Turn off your cameras and turn your head towards the stage! November 6 brought the famously popular Showstoppers event to the 2021-2022 school year. Taking advantage of this opportunity to perform in front of a live audience, our Louisville students embraced this occasion to showcase themselves and their friends. Some of these performances included juniors Valerie McFadden, Rosie Dubois, and Rosalia Corteses’ rendition of “Super Trouper” from Mama Mia, Creative Dance 2’s production to “Dancing Through Life” from Wicked, as well the senior dance duet with Elizabeth Lazear '22 and Cristina Erskine '22 to “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin.

Getting the chance to see the product of all the effort and time put into this event was wonderful. Weeks upon weeks of work went into these performances, and the pride radiating off each performer was blinding.

“It was jaw dropping and mind blowing; I was amazed!” said Gabi Matthews ’22.

There were many unique productions featured during Showstoppers, but what really stole the show were the group performances, my favorite being the opening song, “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen, which involved the entire cast of Showstoppers.

“It showcased a lot of individuals, but together they were even better,” said Sister Donna. “It was so well done.”

The large group performances were amazing and it was so great to see the personality of each student shine while working with their friends.

A wonderful part of the evening was getting to witness the overwhelming support from the audience. The thundering applause and praises echoing throughout the full house after each act was breathtaking and the final applause was full of whistles and standing ovations.

“I’m so proud, so proud!” said senior Bunny Lazear ’22 when asked about their fellow performers,

It’s not hard to see why. Even with a slight technology error during one of the songs, the dancers and singers were not phased and continued like nothing ever went wrong. The astounding professionalism these girls embodied was displayed in their quick changes, their transitions and their performance quality.

For this, we must thank our very own Ms. Tracy Powell. She teaches dance at Louisville, but she does much more than that. Ms. Powell is the main pillar holding our performing arts program to such a high quality. The effort that she and her co-workers put into this production was monumental, and the caliber of the audience and performances was off the charts. Her passion for the performing arts at Louisville has helped promote and create a theater,chorus, and dance program full of people who genuinely care about the art of acting, singing and dancing.

Another group that deserves our thanks are the amazing students running tech during the show. Some names include Boo Kilroy ’24 and Mary Piscatella ’24 along with many others. Although some may be unnamed, the effort from each and every person was immense. From an audience standpoint, everything looked amazing; the lighting was perfect, the volume was great and everything seemed to work smoothly and properly. Thank you for making this production run so smoothly!

The Final Showstopper for the night!