Fordham’s oldest a cappella group, The Ramblers, left students, friends and family in an upstanding encore last Friday at their end of the year showcase, “Ramblers Inc.” The all-male group has been entertaining Fordham since 1893 and they continued to do so, overfilling the prep school’s Leonard Theatre, which reaches a maximum capacity at 1000 people, this Spring Weekend.
This year’s showcase exhibited the mass of musical talent present in the group, themed by the ever-loved movie Monsters Inc. which featured a short video directed by Michael “Migs” Guariglia (Randall), FCRH ’17. Each group member participated as a beloved character from the film with shots taken from everywhere around campus. It is obvious that the guys are friends outside of rehearsal. “It’s simultaneously the weirdest and greatest thing I have ever been a part of,” said events coordinator Peter Hulburt (George), FCRH ’16.
“Rambler’s Inc.” began promptly at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night to kick off the anxiously awaited Spring Weekend. The event featured the stylistic performances of Fordham dance groups, Flava and Expressions Dance Alliance.
However, the spotlight most definitely stayed on the Ramblers who started off the show with Teddy Lawlor (Boo), FCRH ’19, who performed “Beast of Burden” followed by Adam Herman (The Abominable Snowman), FCRH ’18, with “Cake by the Ocean”. President Anthony Tantillo (Celia), FCRH ’16, took a break from his famed beat boxing skills to solo in “Drift Away,” which truly portrayed the vast talent of the group. Unfortunately, this talent will be lost at the end of this year as Tantillo and skilled musical director Frankie Caruana, FCRH ’16, graduate this month.
As the night progressed, so did the crowd’s cheers as Will Corona (Mike Wazowski), FCRH ’18, soloed “Thank You” before the crowd was silenced by the group’s arrangement of “Sound and Color,” chilling the audience with the vocals of Hulburt and Guariglia.
The group’s performance only continued from there as Ryan Johnson (Sully), FCRH ’18, and Lawlor advanced with their portrayal of “All of the Lights.” Members of the audience even had to be asked to “quiet down” at a point where those singing along were too loud and had to be silenced by the lovely public safety staff ushering the event.
The most noteworthy performances, however, were saved for last when Habin Lee, FCRH ’17, sang Aerosmith’s “Dream On” in an extraordinary performance. To conclude the night the Ramblers welcomed all past alumni to join them in singing Fordham’s Fight Song “The Ram” before Jake Madsen (Mr. Waternoose), FCRH ’17, Kevin Koulopoulos (Roz), FCRH ’19 and Lawlor gave a touching farewell to the seniors leaving this semester.
“Ramblers Inc.” was the conclusion to a successful year for the a cappella group and, although it marks the end for many of its talented members, it opens a door for those looking to express themselves musically within the Fordham community.
