harris, Steve DeWitte, and Mark Knight posed after their last full show holding their new canes. The entire evening had emotions running high, both onstage and off, but the Glee Club went out with a bang, and delivered an absolutely incredible last show.