Students Showcase Their Talents
Key Club sponsors the 6th annual ‘Liberty’s Got Talent’
Sophomore Pablo Romo after being chosen as the audience winner of the talent show.
February 5, 2023
Under the bright lights of Liberty’s theater, 20 students took to the stage to showcase their talents in front of a packed crowd on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m.
There were two winners of the night, one picked by the judges, and one picked by the audience. The judge winner was, for the second consecutive year, Trent Stuerman. The audience winner, who won amongst a roaring crowd chanting his name, was Pablo Romo.
“It was unreal,” Romo said when describing his win and his experience on stage. “It felt like home.”
Stuerman said, “It went great, I was very satisfied with my performance. It was a fun experience and I am happy I got to do it again.”
The show started out with senior Chole Stenger’s performance of “City Song” by Grace VanderWaal, followed by freshman Loukya Vaka, who played the piano and sang a medley of pop songs, including “Dandelions” by Ruth B. and “Glimpse of Us” by Joji.
Up next was junior Grace Edney, who gave a beautiful performance of “All I Ask” by Adele. It was an amazing performance, and you could feel the emotion Grace was putting into the song.
After sophomore Raksha Thiagarajan’s performance of “Flicker” by Niall Horan, the audience was in for a fun treat with the first of two “untalented” acts. Two audience members were brought up on stage to play Mario Kart—but with a twist. The contestants had to wear drunk goggles, making everything distorted and the game more difficult. It was a very amusing act, accompanied by a rainbow of spotlights.
It was unreal. It felt like home. — Pablo Romo, when describing his win and experience on stage.
The following act was juniors Alysha Sims and Naara Robles and sophomore Shanna Robles, who presented an energetic and clean dance performance to “Impurities” by LE SSERAFIM.
Next was a singing and piano performance of Vance Joy’s “Riptide” by junior Leah Dunlap, and after that senior Gavin Block sang the song “Warning Sign” by Coldplay, while also playing the guitar and then the piano.
The last act before intermission was senior Vito Signaigo, who entertained the audience with his glow in the dark juggling.
“It could have gone a little better, but it was good,” Signaigo said. He also added that he has been juggling for a long time.
After a short 10-minute intermission, the next act to perform was seniors Aidan Berry, Ryan Casteel, Dominic Nordmann, and Preston Allen who performed the songs “Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner and “Flower Shops” by ERNEST. The audience loved it, cheering loudly as the band sang. Freshman Lorelei Wise followed up with a powerful performance of her own poem on feminism, “Hello, Little Girl.”
Senior Payton Busselman was up next, giving the audience a lively and vibrant medley performance of classic rock songs, such as “Barracuda” by Heart and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The crowd was singing and clapping along with so much enthusiasm, it felt like a concert. Sophomore Pablo Romo followed her with a heartfelt ballad of “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” accompanied by a sea of swaying cell phone flashlights. His performance was amazing and the crowd loved it.
The teacher act of the night was a spoken-word monologue of “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift, performed by Mrs. Gehrke.
The next and last untalented act was a painting contest between Clara Walker and Elizabeth Bowen. Both paintings were interesting to say the least, but Clara ended up as the winner.
After a serene performance from senior Logan Honerkamp of Joshua Basset’s “Lifeline,” LHS Color Guard members seniors Natalie Hoffman, Audrey Beckhardt, and junior Tessa Wilson put on quite a show. The crowd was enthralled by their sharp and professional display of skill.
The next act was Nathan Mauk and Vito Signaigo who put on an entertaining performance of “Ice, Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice, and after that was a tender performance from Anna Wright and Connor Higlen of “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
The show closed with a rich piano performance of “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy from Trent Stuerman.
Finally, after all the acts had performed, they were welcomed back on stage to announce the winners. You could feel the energy in the audience. As the doors opened and people started filtering out of the auditorium, laughing and talking about their favorite acts, you could tell that they all had a great time watching all the students put on a spectacular show. It was a truly fantastic night for everyone.
