Waiting anxiously in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union, the crowded audience attending Varieties’ biggest year yet was excited for the show to begin.

Finals for Varieties 2009 took place in the Memorial Union on Friday and Saturday night. Varieties is a student-run talent show sponsored by the Student Union Board.

Katherine Pivec, this year’s producer and senior in art and design, started things off by thanking all those involved, including adviser Lucas Novotny, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies. Then Grandma Mojo’s Moonshine Revival comedy troupe — the night’s emcees — took the stage to introduce the first act of the night, vocalist Michelle Wallace, sophomore in engineering.

Clad in a hot-pink dress, Wallace began her performance with KT Tunstall’s, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.” Finishing the crowds echoing cheers and whistles, Wallace ended with “Happy Girl” by Martina McBride. Grandma Mojo’s returned to the stage with their own song, “Do Run,” during which the four of them took turns making up lyrics. Each time one of them messed up, the crowd — encouraged by the troupe — booed.

“Mystery on Board the Regal Crown” was the first skit of the night. With all sorts of characters aboard, such as Scooby Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang, Bob Barker and all the suspects from Clue, the captain of the ship tried to find out which of them had stolen his wheel. After he enlisted their help, it was only a short time before Mystery Inc. found Ms. Peacock’s servants to be the culprits.

After the skit, Grandma Mojo’s took the stage once again, and read original poems to the laughing audience. They then introduced the next act, dancer Amy V.

With cheers from the crowd, she danced to “I’ll Be.” After her performance, there was a brief 10-minute intermission, then Grandma Mojo’s read two more original poems to the audience.

“These guys get me so jacked up,” said of one of the troupe members before he introduced Philly D. and XL.

“We didn’t practice at all,” said Todd Stevens — also known as XL — after their performance. With the crowd clapping to the beat, the hip-hop duo rapped three different original songs. For the final song, which represented Iowa, the duo wore corn hats.

Next the troupe played “Oscar Winning Moment,” during which they acted out a a vacation scene, stopping occasionally to monologue their “moment.”

The second skit of the night, “Hope For the Holidays,” took the stage next. In the skit, the spoiled princess, Holly Day, is banished to Holitown for not believing in the spirit of the holidays. After a little guidance from some cheerful characters, including Christopher Columbus, Mother Nature, Count Dracula and many more, she starts to believe and learns that the holidays were always in her heart.

Next to perform was one of Iowa State’s a cappella groups, All in Moderation. The group sang three popular love songs, all the while the crowd cheered.

Grandma Mojo’s then played another game, called “Mouse Trap.” While acting out a scene, three of the four members had to walk across the trap-laden stage, blindfolded. As the crowd laughed, one of the troupe was told to do cartwheels all the way to the other side of the stage.

Thankful to be done, Mojo’s introduced the third and final act of the night, “Royal Ruckus in Edinham.”

On their wedding day, Princess Delila is stood up by her prince, whom the people of Edinham believe has been kidnapped. On her quest to find him, accompanied by Sir Carl, his squire, and her bridesmaids, Delila runs into some interesting characters. On the last stop of her adventure, her new friends make her realize that her beloved prince isn’t the nice guy she thought he was.

Singing, “we always knew Delila should be the ruler of the land,” they convince the princess she doesn’t need the prince in order to rule.

After the echoing cheers from the crowd died down, Grandma Mojo’s thanked everyone for coming and announced that there would be a meet and greet with all of the performers. Once the reception was over, and the judges had tallied up all of their scores, the much-awaited awards were finally announced.

Even though they didn’t win “best skit,” Cherrie Castaneda, junior in integrated studio arts, and fairy in “Royal Ruckus in Edinham,” said “preparation was very, very long, but so worth it.”

For one group that did win, “Hope for the Holidays,” the experience was the same.

“It was a tough competition, and everybody deserved to win,” said Ellen Wetherbee, sophomore in elementary education, and best actress as Holly Day.

Best actor: Corey Bogenreif – Sir Carl in Royal Ruckus in Edinham

Best actress: Ellen Wetherbee – Holly Day in Hope for the Holidays

Best supporting actor: Alex Erwin – Dracula in Hope for the Holidays

Best supporting actress: Cara Dykhuis – Highlighter in Perfect Circles

Best music:

Hope for the Holidays

Best costumes: Perfect Circles

Best set: Royal Ruckus in Edinham

Best line: “We might have to heat things up a bit!” – Kristiaan Swinton in Dragon, Royal Ruckus in Edinham

Best choreography: Mystery on Board the Regal Crown

Best cameo: Brandt Schumacher – Nemo in Deep Sea Dilemma

Best plot: Royal Ruckus in Edinham

Best duet: Chad Lewis and Lisa Maubach – Columbus and Mother Nature in Hope For the Holidays

Best directors: Mystery on Board the Regal Crown

Best tech: Mystery on Board the Regal Crown

Most spirit: Hope for the Holidays

Best vignette: Winner – All in Moderation; second – Philly D & XL; third – Michelle Wallace

The vart (person who has been involved the longest, showed a lot of dedication and is most experienced): Corey Bogenreif in Sir Carl – Royal Ruckus in Edinham

People’s choice: Hope for the Holidays

Best skit: Winner – Hope for the Holidays; second – Royal Ruckus in Edinham; third – Mystery on Board the Regal Crown