A small stage with poles in the middle could not stop Northwestern’s premier drum, dance and rhythm ensemble, Boomshaka, from pulling out all the stops at its sold out annual spring show Friday and Saturday at Shanley Pavilion.
The show, titled “MOST WANTED,” featured dancing and drumming numbers alongside skits, body percussion and several other unconventional instruments, including boomwhackers and broomsticks.
Each of the pieces was loosely centered around a money heist theme, inspired by the 2025 Louvre robbery, Weinberg junior Clayton Zipperian, who serves as a drummer and executive producer for Boomshaka, said.
“That idea of a heist kind of stuck around and became the most loyal motif,” Zipperian said. “One of the great things about our spring show is that it offers a lot of thematic and artistic flexibility … it’s more about the product that we’re putting on the stage than the theme that it follows.”
A variety of pieces hit the stage, set to music ranging from popular hits like Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” and RAYE’s “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND?” to an acapella rendition of “The Pink Panther Theme” by Henry Mancini.
The time in between dancing and drumming was filled with skits written and produced by Boomshaka’s members about museum heists, court cases and even superheroes.
For McCormick and Communication first-year Aether Yun, these skits added to their enjoyment of the production.
“I was quite pleasantly surprised because I wasn’t expecting all of the other things that (Boomshaka) added to make this into a full show, like all of the skits in between dances,” Yun said.
While the dancing and drumming sets generated audience applause that could be heard from outside the pavilion, the skits kept audience members laughing throughout the almost two-hour show.
Zipperian said that although the hours spent planning and practicing for the show could be a lot, putting on the show challenged him and his fellow cast members in ways he never could have imagined.
“I didn’t think that I would ever meet a group of people that can put on these really moving and emotional performances, but also like something that’s a little more over the top and cartoony, like the superhero piece,” Zipperian said. “Being surrounded by people that are this creative and talented, it really brings the best out of all of us.”
Communication sophomore Moorea Lambert came to the show to support her friends who were involved. Lambert said she anticipated the talented dancers and drummers, but left feeling blown away by the smaller details and interludes she was not prepared for.
With constant costume changes, pieces where performers stepped outside of their comfort zones by switching their typical roles, like “Dancers Drumming” and “Drummers Dancing,” and a large variety of props and sound making devices, the show kept audience members on their toes.
“They have something for everyone,” Lambert said. “I was entertained, I was moved, I was really impressed and I felt very lucky to get to see so many students’ passions reflected.”
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