By Katherine Yeager | Contributor
Dinosaurs and song diversity dominate this year's Nostalgia Night. Hosted by Student Activities Council (SAC), this event will be the first major on-campus tradition to take place in the updated Rediger Chapel.
The prehistoric theme was inspired by the movies "Jurassic World," released in 2015, and "Jurassic Park," released in 1993. The original film, now 23 years old, is far from archaic, but still feels nostalgic to many.
When audience members arrive, "tour guides" will lead the way through the course of the evening and of history. Senior Erin Hoeft, SAC cabinet president, encourages students to bring their phones or electronic devices for social media components and other forms of audience involvement throughout the evening.
Sophomore Noah Nemni and junior Elyse Horb will serve as fearless adventurers and event MC's.
"To prepare ourselves for the Jurassic Park theme, (Noah and I) decided to watch the Jurassic Park movies," Horb said. "But the violence was too much for us, so instead we watched a 'Land Before Time' marathon." While the theme may be dinosauric in proportions, no prehistoric creatures will come to life during the show.
This year, the SAC cabinet worked to provide a wider range of songs and genres, appealing to a broader audience.
"Some of the critiques of Nostalgia Night are that they use songs that people are not really familiar with," Hoeft said. "We went out of our way to diversify the song styles. We have everything from your classic Beatles songs to your classic Michael Jackson to a grunge song."
Nearly 35 acts auditioned. Twelve made the show. Some acts to be on the lookout for are group performance "Bohemian Rhapsody" led by junior Evan Miyakawa and solo act "Heart of Gold" by senior Chris Jordan.
"I am so pumped for the 12 nostalgic acts," Horb said, "Especially Cam Glass singing-it's the first time he has ever done a Taylor show, and his true talents will finally be showcased."
Hoeft is most excited to see the audience reactions. The cabinet debated until 3 a.m. about which acts would perform. She hopes that everyone can connect with at least one song among the night's performances.
Nostalgia Night is a long-standing Taylor tradition with similarities to Late Night at TU, held in October. While Late Night resembled its Jimmy Fallon namesake, with a variety of modern music acts, Nostalgia Night focuses on past hits, from turn of the century ballads to '80s rock anthems. Past themes have ranged from "Upland," a spin off a '70s Disneyland in 2014, to a New Year's Gatsby theme in 2015.
Tickets will be sold for Saturday's event in the DC during lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday, and at the door for $5.00. However, reserved front row seats will be sold for $10 for the exceptionally adventurous. The doors will open at 7:30 p.m. and the event will start at 8:15 p.m.
