Go to Hell

Whether you like it or not, you have just landed yourself a front row seat in the Devil’s Court, watching the Seven Deadly Sins battle it out for Lucifer’s fatherly love and a seat on the throne. Sit back, relax, and hold onto your antidote—you are going to need it.

Senior SING! Coordinator Lianne Ohayon took on the theme of “Seven Deadly Sins” with two prior years of experience under her belt as Soph-Frosh and Junior SING! Coordinator. Ohayon worked with the Senior SING! crews to ensure that Sin City, capital of Hell, was brought to life with a morbid set, ghastly special effects, stunning costumes, and impressive choreography.

As “Phantom of the Opera Overture” played, the curtains opened to the gloomy landscape of Sin City, smokey and bleak with a deep red and purple color palette. The Seven Deadly Sins had a dramatic musical introduction set to a modified version of SIX’s “Ex-Wives,” welcoming viewers to Hell.

Each of the Seven Deadly Sins had their own distinctive look, with stunningly-crafted costumes and innovative makeup. From the hand print on the seat of Lust’s (Oliver Hollmann) baby pink jeans to Sloth’s (Christian Tai) life-size teddy bear, Senior SING!’s costumes perfectly captured each Sin’s unique traits.

The next scene opened with Pride talking into a comically-large purple telephone. The Sins sat around a meeting room table for the Sin Report. Lucifer’s booming voice echoed through the chamber as he declared Pride as his successor, announcing that the Sin would take his throne when he abdicated. Pride giddily gloated, singing a victory solo to Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman” with new lyrics.

After Pride’s arrogant solo, Envy and Wrath expressed their resentment toward him; they felt he was undeserving of the throne and unforgivably boastful. Envy launched into her rendition of “jealousy, jealousy” by Olivia Rodrigo, backed by a passionate performance by modern as she plotted to take Pride’s position.

The scene abruptly switched to the Senior Bar, which was converted into a Potion Brewery. Lust attempted to pursue Gluttony with corny pickup lines. Envy stormed in and commissioned Gluttony to make a death poison “for recreational use.” The scene suddenly transitioned to Lust’s and Gluttony’s duet; Lust sang an electrifying rendition of “El Tango De Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge, and Gluttony sang “Sway” by Michael Bublé while creating the poison, with Latin twirling and dipping their way across the stage in an intense dance number.

In a confusing twist, Greed discovered a treasure chest, out of which tech director Ella Chan randomly appeared. The treasure chest plotline was never fully explained, and served as a weak attempt to get a laugh from the audience. It ultimately failed, leading to more confusion than comedy. Greed then launched into his solo, set to “Badtameez Dil” by Benny Dayal and Shefali Alvares, backed by Bolly’s performance in shimmering gold and black costumes. True to character, Greed stole Gluttony’s poisonous potion and its antidote, pocketing them and running offstage. 

Envy, Gluttony, and Wrath soon realized the poison had disappeared, and they had a hunch about who stole it—Greed, since he left a shimmering piece of stolen jewelry at the crime scene. Wrath’s fury was reinforced by step’s ground-shaking performance. Soon after, Envy and Wrath secretly plotted to murder Pride; Envy was the brains of the operation and Wrath the unbridled passion.

In the show’s climax, Pride’s dreaded coronation day arrived, expressed in the devils’ singing of a modified “We Will Rock You” by Queen. The day proceeded with a feast, followed by royal entertainment in the form of hip-hop’s dance to “Into You + Bad Idea Medley” by Ariana Grande. Flow then performed “Never Say Die,” leaving Envy and Pride alone together. Envy confronted Pride, charging at him with a knife before launching into a soaring opera performance of “Habanera.” In an anticlimactic twist, Pride revealed that he poisoned Wrath, holding the invaluable antidote out of reach in his hand. He threatened to spill it if Envy moved to stab him. Envy made her final decision and dropped the knife, rushing to Wrath with the antidote and embracing him in a moment of uncharacteristic sacrifice.

All the Sins witnessed the scene and came together to praise Envy’s abrupt act of love. The show ended with the Sins singing “Highway to Hell” to take turns lashing out against Pride. A new reign then began in Sin City, and the show closed with the citizens partying to “Livin’ on a Prayer.” 

Despite the play’s dramatic conclusion, many plot points felt unresolved. It was confusing that the Sins would suddenly turn against Pride after putting up with his irritating antics for thousands of years and unrealistic that Lucifer would not do anything to retaliate against the disobedient Sins. Each of the Sins were well-developed on their own, but together they felt disjointed. The play read more as a character study of the Seven Deadly Sins than a cohesive story. Furthermore, though the show focused excessively on developing the relationship between Envy and Wrath, it mostly failed to develop those between the other Sins, outside of Lust’s shallow flirting with Gluttony. Though Envy’s relationship with Wrath was the most developed, it was somewhat illogical; it seemed uncharacteristic for a Sin to sacrifice power for love. This moment of character growth felt too abrupt, though it was ultimately touching.

Regardless of these shortcomings, the seniors managed to put on an entertaining show that transported the audience into the underworld. Ultimately coming in second place with 1,614 total points, the seniors brought Sin City to life through comedic acting, magnificent vocal performances, detailed costumes, vivid makeup, and a moody set. They managed to make going to hell look almost…appealing…but not quite.