What a Time to be in Show Choir

Works in Progress is a performance that includes Liberty, City, and West high school show choirs. These schools performed on Oct. 29 to show friends and family what they have been working on since August of this year. Each group performed throughout the night, beginning the show with the JV group Showtime and ending with the varsity group, Good Time Company.

For the 7:30 pm. performance, Showtime went first with their show themed “Freedom.” Their show’s message is about being unique and different, rather than conform to the expectations of society. The shirts they wore during the performance were printed only with minimalistic barcodes. The idea behind the shirts was to represent that everyone is different in their own way.

“I was very inspired by minimalism in terms of art. I saw on the news that there was this painting that sold for $20 million, that was basically a white canvas. That is very interesting because it’s this deposition of something so basic could be worth so much, but it is how you view it. You can choose to see this art as stupid or you can choose to put meaning in into it.” Enriquez. Showtime performed their opener called “Delilah” by Florence and the Machine and their transition song “Machine” by Misterwives for the show.

Following Showtime was City High’s women’s group, Charisma. Their theme of Strong Women included songs dedicated to Lady Gaga and Amelia Earhart. The songs in their show are meant to represent strength from these influential women in our society throughout time. Their songs included “Born This Way” Lady Gaga, A mix of “Wings” and “Defying Gravity” by Little Mix, “Wicked” and “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten and “Come Together” by The Beatles.

Following City’s women’s group, the Liberty Lightning show choir called Storm performed their British themed show. Their songs are all by British artists such as (list songs). Beth Jaeger ’22, a student at Liberty High, shares what she loves most about works in progress. “I love being able to see all the other shows and seeing their creativity that they put into their shows. I also like seeing all of my friends and cheering them on.”

Fourth Avenue, City High’s varsity show choir, performed songs tributed to “The Iowa Wave,” which occurs at the end of the first quarter of University of Iowa home football games. Last year, when the Iowa Children’s Hospital completed construction, the Hawkeyes show their support to the kids receiving healthcare in the hospital by taking the time to stop and wave during the game. “The Wave” has become one of the greatest football traditions in history. “Opening Up from Waitress” and “Clap Your Hands” by Leo Soul, “Tears of an Angel” by RyanDan, “The Cure” by Lady Gaga, “Warriors” by The Strike and “Make a Wave” by Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato.

To finish the show, the Good Time Company, or GTC, took to the stage with their theme “Jukebox Heros.” GTC’s theme puts together songs from all different genres of music, much like the song selection of a jukebox. The group performed their opener, which began with a section of “Rex Tremendae” from Mozart’s Requiem. Next was a mixture of the songs “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas and “Jukebox Hero” by Foreigner. They ended their show by performing their closer song titled “I’ll Be There” by Chic. Clay Hulsebus”20  “It’s something nobody regrets doing. Performances and the people I am in the group with make show choir special.”