I was 15 minutes late to the RPI Playhouse, but the show hadn’t started yet. The house was however moving with the sound of voices from the audience members. There were CDs for sale in the lobby and more people standing around waiting for the show to begin.
Saturday night “A Night of A Cappella showcased both RPI a cappella groups—The Rusty Pipes and the Rensselyrics—along with special guests Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Simple Harmonic Motion and the University at Albany’s Earth Tones.
It had been a while since I had actually seen an a capella group, and the only one memory served to recall was that group of singers from the Carmen San Diego television series. Who remembers that, honestly?!
Shortly after I arrived at seven o’clock, the lights were dimmed, and “A Night of A Capella” had begun.
Introduced by a short comedic sketch, nothing short of what you’d expect from something concerning The Players, The Rensselyrics took the stage. Wasting no time, the group opened with a musical number from the popular Broadway show RENT entitled “What You Own.”
The duet was sung by Rich Davis and Christina Melicharek, and although Davis didn’t sound quite like what I was used to, the harmony was remarkably good.
The next song that The Rensselyrics performed was “Kyrie Eleison,” originally recorded by Mr. Mister. Sophie McKenney, one of the group’s altos, tackled this tune with an incredible voice, aided by the rest of the group’s soft melody.
After their “obligatory CD plug,” The Rensselyrics performed two more numbers, including Stroke Nine’s “Little Black Backpack,” which I must admit was interesting to hear performed a capella. Davis again took the lead, and made up for any off notes in his previous solo.
Next on stage was WPI’s Simple Harmonic Motion, a group of clean cut looking boys, dressed in white dress shirts, ties, and khaki slacks. Who let the Catholic boy’s high school choir in here?
Singing three songs, including Savage Garden’s popular hit “Crash and Burn,” the group performed an outstanding routine. Finishing up their performance was Mike Robinson singing about his love of a cappella. You could certainly tell his fellow Motion members felt the same way.
During the brief intermission, members from the different groups present at the event combed the audience looking for audience members willing and able to shell out the ten dollars for a CD. I considered my options and decided to wait, as persistent as the member of SHM was, dressed in a light blue jacket that made him look like a used car salesman.
After the intermission, University at Albany’s Earth Tones were introduced with another skit with RPI Players Brian Baum and Ben Cushing. Openers always make good theatre promotion spots, this being one for Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
The Earth Tones came on stage, making a huge contrast to the clean cut look of SHM. Clad in black t-shirts sporting their logo, and jeans, the Tones opened with the Barenaked Ladies song “Some Fantastic.”
Next, “The Still of the Night,” provided for some interesting “audience participation.” Billy Hance, president of the Tones, went into the house and pulled out a random female audience member, named Sara according to the hoots and hollers from friends. Seating her on a bench and lending her his baseball cap, Hance sang to her.
Singing three more songs, including a spoof of “The Circle of Life,” cataloging SUNY life, the Earth Tones, like the previous groups, put on a performance the audience seemed to enjoy judging by their profuse clapping and cheering, and I wonder how many of them were really from RPI.
The final act, RPI’s very own Rusty Pipes, closed the show moving and grooving on stage in their brightly colored t-shirts and overalls. The first number was a well performed version of Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man,” sung by Cecilia Granda.
The Pipes sang a total of seven songs, including “Cruisin’” by Smokey Robinson, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Don’t Cry” by Seal, and the Natalie Imbruglia hit “Torn.”
Overall, the Pipes put on a very impressive show, closing their fifth year of existence next semester. This year the Pipes welcomed newcomers Anton Johnson, Kristen Welch, and Robert Pruyn-Bush.
Even if you didn’t get to attend Saturday’s wonderful performance at the Playhouse, you can still see The Rensselyrics performing alongside RPI’s improv troupe, Sheer Idiocy this coming Saturday. If it is anything like the Idiot’s last show plus the a capella talent of The Rensselyrics, then it’s going to be a blast.
