There is an old saying that the “family that plays together, stays together.” The Oyster Bay East Norwich community is very much like one big extended family. Every year the Media Arts Club of Oyster Bay High School holds a Talent and Variety Show featuring the talents of students and staff performing together.
Another annual event is International Night sponsored by the foreign language department. Last year, the supervisor for the Languages Other Than English Department, Liliana Policano, approached the Media Arts Club advisor, Tom Gould, about combining the two events. OBHS teachers Jacklin Luciano and Sara Cuniglio helped out behind the scenes and on stage to make the evening a resounding success. The two events came together wonderfully in an extravaganza celebration of international cuisine, culture and entertainment.
Building on the energy, enthusiasm and success of last year, the Talent Show/International Night has become a new tradition at Oyster Bay High School.
The young performers will get to experience the thrill of sharing the stage with professional entertainers as the international flare is represented with Afro Cuban Salsa dancers, Indian dance, lyrical dance and even a hip hop performance.
The show will be held on Friday, Jan. 16 in the Oyster Bay High School Performing Arts Center (the PAC) at 8 p.m. The admission for the show is $10 for adults and $7 for students. At 7 p.m. there will be a sampling of international foods in the high school cafeteria.
OBHS senior Nathalie Mejia returns to the big stage after her command performance on the Pearls of Oyster Bay CD released two years ago. Mejia will be accompanied by James Peitz on piano.
Sophomore James Peitz recently performed at the Tilles Center with world renowned pianist Lang Lang along with OBHS freshman Victoria Carchietta. Peitz will bring his substantial talent to the stage of the PAC to sing and play the piano. Carchiatta has a prior booking that night, but looks forward to joining the Talent Show in the years ahead.
Another tradition at OBHS is the monthly Open Mic Night, which is held in the OBHS library under the direction of OBEN social worker Matthew Brown. This year the host of the Open Mic Night is senior Jamie Burke. Burke will join the Talent Show cast to sing and accompany herself on guitar.
OBHS seniors Ryan Hauser, Ryan Maloney and Nick Orlowski are prepared to rock the house celebrating their last year at OBHS. Maloney is a multi-instrumentalist who will sit down at the drums and sing the lead vocals. Orlowski will play bass and join in on backing vocals. Hauser dons the electric guitar to round out this power trio.
Representing the staff of OBHS is teacher Jacklin Luciano, who will perform with her dance team, Rhythmology.
Professional dance instructor Bryan Perez has been working with OBHS students in Bachata dance. They are Ibania Cardoza, April Cerami, Brittany Cohen, Sinthia Gutierrez, Nicole Ojeda, Alyssa Quintana, Samantha Sluka.
Perez will also take the stage with his dance partner Carolina Montilla in a lyrical routine and an Afro-Cuban Salsa performance.
Some of the youngest members of the community will get involved through a performance by the Hispanic Cultural Center of Oyster Bay as they sing a Spanish version of the extremely popular song from Frozen, “Let it Go.”
Last year’s show debuted the talents of Abigail Santiago on the piano. This year Santiago returns to the stage in a display of her dance abilities to a spirited swing era tune.
Making her OBHS Talent Show debut will be OBHS sophomore and varsity cheerleader Angela Parry, who has a beautiful singing voice that is sure to delight the audience.
Another newcomer to the show is freshman Arianna Chetram. The audience at the Vernon Talent Show earlier this year was impressed with the tremendous singing of Jaiya Chetram. Now it is his sister’s turn as Arianna will take the stage to sing and accompany herself on the piano.
Gould always gets the show started. This year he will perform a song from his 2014 CD release, “Tommy Numbers & the Wildcats.”
Possibly the most important person in the production of a show like this is the sound engineer. Returning this year to set the dials is senior Zoe Gutterman. Frank Imperiale and his theater arts stage crew always enhance the look, execution and professionalism of the show.
The Media Arts Club, which presents the talent show, includes club officers Charlie Dane Lublin (president), Angela Fazzalari (vice president), Ashley Blanz (secretary), Ashley Kowalczyk (treasurer), and Ally Thienel (historian).
Proceeds will go to Oyster Bay’s Sal Pipitone ESL Scholarship and to the Red Cross. Pipitone was a beloved teacher and administrator at Oyster Bay High School who used to be a part of the talent show every year. He loved the New York Rangers and had a passion for running including running the Boston Marathon. In the event of inclement weather, the snow date for the show will be Friday, Feb. 6.
