Fall Follies filled MPAC with laughter during the opening night of the group’s 24th annual performance Thursday.
The “Follies: 2000” theme made for a performance full of references to everything from MySpace to “The Matrix.”
The show also included musical interludes from the “2k Boys,” who covered some early 2000s classics that had the crowd roaring with laughter. Their performances were crowd favorites and kept everyone thoroughly entertained during set changes.
Playing into the 2000s theme, a breakout sketch of the night was a parody of the “High School Musical” song “Stick to the Status Quo,” which was full of popular references and jokes at Belmont’s expense — including the classic Bongo Java jokes that seem to pop up every year.
Along with the abundance of 2000s references, the Follies crew stuck with tradition and took every opportunity to roast Belmont. Some highlights were a “Harry Potter” themed sketch that mocked Alpha Tau Omega and a video titled “Belmont Bops,” which parodied rap songs to make them “Belmont friendly.”
Though there were plenty of high points throughout the show, some of the sketches and jokes just didn’t land quite right. A sketch about a woman not knowing she was in a relationship with a raccoon left audience members wondering what had just happened.
Some other sketches just seemed unfinished, didn’t have an ending or left a little too much room for confusion.
That being said, those moments were few and far between, and the cast did a great job bringing back the laughs soon after.
One highlight of the night was a sketch about sweet tea, which alluded to a kid coming out to his parents. The Follies cast leaned into this Southern twist on a touchy subject and delivered an incredibly funny sketch that was truly one of the best performances of the night.
Overall, “Follies: 2000” evoked plenty of the nostalgia Belmont students seem to love so much, while also making fun of the university.
Although some of the sketches were a little out there, sketches like a video tour of places to cry on campus delivered plenty of laughs and made the show truly memorable.
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Photos by Liz Gresser