Off The Beat presents 'Turkey Day' sequel

Hasta la vista . . . turkey? No, it isn't the Arnold Schwarzenegger Thanksgiving Day Parade. It's Off the Beat's fall show entitled A Cappellinator II: Turkey Day which opens tonight in the University Museum's Rainey Auditorium. Members of the group promised that this year's show, like any good sequel, will be even better than its predecessors and feature brand new, intricately arranged songs. "We're doing more new material than we've ever done before," said Off the Beat President Julie Gershman. "So far, our new stuff has been received really well so we're really psyched for the show." Gershman said that all of the songs to be performed were arranged by past and present members of the group and none were bought from outside arrangers -- a practice common among many other a cappella groups. The group has also had a chance to try out some of the new songs during guest appearances at the University of Virginia and at Haverford College, she said. In order to make the show even more exciting, the group has invited two of the country's best and most well-known college a cappella singing groups -- the Columbia Kingsmen and the Tufts Beelzebubs -- to appear with them in the show. Both groups, particularly the Beelzebubs, are known for arranging songs that would seem to be impossible to do a cappella. Some of these unusual arrangements include Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" and a rewritten version of M.C. Hammer's "Can't Touch This." But Gershman said that the visiting groups will not be the only ones singing difficult and challenging numbers. "We're doing some really funky, interesting, and extremely difficult arrangements," she said. "We hope to prove to the community that we can do songs that seem un-a cappella-able and do them well." And Off The Beat Music Director David Quart, an Engineering senior, said that even if audience members do not appreciate the arrangements, most of the songs the group sings are popular and will be familiar to the audience. "I guess you could call our brand of music 'popular progressive,' " he said. "A lot of the stuff we do can be heard on the radio on a regular basis." Quart added that he felt that knowing the songs will help the audience enjoy the show even more. "When you know the song, you can really get into it and it becomes all the more fun to hear it done a cappella," he said. A Cappellinator II: Turkey Day opens tonight and continues tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. in Rainey Auditorium at the University Museum. Tickets are available on Locust Walk.

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