On March 25, members of the Carnegie Mellon fraternities and sororities spent a day not studying, but rather singing and dancing at Greek Sing. Through the event, the Greek community raises money for a chosen charity; this year, it raised $12,000 for Doctors Without Borders. Held at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland, Greek Sing is an annual philanthropic cabaret of short, theatrical adaptations of popular movies and musicals. Greek organizations may either perform an act by themselves in the singles division, or join up with another group for the doubles division. Regardless of division, no act may go longer than thirteen minutes, and all groups are responsible for putting together their own sets and costumes. Saturday's big winners were Delta Gamma and Kappa Delta Rho in the doubles division and Theta Xi in the singles division.
The evening started with a performance from School of Drama seniors of "Seasons of Love" from the musical RENT, as well as "Snuff that Girl" from CFA's most recent musical performed on campus, Urinetown. The performance featured the acting, singing, and dancing talents of the senior musical theatre majors at their finest.
The first competitive performance was a doubles division act with Alpha Chi Omega and Alpha Epsilon Pi presenting scenes from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The hard work of both organizations was evident as performers executed lifts and gymnastic feats with ease. The "Sweet Transvestite" Frank N. Furter, portrayed by SCS senior Brian Thompson, thrilled the crowd with his vocals and feminine appearance, enhanced by pearls and lingerie. The group presented such songs as "Time Warp," "Touch Me," and "Sweet Transvestite."
Rocky Horror was followed by a step show performed by the ladies of Kappa Phi Lambda in their premiere Greek Sing performance. The girls took a moment during their show to thank the Greek community for the chance to perform and said they hope for many Greek Sing performances in the future. Their well-executed performance hinged on the accuracy of the complex rhythms made by using the body and feet. At one point, the girls blindfolded themselves and continued to perform their show with accuracy and grace.
Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon continued the doubles competition with their performance based on the popular Baz Lurhmann film, Moulin Rouge. The Soldiers & Sailors stage was full of can-can dancers, bohemians, and courtesans as the Greeks assembled a lit and decorated spinning windmill, the trademark of the infamous Moulin Rouge. However, the set was not the only thing of note. The group had an inventive usage of light and movement, as seen with the candle formations during "Come What May," when chorus members assumed the position of Indian gods. Another remarkable part of the show was their performance of the song "Like a Virgin," performed by an all male chorus of Sigma Phi Epsilons with Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towels.
Next, Kappa Alpha Theta and Phi Kappa Theta performed selections from the Broadway musical Once on this Island. The audience was transported to the French Antilles as the Greeks told the story of a woman and man who are in love, but live in two very different worlds. The colorful costumes and strong vocals engaged the crowd as the performers sang songs such as "Waiting for Life to Begin" in this tale of star-crossed lovers and the gods that meddle in their lives.
After a 10-minute intermission, audience members were transported into the world of pop superstars Boyz II Men as the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon told a fictional saga about the group's chaotic rise to fame. The first group in the singles division, it featured a guest appearance by the ghost of TV's Patrick Duffy (Step by Step) and Boyz II Men hits "I'll Make Love to You" and "Water Runs Dry." At the end of the show, Boyz II Men members LaMarcus and Nathan, played by HSS junior Damian Canetti-Rios and CIT junior Dan Gilmour, had a touching reunion that kept the audience laughing and singing.
This humorous tale was followed by Delta Delta Delta and Pi Kappa Alpha's musical rendering of the hit movie Wedding Crashers. The performance told the story of two "wedding crashers" who finally fall for the wrong wedding guests. The performance featured songs from the movie, such as "Shout," as well as other songs from pop culture like "Total Eclipse of the Heart," complete with a heartfelt performance by multi-colored ribbon dancers.
"Ghostbusters" was the next performance, performed as part of the singles competition by Beta Theta Pi. The performance told the memorable story of four friends who "ain't afraid of no ghosts" as they battle to save New York City. Featuring the song "Monster Mash" and ending with a touching rendition of "We Are the World" with a guest appearance from Michael Jackson, "Ghostbusters" received lots of laughs and appreciation from the audience.
Delta Gamma and Kappa Delta Rho put forth their skills to perform scenes from the Broadway musical Big River next, with vocals that touched the audience with their power and energy. The performance started and ended with the presentation of a large story book that read "Big River." This story of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the journey that leads to his self-discovery was engaging and diverse in its material. The show included a particularly energetic performance of the song "Waitin' for the Light to Shine."
The last performance came from Theta Xi in the singles division performing a musical version of the classic film The Graduate. The performance told the story of college senior Michael who gets involved with Mrs. Robinson, an older professor. This affair leads to much heartache for Michael, but in the end, he perseveres. Of course, the popular Simon and Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" was the centerpiece of the performance, but it also reached into the world of rap with the big finale song, Nas' "I Can."
At the end of the night, awards were presented for performance, philanthropy, helpfulness, and overall achievement. In the singles division, Theta Xi walked away with first place, while Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi received second and third place, respectively. Delta Gamma and Kappa Delta Rho took home first place in the doubles division, with Alpha Chi Omega and Alpha Epsilon Pi placing second and Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon placing third. The award for most money raised went to Delta Delta Delta, while Kappa Kappa Gamma received the most helpful award. Finally, the overall achievement award went to Kappa Delta Rho and Delta Gamma. This was based not only on performance scores, but also on the amount of money raised.
Regardless of who won and lost, this year's Greek Sing kept people laughing hard and singing along, all while helping a worthy charity.

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 Musical theater seniors start Greek Sing out right, singing a song from "RENT" and another from "Urinetown." |  Even while blindfolded, the sisters of Kappa Phi Lambda are able to stay on beat and perform their step routine. |
 Alpha Epsilon Pi and Alpha Chi Omega paired off to perform a rendition of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" for this year's Greek Sing. |  MCS sophomore George Diabes (left) and HSS senior Meredith Clark play the lead roles in Sigma Phi Epsilon and Kappa Kappa Gamma's performance of "Moulin Rouge." |
 At March 25's Greek Sing, Phi Kappa Theta and Kappa Alpha Theta's "Once On This Island" featured "the gods." |  These Kappa Alpha Theta sisters and Phi Kappa Theta brothers don the outfits of the lower class in their rendition of "Once On This Island." |
 Phi Kappa Theta brothers and Kappa Alpha Theta sisters gather together at the end of their Greek Sing performance of "Once On This Island." |  HSS junior Damian Canetti-Rios (left) and CIT junior Dan Gilmour lead their Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers in a comical Greek Sing performance explaining the creation of Boyz II Men. |
 Delta Delta Delta sisters gather around Russ Savage, CIT junior and Pi Kappa Alpha brother, during the March 25 Greek Sing performance of "Wedding Crashers." |  During their "Ghostbusters" performance, Beta Theta Pi brothers fight off the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. |
 Sitting at the front of the Greek Sing stage at Soldiers & Sailors Hall, these Beta Theta Pi brothers discuss their successful "ghostbusting." |  Huck Finn gets a lecture about getting into heaven during Delta Gamma and Kappa Delta Rho's performance of "Big River." |
 Kappa Delta Rho brothers and Delta Gamma sisters gather around "Huck Finn" during their performance of "Big River" at March 25's Greek Sing. |  The brothers of Theta Xi end their Greek Sing show, "The Graduate," by singing "I Can" by Nas. |
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