WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange High School’s (WOHS) Tarnoff Cafeteria was filled with excitement, emotion and talent at the Glee Club’s first annual Broadway Night! Gabrielle Florendo and Daniella Rodriguez brought tears to people’s eyes in their version of “A Boy Like That” from the 1957 musical phenomenon “West Side Story.”  The chemistry was unreal and the emotion their voices brought to the performance is something not many people can do. The pair of juniors went on to present another amazing performance alongside sophomore, Indigo Jackson, in the “Hamilton” classic, “Schuyler Sisters.”

Afterwards, Kefiloe Mutume, sang the beautiful piece, “Your Daddy’s Son” from “Ragtime,” giving a chilling and mesmerizing performance. Tyreek Voltaire sang another song from “Ragtime” called, “Make Them Hear You,” a heartwarming song, rooted in the racial struggles of the past but remains timeless.

Along with these incredibly touching, show stopping performances, came the numbers that filled the room with laughter, such as “The Book of Mormon” classic, “You and Me (But Mostly Me),” sang by Brandon Morrison and Aidan Tarantino. Their performance was amazing, not only for their silky smooth voices, but also for their comedic timing.

Vincent Means also performed yet another hilarious number, most would be familiar with: “Friend like Me,” from the musical, “Aladdin.” The way Means interacted with the audience and created energy to fill the room with both laughter and happiness made the number irresistible. Even Mr. Hellyer, the WOHS chorus teacher, got on stage to perform “You’ll Be Back,” from Hamilton, once again, filling the auditorium with laughter.

But the group numbers were a different kind of incredible. Khalil Louigene and Julian Adams performed,  “What You Own,” from the hit musical “Rent,” a classic show that never fails to fill an auditorium with smiles. The final piece of the night was “What the World needs Now is Love,” the number was filled with too many soloists to name, and really gave the entire night one final blowout. The powerful words rang throughout the room, “What the world needs now is love,” and who better to tell it to the world, than Glee kids on Broadway night.