Palatine High School has delivered once again with the 2025 Variety Show, “Mic Drop.” Great music, dancing, and humor created an unforgettable night that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Act I

As the lights dimmed and the curtains opened on Thursday, Palatine’s very own PEP squad kicked off the show with an energetic cheer and dance performance to “Born This Way.” Their performance had the audience —myself included—clapping and cheering all the way from start to finish.

Bringing a different vibe to the show was the Jazz Ensemble’s performance of “Second Line.” With outstanding rhythm and a wonderfully playful melody, I definitely enjoyed their talent. Notable was Angel Pimentel’s jaw-dropping trumpet solo.

Following that high-energy set was a performance that tugged at the heartstrings. “Magnolia,” performed by Abby Schorsch and accompanied by Q’uran Clark on the guitar, brought a gentle and emotional shift to the night — one that left the room still and mesmerized.

Switching gears completely was Rosie Hall’s martial arts performance to the tune of “Radioactive.” While the intensity of her movements and vocal expressions certainly surprised me and many in the audience, her confidence and commitment to the performance were undeniable.

“I am kind of in awe of the amount of talent that our students have,” social studies teacher and V-Show chaperone Luke Miller said. “I get to see them in one capacity in the classroom, and oftentimes the students are mild-mannered and well-behaved. And then they get out on stage, and they have a ton of expression.”

This kind of expression was definitely evident in “Ya te Olvide,” performed by Cindy Hernandez. Hernandez had a powerful voice, singing beautifully and captivating the audience. I found this performance to be extremely memorable.

Adding a unique flair to the show was Jefferson Shija. Shija performed a beautiful rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect,” wooing the crowds as he confidently sang his heart out while strolling around the stage. I’ve known Shija for a while, and his talents were certainly a welcome surprise to me. That’s one of the things I really admire about the V-Show—its ability to make me see another side of my fellow peers as they perform on stage.

Maria Bustos Reyes and Ashly Ascensio brought a jolt of energy with their mash-up of songs with a very well-rehearsed performance, as the duo danced to K-pop songs. They looked very confident on stage as their friends in the audience cheered them on.

Lexi Turner echoed this confidence with her performance of “Georgia.” Turner’s past performances in musicals were definitely evident in her singing voice—hitting all the high notes and delivering a beautiful song. Ella Lloyd’s piano-playing accompaniment was stellar and a wonderful addition.

Bringing a beautiful show was El Legado Del Mariachi performing “Como Quien Pierde una Estrella.” This mariachi band was out of this world. Every performer was extremely talented and had the entire audience captivated. Their singing voices were spectacular as well.

Next, Palatine High School Orchesis took to the stage, performing very impressive ballet moves. Memorable was Senior Lily Phipson’s performance. She actually choreographed the performance herself, bringing a wonderful atmosphere and showcasing fantastic dancers.

Changing the vibe was “Nice Dream,” performed by Hope Bizzell. Bizzell’s performance was some of the best guitar playing of the night. I found her voice to be very enchanting and the song wonderful overall.

One of the fan favorites of the night, Caden Schiavone, performed a mix of famous songs on the drums. This performance really wowed me. He began with Mötley Crüe’s “Kickstart My Heart,” showcasing some of the best drumming of the night. Switching songs from “Bad Romance” to “APT,” Schiavone had the undeniable biggest applause from the audience.

Continuing with out-of-this-world performances, “Goddess,” performed by Emily Milan and accompanied by Angel Pimentel, was one of my personal favorites. Milan is truly a master of her voice. Their performance did a lot of justice to Laufey’s original. Pimentel’s piano-playing truly amazed me. It was seriously impressive.

Bringing an end to Act 1 was “Master of Puppets,” performed by The Icebreakers, a band composed of Caden Schiavone, Tyler Schiavone, and Ethan Trujillo. Their energy during this performance was unmatched. Notable was Trujillo’s energy that was through the roof. Tyler Schiavone’s guitar playing was impressive as well.

Act 2

Kendall Keller brought a fantastic performance to open the second act, singing “Never Enough.” Keller has a confident and soft, yet powerful, voice. It was flawless as she hit all the high notes. Keller’s singing was undoubtedly one of the most powerful voices of the night.

Orchesis came back in the second act with another fantastic performance choreographed by Maria Bustos Reyes. Junior Abigeal Gbemibade, who performed that night, had a lot of praise for Reyes.

“She’s such a great dancer, and I just love her,” Gbemibade said.

Delivering an awesome performance was Maksim Markovic drumming to “Welcome to Paradise.” Markovic had extremely impressive drumming skills, and he’s definitely a master of his craft. He had an awesome build-up towards the end, culminating in an energetic rock and roll performance.

Leela Agrawal had one of the most unique performances of the night, dancing to a traditional Telugu song. Agrawal was perfectly on point, and I was amazed by her ability to express an entire story just using her body. The fusion of traditional Indian music with rock beats was flawlessly executed as well.

Another one of my personal favorites was “In Hindsight,” an original song performed and written by Anika Tsau. Tsau delivered a beautifully sung song with a graceful voice and perfect guitar playing. The song talked about her ever-changing life and experiences as the clock counted down to the end of her senior year. This was an amazing performance and was really memorable.

When choosing a song to write for this year’s V-show, Tsau originally planned to write a love song. However, she felt that was “anticlimactic for her senior year. She wanted to go a bit more in-depth.

“I feel this [song] was a bit more about senioritis, but not the senioritis where I don’t want to do anything,” Tsau said. “I just kind of feel sadly nostalgic about everything.”

Bringing another blast of creativity was a light show created by the PHS Tech Crew with tunes from the movie “How to Train Your Dragon.” This spectacular display brought “oohs” and “aahs” from all over the audience and was a very fun experience.

Next, Elena Lyons came on stage performing the song “That’s So True” in American Sign Language (ASL). Lyons has amazing performing skills and accurately portrayed the essence and vibe of the song by using her hands and performing confidently on stage. It was a very unique performance.

After a few more performances, the night came to a close with “Mr. Brightside” being performed by a large group of students. It was a wonderful ending for an amazing experience that I would definitely recommend.