For many theater fans at Kenyon, this semester has brought nothing but hits. Continuing this string of performances, the Broken Legs — Kenyon’s premier musical theater a cappella group — delivered an applause-worthy finale to the pre-Thanksgiving season at their fall concert on Saturday. They crowned the semester with a toe-tapping medley of musical theater favorites.

After a triumphant opening performance by the Pep Band, the Broken Legs set the tone for the evening by starting with Pippin’s iconic opening number, “Magic to Do.” The Broken Legs lived up to their promise of enchantment, both in their song choice and their vocal talents. 

As one would expect from seasoned performers, the group’s ensemble numbers were memorable, fan-favorite spectacles. But the joy of hearing their renditions of classics Mary Poppins and the Green Day jukebox musical American Idiot didn’t come from the songs’ iconic status, but the reimagined, fresh energy the Broken Legs brought to these old favorites. During the finale, I hardly realized that the group was performing Green Day’s famous “21 Guns” until the chorus; the group’s carefully crafted harmonies and irresistible enthusiasm transformed the song into something entirely new. 

However, the group numbers didn’t overshadow the duet and solo performances, which were equally magical. Audra Naille ’25 soloed ABBA’s classic “Name of the Game,” from Mamma Mia!, an impeccable rendition that brought smiles to theater enthusiasts and casual fans alike. My personal favorite moments were the group’s performance of “Agony” from Into the Woods and the viciously hilarious Mean Girls hit “Apex Predator.” Otto Fox ’27 and Nico Galbreath ’28 brought “Agony” to life not just through vocal talent, but with some beloved theatrical charm; the two soloists traded glances and comic asides throughout the number, getting plenty of laughs from the audience. Similarly, “Apex Predator” likens high school social life to vicious predator-prey relationships in the wild. Soloists Liz Teleisha ’27 and Rachel Zarkowsky ’28 embodied every bit of the song’s ridiculous premise, giving a performance that was equal parts charming, catchy and hilarious. On the calmer end of things, duets of Seussical’s nostalgic “Alone in the Universe” and the beloved “City of Stars” from “La La Land” were heartachingly lovable, artfully performed by pairs Cyrus Griffin ’25 and Maggie Scheer ’28 and Sophia Procops ’26 and Soren Roeser ’26, respectively.

Likely the most memorable part of the evening, however, was the famous (or infamous) Kenyon a cappella “Newbie Song,” a tradition where new members of a group arrange and perform a song by themselves. As Jadelynn Corzo ’28, Beatrix Flynn ’28, Galbreath, Scheer and Zarkowsky took to the stage, I wondered about the amount of work that must have gone into the process. Zarkowsky, who arranged the newbie performance, admitted that it was quite the challenge at first. “[It] was very scary because I honestly had no idea what I was doing,” she told the Collegian. But despite the responsibility, she is nothing but encouraged by Saturday’s performance. “I will definitely be arranging more [music] in the future for this group…I am so happy with how it turned out!” It is this enthusiasm and hard work that was evident as the first-years performed “Wake Up” from the Alanis Morissette jukebox musical Jagged Little Pill. With this group of new singers, Kenyon can look forward to many more memorable evenings with the Broken Legs.