Libba Smith
A&E Editor
We all know that Wooster is brimming with talent, and this year’s first-year class is no exception. From spoken word poetry to tap dancing and plenty of songs in between, Woo Idol, the annual first-year talent show put on by the Orientation Committee, highlighted the creative abilities of Wooster’s newest students.
After root beer floats in the lobby, the night kicked off with Vanessa Logan ’14 and Paul Joseph ’14, the co-emcees of the night. Releasing bags of colorful balloons into the audience and running onstage beneath American and Wooster flags to “Bring ’Em Out” by T.I., Logan and Joseph set a high-energy tone for the evening, letting the witty banter flow throughout their time onstage.
“Paul and I made sure to keep up the stamina the whole time,” said Logan.
While the New Student Orientation Committee put on the event, Logan and Joseph planned and executed the entire evening, which consisted of twelve acts.
Sarah Bradley and Ruku Borah tied for third place. Bradley sang and played acoustic guitar for an original song, “Things Happen for a Reason,” a beautiful ballad about making sense of life’s seemingly cruel or confusing occurrences. Ruku played “The Banjo” on piano, a rousing, fast number that had his hands flying over the keys.
Brandon McDonald took second place with “Stay with You” by John Legend. The opening act of the first years, the powerful song perfectly suited his soulful voice.
The first place winner was the crowd favorite from its opening notes. Summit Star sang and Michael Osthimer played electric guitar for “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone. Both seemed unassuming during their setup, but they transformed into pro performers and rattled Freedlander with their dazzling rock-and-roll rendition of the popular song. They received multiple well-deserved standing ovations.
Logan and Joseph interspersed the first year acts with several humorous sketches. The first had them acting as dorky middle school teachers at a mandatory drug awareness assembly, where they changed the words of well-known pop songs to be anti-drug. The second sketch was a flashback to an orientation idea meeting with surprise guest Dean Buxton, which included a “Hunger Games” scenario to bring down the class size and a fight club in the UG. Dean Buxton was a crowd pleaser and emcee favorite.
“The fact that Dean B went on stage with us really surprised me; she was a really great sport about it,” said Joseph.
All of the acts that performed at Woo Idol were outstanding and should be commended for braving the stage so soon after arriving at Wooster. The talent show was a fun, entertaining way for the first years to show each other, and the rest of campus, what they can do.