Laughter echoed through the walls of the Joseph Schulte Theater this weekend as members of the class of 2022 performed in the annual Senior Follies. The first in-person show in two years, the seniors showcased their best imitations of their beloved SLUH faculty before an audience of family, friends, classmates, and faculty. Through their witty humor and respectful mockery, the SLUH seniors put on a show that successfully revived a treasured SLUH tradition. 

Preparation for the Senior Follies began early in the second semester, when senior class moderator Daniel Becvar took on the task of rebooting the program by prompting the seniors to do what Jr. Bills do best: be creative. Though excited to see what skits or acts the senior class could prepare, he was underwhelmed by the initial amount of participation. 

“Senior Follies, like many things around the school this year, needed to be built again,” said Becvar. “A lot of students, including a lot of seniors, who currently go here have never seen Senior Follies before and don’t know what it is.”

Despite these worries, several members of the class of 2022 took it upon themselves to create a show worth remembering. After being canceled all together in 2020 and only in video format in 2021, these seniors wanted to make sure that a production would be staged before they left the halls of SLUH. Using old Senior Follies videos on YouTube for inspiration, the seniors started brainstorming.

“The seniors made a huge list of possible topics and when I saw the idea of Faculty Feud, I thought it would be cool to give it a shot,” said senior Luke Brown.

Recruiting the aid of several more of their classmates, the seniors felt confident in their ability to produce a full set of skits to perform in front of the school community. However, as production day drew nearer, several seniors had to work diligently around the clock to add depth and character to the proposed skits. 

Skits, however, would prove not be sufficient enough. While the writers had to stretch their creative minds to come up with whimsical skit ideas, the seniors who chose to perform in the ballet likewise stretched out the fibers of their tutus and leotards to be able to dance in them. This proved to be a discomforting, yet rewarding experience. 

“The dance belt I had to fit into was incredibly uncomfortable, one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever had to do in my life,” said senior AJ Thompson. “Other than that, I felt amazing. I was so eager to go out there and perform in front of everyone.”

After a semester-long endeavor of writing and practicing skits, the motley crew of performing seniors were finally ready to take to the stage in dress rehearsals. Though there were many technical difficulties along the way, the seniors took these opportunities to engage in improvised, “un-rated” versions of the skits that sometimes proved to be more enjoyable than the written skits themselves.

“One of the funniest times during the dress rehearsal was when Mr. Stahl and Fr. Stewart’s characters faced each other in a rap battle,” said senior Nick La Presta. “It was something I thought I would never get to experience at SLUH, but, thanks to Senior Follies, I did.”

Despite continuous practice and memorization, many of the senior actors were still jittery walking into the first production night, as many of them had never been in a SLUH theater performance before. Nevertheless, the first production on Saturday night proved to be a success for the group. 

“I have to admit, I was nervous about my own abilities going into the evening,” said senior Joe McGroarty. “But we all rode on the excitement of the show and it turned out to be a better experience than what I had expected.”

The Theatre Bills returned the following night in high spirits to finish their performance once and for all. After being conditioned from the night before, the group poured their hearts out on the stage in front of the crowd, which was more than two times larger than the night before. This led to even more laughter and applause than the first performance.

“The faculty talent show and Joe McGroarty’s impersonation of Mr. Hannick was definitely the funniest part of the night,” said senior Matt Kluba. “What made it even better was that Mr. Hannick was out in the crowd.”

During both production nights, there was hardly any scene that did not have its fair share of laughter. Whether it was the opening faculty Zoom skit or the masterfully crafted Faculty Feud skit, the crowd showed their enjoyment through their laughs and smiles while enjoying the reactions of their dear teachers. Many students kept their eyes on Mr. Steingruby, who rejoiced when he found out that the seniors had made a whole skit dedicated to his class.

“I have never felt so appreciated before and it was definitely the highlight of my weekend,” said Mr. Steingruby. “After these last couple of years, I think we can all agree that we needed something like this to fire up our spirits again.”

It is fair to say that Senior Follies are back and they are here to stay, a precious tradition at the U High. The class of 2023 has it easier now that they have a great production to use as a foundation for their Senior Follies next year. Until then, the SLUH faculty and staff only have to continue being their beloved and respected selves.