By Tahnayee Clendinen, Guest Writer
The Parentâs Weekend Variety Show Saturday was a demonstration of artistic flair in the Chris Knutzen Hall of the Anderson University Center.
Geared toward showcasing the various talents of Pacific Lutheran University to the visiting families as well as students, the show was filled with a variety of performing groups. Â These included the cast of the Night of Musical Theater, HERmonic, the PLU Dance Team, junior Catherine Graham and PLUtonic.
The cast members of the NOMT performed songs from their last performance that took place at the recently opened Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Based on audience applause, the favorites of the night were âAnother Day,â from “Rent” in addition to their performance of â21 Gunsâ from âAmerican Idiot the Musical.â
When the NOMT performers finished singing, the audience erupted into applause, with even a few audience members giving a standing ovation. There was a break in between their performance, but the applause was equally enthusiastic from the first to the second set.
HERmonic, PLUâs female a cappella group, performed a mix of songs by artists old and new. The singers included hits such as âNo Scrubsâ by TLC and âMama Knows Bestâ by Jessie J. Their rendition of âNo Scrubsâ had more than just a few people singing along.
The Slovieg family was one of the families singing along. âIt is good that they picked songs we actually know, rather than boring classics or something,” they said.
 Switching the microphone between different women, most of the singers got the chance to display techniques like old school style beat-boxing. As they walked off stage, the audience showered them with whistles and cheers.
The Dance Team performed two different numbers, and each was synchronized. The first was âWaka Wakaâ by Shakira, during which the team members performed various moves with fancy footwork.
âIâm gonna try out for the team,” prospective student Jennifer Liu said. âThat dance was awesome.â
PLU Dance Team’s second set performed to âI am the Bestâ by 2NE1. This dance featured lots of spins in addition to lots of layered movements.
Graham performed âLeather Britches,â âBoys My Moneyâs All Goneâ and âFlame Pointâ on her fiddle for the families and students. Grahamâs skill combined with speed was enough to captivate the audience, which sat silently as if in fear of missing something.
Last but not least, was PLUtonic, the male a cappella group, which, according to the PLUtonic Facebook page, is composed of  â12 talented goofy guys who come together for the love of a cappella music.â
The group has appeared on “America’s Got Talent” in addition to doing numerous local performances and competitions, yet is never too busy to share its performances with PLU. Spanning the decades, they performed songs from NSYNC like âHere We Goâ all the way to more recent hits like âDownâ by Jay Sean.
It was all of these acts that made the PLU variety show an event that was a perfect example of the diversity of talents on campus.