Spotlight
Second-years Put On Swell Show
This year's presentation of the traditional Second Year Show took packed, rowdy audiences at Roxbury Community College on a rollicking, two-and-a-half-hour ride through the hallowed halls of a dysfunctional HMS. Despite what the title--"My Big, Fat Distal Swelling"--may suggest, the show provided a welcome break from some of the nearly pornographic and overly long shows of the past.
Carlos Saavedra proves that J. Lo isn't the only one who's got back.
Directed by Elizabeth Pinsky and produced by Alejandra Casillas, this year's production included sharp ensemble dances that were (shockingly) relevant to the plot, charmingly offensive writing, and satire so refined that one wonders whether some students made the wrong career choice. And the orchestra was as entertaining as the show--rarely does one get to watch a classically trained violinist boogieing and bowing his way through Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
Here's to the Community
Refusing to be cowed by venue changes, the blizzard of 2003, or the biomedical tomes littering their floors, the Class of 2005 performed spectacularly well, benefiting both the audience and the Roxbury community. Proceeds from the show--more than $7,000--were donated to Project STAR, a Roxbury charity for HIV-positive infants.
Tosh Prasad plays the super villain David Golan, captivating students through the wonders of pharmacology.
The charitable focus of the event was in no way indicative of its generosity toward others, however. Even so, as in years past, those maligned the most left the theater the most satisfied with this year's twisted tribute to HMS.
The story began as Dean Nancy Oriol loses the entire HMS endowment in an evening of debauchery. Soon, Dean Oriol and other HMS faculty are summoned to meet with Dean Joseph Martin, who announces that HMS must eliminate all but one of its departments to survive. The department that secures the affections of the HMS student body will be the one permitted to remain at HMS.
The gauntlet having been thrown, the departments declare war on each other and set out to win over the student body, involving in the fray many of the notable faculty members of the pre-clinical years: Dan Goodenough, Orah Platt, Bev Woo, Dana Stearns, Julian Seifter, Richard Schwartzstein, Andy Lichtman, and, in loving memory, the recently deceased Don O'Hara.
Alejandra Casillas hams it up in this year's 2YS mockumentary, "My Big, Fat Distal Swelling."
Some departments bank on their "no-fail" policy to gain student affection while others form bands (N'SITU and the Splice Girls) in order to woo the notoriously fickle students. But David Golan, pharmacology course director, provides the key plot action, drugging the student body into loving only pharmacology and turning the students (save one) into Prilosec-obsessed drones. Fortunately for students and faculty alike, an antidote is soon created--during tutorial, of course--which not only cures the students but also male pattern baldness. The students patent and sell the drug in order to re-endow the School and save the day.
Kidney Punch
Highlights of the evening included "Slide After Slide," a brief, dead-on ditty reviling the evils of PowerPoint and researchers who think they can teach, sung by the talented Mindy Greenblatt; "Let It Pee," a take on "Let It Be" that Paul McCartney surely never anticipated, sung by nephrocentric Julian Seifter as portrayed by Hans Ackerman; the awe-inspiring bhangra and swing dance numbers, showcasing the fleet-footed Shreya Kangovi and Johannes Kratz, among others; and, finally, the campy, caped portrayal of David Golan, menacingly well-played by Tosh Prasad.
Johannes Kratz and classmates swing their partners and do-si-do.
The cohesive show, with its abundance of talent, delighted audience members not only with its technical accomplishments but also with the camaraderie and infectious enthusiasm that pervaded every scene. The beautifully executed numbers left the lingering impression that the cast was having as much fun as the audience, making a great play out of the work we all do at HMS and earning a big, fat place in Second Year Show history.
--Tarayn Grizzard
All photos by Steve Gilbert