Written by Ethan Morgan
Anxiety, uneasiness, and an uncanny feeling as thick as smog in the antiquated yet charming Johnson theatre. In the halls, layers of chipping paint polished the ghostly building, yet hanging from the rafters a sign of life, and youthfulness. Microphones, bright lights, cords and wires galore, brought the Johnson Theatre back to life. You could hear the Johnson take what seemed to be its first breath in a long while, when the chilling strings of the Violin were stroked by Santi and Azam, few of many daring Scholar’s to invigorate The Johnson, the audience, and the performers. As well as showing that the Ole’ Johnson is still as strong as it was a century ago, with the Presidential push-ups that Ali so masterfully performed, and was easily the hit of the night. As for the acts themselves, they threw the audience’s reservations aside with their breaking of the 4th wall. Their easy going spirit left the audience to feel welcomed and at home. The audience quickly became enthralled in the acts and exclaimed their satisfaction and often joined in to aid the performances. The types of performers who were daring enough to perform on week one, without prior knowledge of the pageantry of the “GSP Showcase”, are unique personalities.
One of our own reporters, Alex, got to see the inner workings of the minds of these daring acts and their visceral reactions. In an interview, Alex got to meet the singing prodigy, Cayden, to discuss his experience as a performer. Cayden takes a “throw caution to the wind” mantra to heart, when he told Alex, “Iconic, needed to be me”. Cayden has no time for naysayers, as he so proudly proclaimed, “People like to throw rocks at things that shine”. It’s the six foot tall and bulletproof performers that were able to cut through the nervous tension in the air and make the Opening 06/27/25 Showcase a night to remember. Musical Theatre took front stage by the performers including, Dovie, Moria, and Nolan in their impressive renditions of “My days”, “The Challenge”, and “Rags to Riches”. Instruments weren’t thrown by the wayside just yet, Nathan and Noah both used piano and guitar, respectively, to woo the audience. Last but not least, even the faculty got involved, with a GSP relic, Scott, often called the greatest poet of the 21st Century, in his beautifully expressed poem about his love of Velveeta “Cheese”. Alongside Breitenstein, Evans, and Pinson, playing and singing, in their rambling band, a timeless classic in “Our House”. It’s safe to say that until the first Showcase “life used to be so hard”, but now “There’s two cats in the yard”, and the good times are rolling here at GSP thanks to the Opening 06/27 Showcase!