The highly anticipated Dakota Night Live (Dakota’s Version of Saturday Night Live) hit the stage last weekend. The cast included over thirty talented members, including Dakota Freshmen through Seniors. Dakota Night Live (DNL) consisted of fourteen wacky scenes in addition to three amazing musical guests. This creative format was put on instead of a spring play. DNL had a shorter run time with shows only one weekend on Friday April 21st and Saturday April 22nd instead of two weekends like this schoolyear’s musical. It was held in the Dakota Main Building Auditorium at 7:00pm each evening. The show was directed by Mr. Christian Boni, produced by Mr. Tyler Dargis, and the technical director was Mr. Maxwell Pagano.

All the scripts were written by students, except for the opening and closing sketches. Those were written by the director, Mr. Boni. Students credited for writing skits are Olivia Amore, Mia Serra, Colin Mikla, Caitlyn Zannetti, Dante Dagati, Luke Klochack, Monday Skrocki, Jacob Rogowski, Keegan Amez, Ashton Posner, Alyssa Sharp, Aliyah Elkins, Seven Griggs, Claire Kraft, Kate Kraft, Aliza Black, Gina Miller, and Aiden Debbs. The co-hosts were Senior Mia Serra and Junior Olivia Amore. They both did a wonderful job and kept the show moving seamlessly from scene to scene. 

There was an eclectic mix of topics ranging from weekend news reports to beauty pageants to a horror skit, but they were all tied together in the end during the closing scene. DNL showcased a British singing competition whose judges seem familiar, giving the students an opportunity to show off some hilariously awful singing skills. There was a family zoom meeting which featured many struggles that may be relatable to those who have ever had to celebrate a holiday virtually. Another scene involved a sleepover that turns spooky, when a group of girls decides to bring out the Ouija board. Equally frightening was the horror skit, where toys come to life after being tormented by a little girl. On a lighter note, the beauty pageant contestants spoke in accents and enthusiastically displayed some of their unique talents. A humorous segment involved a character being able to see the audience when everyone else couldn’t and they didn’t believe him. Phobia’s Anonymous featured a support group where people were scared of everything from guitars to loud noises. In the closing scene, the entire DNL cast came onstage to bring it all together.

Curtain Acts were interspersed among the many skits. The first musical guest was Anna DiCicco who beautifully sang “They Just Keep Moving the Line”. Senior Aiden Debbs played the guitar and sang the song “No Rain” with Junior Alyssa Sharp in a wonderful version of the song. The final musical guest was Junior Aliza Black who played the piano and sang “Wondering” from the show High School Musical the Musical the Series with Freshman Nadia Bronzino, in a talented rendition.  

The next Dakota production will be the Spring Spectacular on Friday May 19th at 7pm in Dakota’s Main Building Auditorium. Tickets can be bought at www.dakotachoirs.com.