Puttin’ on the Ritz at East Ridge 3/1/13

“If you’re blue and you don’t know where to go why don’t you go where fashion sits, puttin’ on the Ritz” Oh, sorry, that’s the only part of that song I know the words to and it has been stuck in my head since East Ridge’s show choir, Rhythm of the Knight performed it at their concert on Friday night.

I know there’s something about Super Troopers and Gary Cooper in there too, but I digress. This is why I’m not a performer. I’ll leave that to the up and coming stars at East Ridge High School. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” was the title of this tribute to the movies as well the opening number that the group sang (along with a little help from young Frankenstein’s monster, played by Peter Boyle).

The Rhythm of the Knight kids were all clad in Oscar gold as they sang numerous movie hits to the rather large audience. Above the group of singers was a large screen with scenes from some of the most memorable motion pictures being projected for the audience which added to the ambiance.

The ensemble of 13 talented high school students began the night by saluting timeless movie hits like The Wizard of Oz and Casablanca. The performers also gave short backgrounds to some of the movies and stars they were honoring in between numbers.

Next they paid tribute to the animation of Walt Disney with songs from Tarzan, Brave, and Cars. A good portion of the production was dedicated to romance films as their love songs are often the most popular and emotional of all.

The group beautifully and harmoniously performed the famous ballads from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Bodyguard, Titanic, and City of Angels. They finished up the romance portion of the night with a movie montage and the song “Up Where We Belong” with the help of seasoned singers JudyAnn Keith and Billy Flanigan.

Next the crew honored the popular dance flicks by bringing out some of East Ridge’s best theatrical dancers who performed choreographed numbers while the others sang.

During this dance sequence the kids were able to give us a fun sneak peek of their upcoming production of Footloose as they performed the popular song of the same name from that film.

Each of the performers said “Thank You” as they dedicated the song “What I Did for Love” to their supportive family members and showed off embarrassing baby pictures of themselves. Then the night ended with a medley of “cult classics” including “Old Time Rock n’ Roll” from Risky Business (loved the sunglasses and dance moves, Nick) and songs from The Wiz.

The concert was fun and emotional as Rhythm of the Knight truly did honor the movies that have become such a pinnacle in society.

As artists, I know they appreciate film as another form of art and I know they love the music behind these films as they sang their hearts out for us. The guys and the gals both showed talent beyond their years as they effortlessly sang these beloved tunes.

The next show for East Ridge, as I mentioned before, is Footloose: The Musical which will be playing from April 3-7 and if this preview is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to. For more information or to be added to the theater department’s mailing list contact Director Vince Santo atsantov@lake.k12.fl.us.