Marblehead Senior Show set for lift-off

MARBLEHEAD – The annual Marblehead High School talent show is a chance for students to relax, have fun and possibly make fun of each other while still showcasing their skills, said its organizers.The two-night affair, officially called the Senior Show, starts tonight at the school and features comedic acts, unusual performances and lots of jokes, said senior Jen Taranto, one of the show’s co-chairs.”Instead of being like a serious talent show as a lot of other events are at the high school, we kind of take a fun approach,” Taranto said at a rehearsal Tuesday. “We’re very excited to poke fun at ourselves a little bit while still enjoying musical acts.”View a photo gallery of the rehearsal.Poking fun is what seniors Joel Katz and Zach Romanovsky do best. The two will be hosting the show and plan to carry on the show’s long tradition of making fun of teachers.”If you’ve ever given a homework assignment or an essay that the students don’t feel too strongly in favor of, then you’ll probably get made fun of,” Katz said.”So that’s pretty much every teacher,” Romanovsky quipped.The anything-goes attitude is part of the fun of the senior show, said co-chair Ben Webber.”No one’s safe,” he said. “But that’s the expectation.”The show also provides a chance for students in all grades to step into the spotlight, Taranto said.She said this year features many performers who have never otherwise stepped up on the stage in front of the school.Like freshman Kevin Sherman, who will be playing a classical piano composition by the 19th Century Hungarian composer Frank Litz.One of the more serious acts of the show, Sherman said this is his first time to show his peers the musical skills he has been working on since elementary school.”I have a lot of performances around, but usually kids from school don’t come,” he said.Senior Matt Lieberson said he will also be stepping out of his comfort zone to perform.The tenor sax jazz musician wrote a rap highlighting antics from his fellow students and teachers, something he said he’s never done before.”I’m not going to have another chance to embarrass myself,” he said.The show will also feature some of the school’s better-known performers, with a twist.The school’s all-female a cappella group, Luminesence, will be singing a girl-friendly song: Miley Cyrus’ Top 40 tune “Party in the USA.” But they will be dressed as men and cut the song early for a rap, said sophomore Julia Taliesin.”We’re all dressing up in our brother’s clothing and getting way gangster with it,” Taliesin said.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected] you go? The show is open to the public. It starts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday in the Marblehead High School’s theater, 2 Humphrey St. Tickets are $5 for each night or $7 for both nights.