Recently, the Trojan Nation brought together a hot pot of its boldest students to compete in the annual Trojans Got Talent. The live show cost $2 a person, which did not deter a large attendance. The ticket cost served as fundraising for the school’s student council. The show entailed a total of eight acts, with intermissions consisting of student council goofing up a storm. The eight contestants competed for a grand prize of up to $100.
Starting the show strong, the opening act consisted of Drew Anderson, current senior. He took the stage to perform Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” on electric guitar with his signature iron focus. On the talent show’s second showing, students report the crowd waving their phone flashlights during his performance. The cutaway intermission consisted of an artsy skit accompanied by piano music, a skit of someone dressed as Elsa starting “Let It Go” before being promptly booed off stage, and a skit of Isabella Picardi performing the most eccentric freestyle poetry. The central theme being a crude version of The X-Factor with various comedic hijinks.
The second act had another senior, Meghan Schang, performing on her saxophone. Her freestyling was smooth and calming, a stark contrast to the opening act. This was followed up by a cutaway act, consisting of a small band made up of Morristown West High staff. The band consisted of Douglas Burroughs and Kelly Ezell on vocals, Mark Herron on piano, Susan Houston on flute, Mary Palmer on clarinet, Kevin Parker on french horn, Tenesha Bullington on drums, and Mason Hance on bass. The band covered Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” followed by Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “September.” During the talent show’s first screening, their act also earned a horde of waving flashlights and people getting up to groove along.
Pictures from the staff band's first performance
Once the band cleared up, senior Zackary Fosbenner hit the stage to show off his drumming skills. He began his act explaining why he chose to cover Something Corporate's “I Woke Up In A Car”. Being originally from California, Fosbenner relates to the protagonist of the song, noting how despite how far from home he travels, there’s still a piece of it following behind him. Overall, his performance fit well with the song.
The fourth act came from Joseph Parrott, a current senior who qualified for the national speech and debate tournament. His performance gave viewers an abridged, 5 minute look into the piece he would be performing in the summer, going by the title, “Your Son, Brandon.” The piece contained the heart wrenching story of the familial relationship between a young boy and his absent father.
The fifth act had sophomore Wilbert Torres, covering JVKE’s “Golden Hour.” His voice captivated the audience, earning a ridiculous amount of applause. Not to mention the outfit he wore complimenting the title of the song. His golden dress shirt had a captivating, glittery quality that people went crazy for. Audience member Kayla Apimwar noted this particular act as her favorite, “because the song really fit his voice.” After this act, the show came back to a comedic slowdown, likely for the sake of keeping the room of rowdy high school students captivated. Student council proceeded into more of their painfully laughable skits. Once again, having the central theme of comically bad X-Factor acts. John Rosen cracking call and response stand up comedy jokes and a short Shark Tank parody where the entrepreneurs forget to bring their product in were the most notable skits of that period.
The second to last act consisted of three sophomores. Gabriella Adams, Savannah Bowser, and Jenna Bertand performed Lukas Grahams’ 2015 classic, “7 Years.” Jocelyn Cruz, another audience member, noted, “Personally I really liked the three girls that sang “7 years”, they did a really good job,” and overall that, “the talent show was entertaining and a good way to get students excited after having the EOC.”
However, the show was finally finished off with sophomore Jacob Bass coming back a second year in a row with his guitar. He performed a bit of improv with an accompaniment. Overall, he remained calm and went with the flow. Which was a refreshing way to end off the show’s main acts.
Just when students expected the show to be over, the room fell into a blackout. On stage, about eight members of the student council arose, adorned to look like stick people, made of glowsticks. They danced to a variety medley of dated dance trends, many being popular before the golden pinnacle of Gen Z’s beloved Tik Tok. When the lights came back on, some confetti cannons suddenly went off, coating the stage in a mix of silver and golden plastic. Audience member Apimwar once again notes, “I had an amazing time watching everyone reveal all their talents and tricks. All the acts were well performed.”
Once the first showing ceased, students went back to class so other students could come in to watch over the second showing. By the end of the school day, the results from the talent show were announced. Coming in first place would be Wilbur Torres with his well-adored singing voice, second place going to Joseph Parott and his emotional delivery of an equally emotional piece of literature, and third place went to Drew Anderson, with his performance being a callback to a legend that redefined the genre of electric guitar players. Thus concludes Morristown West High’s 2023 Trojans Got Talent.