Last Saturday, The MAX hosted an event entitled “Showcase: A Benefit for Heartland Pride”. To be honest, I first imagined it would be just a drag show, but after discovering that it was a talent show that was going to host many different forms of entertainment, I decided to go and check it out. I’m glad I did, too. There was not a dull moment during the whole show, and everyone who performed brought their own unique talents to the stage that night.
When we got to the Max, magician Ryan Thomas was going around entertaining audience members one table at a time. When I was younger, I was fascinated with the idea of being a magician, so I was intrigued by what he had to offer. After a few card tricks that left me mesmerized, he gladly signed a card from his deck and gave it to me. Of course, after he had me turn the card around – and a quick sleight of hand on his part – the card had changed.
The show started at seven and we took our seats while Alex Sulkin played the Star Spangled Banner on his bass guitar. Then the emcee of the night, Joe DeSanti took the microphone and introduced us to the event. The first performer, Macy Riley, got the show started with a song and dance number choreographed to get the audience cheering and to help with the donations for the night.
The second act was Tara Vaughn, a local keyboard player and songwriter who just got back after some time on the East Coast. Her voice was powerful and it was quite obvious she knew just how to translate herself onto the keys as she played two original songs of hers. My friends were quite impressed with her performance and were surprised that we haven’t heard of her before.
After Tara’s set, local poet Megan St. Clair took the stage equipped with a microphone headset and three poems she crafted. The audience hung on every word as she recited the poems that have given her the reputation as one of UNO’s best poets in the writing program.
Next up was Crucial, a local Hip Hop dance team that astonished everyone with their fast paced moves and well timed dance steps. Once they ended over large cheers from the audience, Nick Jorn came onstage with a somber and beautiful vocal solo performance that showed that sometimes all one needs is a strong voice to capture everyone’s attention.
Then the lights went off and the mood changed once again. Amy Burns and Samantha Mixon came onstage with the lit up hula hoops and performed an interpretative dance that left everyone watching wanting more. Everyone in the audience just stared as the lights flew around the dancers in moves that must have taken a long time to perfect. It was as if the act of hula hooping was introduced to rave dancing with glowsticks, and the result was wonderful to spectate.
Kathleen Lomax followed the dancers with a tray of margaritas in her hands as she reenacted a monologue about the trials and tribulations of working in the serving industry. In just the short time, the monologue went from rather dramatic moments to having everyone laughing at the observations of the slow roller coaster ride that takes place with a night of drinking.
The last group to perform started off with a slow, haunting Catholic hymn while dressed in robes. But after a minute or two, there was a loud screech from the music, and the robes came off, exposing sexy leather and fishnets. “Express yourself, don’t repress yourself” was repeated over again and Madonna’s “Human Nature” was played to a risqué dance performance that involved even involved whips.
A short intermission was given while they tried to get the audience to donate more by saying if they hit a certain amount, Alex would start the second half of the show shirtless while playing his bass solo.
Needless to say, the second half of the show started off with a shirtless bass solo.
Then Megan St. Clair came back with three new poems, one of which she confesses how fairy tales “make her feel like a whore”. Another lit up hula hoop performance was displayed, followed with Crucial coming back to show off their dance skill again. Tara Vaughn played a few more heartfelt songs on her keyboards and Macy Riley ended the night with another song and dance.
At the end of the night, the Diamond Foundation for Heartland Pride announced that they raised more than hundred dollars for the show, and announced some winners for a raffle that included two tickets for the already sold out Lady Gaga show.
Once the show was over, a friend of mine leaned in and asked what it was that I was writing the whole time. I mentioned to them that I didn’t want to forget a single act that night. The talent show had a little bit of everything to offer: Music, theater, poetry, dancing and even magic. The night was a great success for Heartland Pride and was a great night of entertainment, and I would strongly recommend going to another talent show at The MAX in the future.
