For 68 years now, students at Lincoln Southeast High School (LSE) have been impressing their community with a display of their talents at LSE’s variety show, Nite of Knights. This year was no different, as friends, family, and students gathered in the Jennifer L. Dorsey-Howley Performing Arts Center for a night of fun.
As the lights dimmed, the audience was immediately met with big personalities – the emcees of the show – who created an immersive game show themed experience. The plot of this year’s variety show featured four characters from all walks of life who are in need of life-changing money on the road to competing in a game show for one million dollars. This included an aspiring actress looking to fund the pursuit of her career (Sydney Kjeldgaard, junior), an egotistical scarf maker with a business going bankrupt (Quincy Soto, senior), a humble farmer with “numbug” infested crops (Marley Schroeder, senior), and an improv fanatic who needs to pay her mom’s medical bills after a comical tank accident (Aolani Wilson, senior).
Within the game show story there were talent acts from students expertly weaved throughout. The first act was a high-energy performance of “A Night to Remember” from the Countesses and Noblemen, followed up by a heartfelt song by Charlotte Mar. A common theme throughout all Nite of Knights performances over the years is that they mostly consist of musical performances, which is always a treat; however, a particularly unique instrumental act by Jayden Bach stood out. Bach performed “Senbonzakura” on the Guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument that most likely haven’t seen live in Lincoln, Nebraska.
After Bach’s number, there was a concise summary of Barbie (2023) from LSE speech team participants Phoenix Braatz, Timber Woodedge and AJ Lemke presented through what they call Oral Interpretation. The rest of Act 1 consisted of Ellie Aasen, Julie Li and Drew Lohrman delivering their own beautiful vocal performances through songs, the latter being accompanied by the LSE orchestra. Miles Melang-Thoren also performed “Nocturne in C minor op. 48 No. 1” on the piano, brought a classical flare to Nite of Knights and earned one of the biggest applauses in the first half of the show.
It’s not just the performers who clearly shined during Nite of Knights, but the tech department too. Each act is accompanied with lighting and projections on the stage that cleverly help set the mood for every performance. The running crew also did well, changing the set from a living room, to a game show, to an empty stage in between skits and performances right on time. It’s important to acknowledge the efficiency of these transitions, considering that the tech crew didn’t have long to prepare. Because of those behind the curtain, the audience was able to enjoy Nite of Knights to the fullest extent.
After an intermission full of excited chatter and praise from the audience, we were thrown right back into the show, with the LSE Jazz band erupting into song. The band performed “Tank!” from cult classic anime “Cowboy Bebop”, delivering an electrifying beat-for-beat recreation of the theme that became my favorite act of the whole night. Following this was Quincy Soto, continuing the outstanding quality of the previous act with “Being Alive”. Soto’s vocals were simultaneously emotional and clear, with a stunning mix of head and chest voice, showing that he is incredible at his craft.
Throughout the show we continued to see the game show narrative develop and build up to the climax; all of the characters have now competed in their own shows and are gearing up for the big one. The characters, although flawed, are all extremely likable, which further built anticipation for who will win the cash prize they’re all after. The emcees all did an amazing job establishing and making us root for (or against) characters that the audience hadn’t known for long, while participating in the talent acts and playing extra characters all within one show. DaZayah Hartshorn-Harvey did especially well, getting big laughs from his variety of jokes as the game show host.
Nearing the end of Act 2, the viewers were treated to more vocal performances from Brennan Pence, singing “From the Start”, and LSE’s jazz choir Ars Nova’s a capella rendition of “Somebody that I Used to Know”. There were also instrumental acts by Jayson Bach and Thomas Brunero. Bach showcased a unique acoustic guitar playing technique through the playing of “Carmen Habanera” that involves string plucking and bass slapping, imitating the sound of multiple musicians with just one instrument. Brunero also played solo, delivering the famous song “Eruption” on the electric guitar. Not only was this performance excellent in execution, but you could tell that Brunero was passionate about it through his stage presence.
After the final talent acts we finally got to see the game show involving all the emcees. Though it was a comically tight competition, Aolani Wilson’s character won the prize money through her expertise in improv, providing a satisfying conclusion to the emcees’ storyline and leading into the best part of the night, an interactive improv game that incorporated the audience.
The LSE improv team named “Houston…We Have Improv” took the stage and explained what they do to the audience, letting members from the crowd shout out answers that dictated how the improv skit went. We first got to see an act about the imaginary deleted scene from a made up move called “Bathroom Floor” involving the comical portrayal of two people trying to clean up dead bodies while their unsuspecting neighbor tries to make small talk through the door. Up next was the story of a middle aged woman calling for help with a trivial flat tire and instead receiving a slew of made up superheroes who just made things devastatingly worse.
While improv can oftentimes be awkward and hard to watch, especially when done by those who aren’t professionals, this team was extremely witty and engaging. I was very impressed with the skits, and by the sound of the uproarious laughter of the audience, it seemed that everyone agreed. Nite of Knights definitely stuck the landing, closing out an incredible show and leaving the audience happy and inspired.S
In a world of short form content and streaming services, it’s refreshing to witness two hours of nothing but true talent from the students of LSE. Live theater and keeping young adults interested in the arts is incredibly important, which is exactly why Nite of Knights has been put on for so long. This show was without a doubt worth the time and money spent and left us with performances which the Lincoln community won’t soon forget.
