Soph-Frosh SING!: A Happy Ending?

Once upon a time, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when SING! season attacked—wait, that’s not the fairy tale opening sequence! Still, this botched opener accurately sums up the entirety of SophFrosh SING!’s production, a subversion of expectations that subbed so deep they reemerged in Hollow Earth. 

Like, really, a whiny Snowerella duo? Slay, I guess. A Male-ificent, who also serves cruelty? I guess we're doing that now. What’s next, an affordable PS5—wait, how did Pinocchio afford that thing through only his price gouging? The largest fantasy in this must be the stable economy, enough so that even the hard-working grifters can make bank. Almost reminds me of a nicer, simpler time. 

SophFrosh SING! was also full of reminders of the horrors of being an underclassman. Every former AP Biology student saw their past selves in the Fairy Godmother as she was bullied by a dripped-out Ms. Maggio, and everyone remembers the joy of hearing something is Bernstein-certified before that illusion is shattered in Senior woodworking and you realize there’s no such thing as getting her approval. It was such a violent reality check, it was almost as terrifying as watching Junior SING! (almost). Not to mention Snow White’s hair loss problem. I don’t need to be reminded about all my stress-induced hair loss! I want to at least be “beautiful” without my balding head as “blindingly beautiful” as Sleepy-tron! Though I have to ask, I don’t look as bad as her bald cap, right? Right? 

Also, watching SophFrosh SING! made me remember just how short the average freshman is. We didn’t realize that the Red-40-looking-ahh dwarves were walking on their knees until we got lost backstage and caught a glimpse of them unfolding into standing positions. It was like watching the Demagorgon from Stranger Things open its face up—it was horrifying. To be fair, they weren’t that tall standing up, either (they’re SophFrosh). 

This performance definitely had merit. For one, it’s hard not to be entertained by a surprise Lord Farquaad and Shrek cameo, played by Mr. Portales and Mr. Tomas respectively. It’s less entertaining when you’re actively failing AP Calculus BC, and seeing Mr. Portales’s face has started inducing a cold sweat in you, but you can laugh through the pain! Even less so when the freshmen realize they’ll be translating Latin with Mr. Tomas for the next two years… Your sweat and tears can help poor, poor, old Shrek mop the fantasy floors in the fantasy ballroom. 

Plus, the music was actually straight fire. From “Reflection” to “September”, the band pit was the entire kitchen: cooking, serving, and eating. One complaint, though? You’re going to waste Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” on a set transition? That deserved to be a song in the show—or honestly, if you had gotten rid of the entire show, plot and all, and just played that for one hour, we would’ve been happy too. Just a suggestion.

Nevertheless, it’s impressive that SophFrosh SING! even managed to pull a show together. Their SING! journey has only begun, and they’ll climb their way up from the bottom of the scoreboard, like a pauper to a princess.