Freshman Lilly Williams and sophomore Dave Bellet perform a duet.
Anna Northcutt | Collegian

Students performed everything from original ballads to comedy sketches about being in church during “Storytime: A Variety Show,” hosted by sophomore Gabriel Schutte and Hillsdale College for Life Sunday Feb. 15.

Proceeds from the $3 entry fee for the show will go to Hillsdale College for Life, according to sophomore Madeleine Fleury, secretary of the club.

Seated in a rocking chair wearing a fleece-lined blanket hoodie, Schutte wove together a wide variety of performances by reading a fictional narrative about a girl named Becky.

“Becky was scrambled,” Schutte read aloud. “She had just left the last class of the day, which she regretfully remembered happening something like this.”

This was the cue for sophomore Karol Schlueter to perform a parody of “You’ll Be Back” from the musical “Hamilton.” However, instead of King George singing to the American colonies, Schlueter’s lyrics revolved around a professor assuring his students they were stuck in his class.

Fleury, who sang a duet with Schlueter, said he brought a lot of energy to their performance.

“In the words of my voice professor, Kristi Matson, he’s a ham,” Fleury said.

After Schlueter’s parody, Schutte resumed his story, explaining how Becky was sad after losing her boyfriend. To express her feelings of heartache, freshman Lilly Williams and sophomore Dave Bellet sang Laufey’s “From the Start” with Bellet on guitar.

Schutte continued the story, explaining how Becky participated in a variety of activities trying to make herself feel better. In the process she encountered two siblings, Schlueter and Fleury, singing the competitive duet “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better),” three cashiers, seniors Lizzie Putlock, Maria Adamow, and Amelia King, recounting their own experience with love by singing “Travelin’ Soldier” by The Chicks, and countless other performances.

Junior Moriah Mitchell, whose tap-dancing performance represented Becky realizing that she simply wanted to dance for the glory of God, said she purposely chose a song that was very nostalgic for her.

“It was a song that I had danced to before in high school, so I was able to go with my feelings and to tap in the moment and make something that was really special and fun,” Mitchell said. 

According to Mitchell, the choreography she demonstrated in her performance was a mix of pre-planned and improvisation.

“That’s something that is very popular in tap dance culture, so I decided to bring some of that in, and I think it turned out well,” Mitchell said.

According to Fleury, while the people performing know who else is in the show, they don’t find out what the performers are doing until they see it along with everyone else.

“Gabriel does such a good job of tying it together, and the people here are so crazy-talented,” Fleury said.

In addition to narrating, Schutte himself acted in multiple performances, including an ad he wrote about colonoscopies. During the ad, he sang, strummed a ukulele, and played a kazoo, which he managed to operate hands-free by suspending it in front of his face with wires.

“A lot of times, people are super stressed around campus with all the stuff that they have to do, so it’s nice to come and just be in a place where you can laugh and enjoy various talents,” Schutte said. “I have a very creative imagination, so it’s kind of like a playground for me.”

Freshman Olivia Neukam said she appreciated how the show managed to be hilarious while still appropriate for all ages.

“The whole thing was a really big Hillsdale moment. It was so wholesome and so genuinely funny,” Neukam said. “Very Hillsdale—in the best way.”

Schutte concluded Becky’s story and the storytime variety show with a brief reflection on the purpose of stories, particularly the story of the Gospel which informs all others.

“Stories like the one you just experienced are always centered around some grand adventure,” Schutte said. “We know that our supreme adventure is being born. It is from this point that life has so much potential.”