This Thursday, our school’s Variety Show will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Billed as “objectively the best Yorktown tradition” by the posters advertising it across the building, its occurrence goes back decades. This year’s edition will adopt an open-microphone format, where anyone can sign up to take the stage.

The new system is a large move away from the old one. In the past, who performed was determined by auditions and then cuts. But coming out of the pandemic, which canceled the show in 2020 and 2021, not many students—save for seniors and some juniors—were aware of the show’s existence, which led to very few tryouts. This led organizers to reevaluate, opting to try and fit in whoever showed interest.

“It went a lot better than a lot of us expected,” Lead Organizer of the Variety Show Ryan Zito said.

With the new format now officially in place, this year’s show will see approximately 15 student acts and four to five staff acts. Zito notes that it will be a bit of a challenge to fit everyone in, but the “fast and loose” nature makes it work.

Most of the performances tend to be musical, though plenty of different acts have taken place in the past. Last year, a few students recited monologues from theater productions, and every once in a while someone will do spoken word poetry. There are singers, pianists, duets, flutists, bands and more.

One of the headline bands this year is the Yorktown Yahoos, a band composed of Michael Zito (or Uncle Zito, as Zito calls him), Dr. Daniel Carroll, Allen Beland and some other now-retired teachers.

“They’re all coming back together to play what’s probably going to be their last show ever,” Zito said.

Another aspect of the show is that it’s hosted by 28th Street Improv.

“28th St. Improv is Yorktown’s second-best and only improv comedy group, of which I am the sponsor,” Zito said.

Also performing is Zito himself, who says that people will have to show out to find out what he’s planning.

“I’ll be making a bigger fool out of myself than I usually do,” Zito said.

The Variety Show will immediately follow the Visual Arts Show, which is currently being set up in the atrium. Different forms of visual art—including photography, paintings and ceramics—created by the students of our school are celebrated. It starts at 5:30, and Zito encourages people to come out before the Variety Show. The night will shape up to be a great celebration of the arts at Yorktown, and students should certainly try and attend.