Written by: Claire Bisch
It started with Wicked and ended with Dirty Dancing, with many impressive numbers in between.
After months of hard work and rehearsals, Limelight 2025 finally hit the stage in KCI’s auditorium on November 13th and 14th. This student-run variety show has drawn in crowds for the past eleven years since its inception in 2015, and has continued to grow over the past decade as a fundraiser for the Waterloo Regional Health Network, as well as future KCI Drama productions.
Preparation for the production started in June and continued throughout September. Tireless hours of labour were put into creating the show from all casts: Drama, Dance, and the Music cast, which includes singing and band, as well as the production crew.
The competition between the casts to raise the most money is well-known KCI lore, and audience members got to choose to donate to any of the casts during the intermission. At the end of the show, the directors of the cast that raised the least amount of donations had to eat a whole lime on stage. Rind and all!
Below, The Edge has compiled the highlights from the two-night special.
The show started out strong with a high-energy dance and music number and transitioned to the opening remarks from this year's Limelight Producers, Zane McKinnon and Neeva Mariapen. They entered the stage dressed as Glinda and Elphaba from the movie and musical, Wicked, effortlessly turning housekeeping notes into humorous banter.
Throughout the show, audience members were entertained by their various bits and exchanges between the acts, also hearing from the directors of the various casts as they came up to comically convince the audience to donate to them.
The first act was filled with many performances featuring several singing numbers, including a vocally stunning performance of “Green Light" by Lorde, “Shake it Out" by Florence & The Machine, and “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo.
The Dance Cast also displayed their abilities with dynamic, driving performances. They danced to “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac - a smooth, vibrant performance that showcased graceful choreography and effective use of lighting. Other dance numbers included a spirited performance of “Northern Attitude” by Noah Kahan and a lively number to one of Frank Sinatra’s most iconic songs, “That’s Life.”
The show also included many sketches presented by the Drama Cast and written entirely by KCI students. The first act included many funny numbers including “There Will Be Flood,” a retelling of the story of Noah’s Arc, and “Frosted Flakes,” a funny skit about the CEO of Kellogg's new rebrand and product, “Kilk,” red coloured milk for your cereal. This sketch included tight comedic performances and an appearance from Tony the Tiger, the Frosted Flakes mascot.
The first half of the show ended off strong with a Top Gun medley which included all four casts. It led into the intermission where audience members donated to their favorite cast.
The total donation from both nights came out to an astounding $6,652 to be donated to the Waterloo Regional Health Network and future KCI Drama productions. This is the highest donations have ever been, doubling from last year's $2,270. Donations on Friday’s sold-out show exceeded those of the Thursday night performance, and all directors were forced to eat a lime. Audience members could smell the sourness all the way from the second row!
The second half of this year’s Limelight started off equally strong, pulling the audience back into the show with an extremely amusing male dance number where they ripped off their sweaters to reveal the letters of “LIMELIGHT”.
This transitioned into a dramatic dance performance to the popular 80s song “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie. The performance featured strong dancing and dramatic costumes, with each dancer wearing a pair of brilliant red gloves.
This was followed by an equally strong performance of “Just What I Needed” by The Cars, with an exceptionally solid performance from the band to back up the singing and staging. The band was very tight throughout the show, accompanying many of the songs throughout the night.
After that performance, the Drama Cast came out to present a hysterical comedy sketch, “Dead Ringer,” about a boxing match that leads to tragedy, resulting in an impromptu funeral. Both rivaling boxers were amazing, stealing the show, and the sportscasters also had incredible performances.
With amazing comedic timing and hilariously well-written sketches, the writing team and Drama Cast outdid themselves in this year’s Limelight, providing strong content from beginning to end and highlighting the amazing talent here at KCI.
In fact, all of the various casts were incredibly talented and it was a great pleasure to see the show and watch all the performers shine.
The show finished with an ensemble number of “Time of my Life” from the movie Dirty Dancing, featuring all performers. This lively and exciting piece closed the show on a high note and the audience rewarded the production with a standing ovation.
Mr. Graham, KCI’s Drama teacher and executive producer of Limelight, expressed his pride in the production: "This year's Limelight was absolutely phenomenal both onstage and off! I could not be more proud of the incredible leadership and vision of this production team for what they pulled off together with this amazingly talented and hardworking cast and crew,” he said, continuing, “This was by far our biggest Limelight yet in terms of the audiences and donations! We are already discussing next year and how it can be even better!"