Plenty of laughs were had, and melodies swooned the several hundred who enjoyed the Janesville Harmony and Humor Show on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7 in the JWP auditorium. The cast held four shows, two on each day and featured members of the Trinity Lutheran Church.
The show was Christian-themed and featured three group performances, a solo here and there, duets, and small groups singing their hearts out. The show began with the group performing Christian hymn “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” After that was the first skit, “Lutheran Air,” which featured Ingrid Huelsnitz as a mildly annoyed Lutheran flight attendant.
The next performance by the cast, featuring Alicia Addler and Josh Berndt, was “Lead On Good Shepherd,” by Patrick Mayberry and Zahriya Zachary. Doug Berndt then performed “Just A Closer Walk With Thee,” a traditional gospel song.
Some of the cast may not get their news from us. Instead, they may get their “News From the Pews.” The skit featured Dave Dimmel, Kristen Leiding, Brandon and Loften Johnson, Rich and Judy Winter, and Joe, Kristin, Stella, and Louis Ziemke.
The next song, “Lions,” featured Marja Bjornstad and Hannah Weaver. The song was also dubbed “The Slinky Song” for the duo’s use of slinkies. They also got the crowd involved during their performance. Following them was Tobin Huelsnitz performing “This Train” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
The next skit featured the Trinity Church Ladies “up from the basement” and proofreading the church bulletins. Macia Anderson, Kris Flemming, Ingrid Huelsnitz, Louis Lund, Eugenia Stockman, Sheryl Williams, Judy Winter, and Bill Kopischke were in the skit.
The following two songs were duos, the first of which was “Truth Be Told” by Carly Pearce and Matthew West, performed by Amber Ness and Brandon Johnson. “My Worth Is Not In What I Own” by Keith and Kristyn Getty was the other duo by Brady Manthe and Kristin Ziemke. The quartet of Paula Arndt, Amy Kolars, Irene Mulcahey, and Sheryl Williams then sang “Only God Knows.”
The next performance was neither a skit nor a vocal performance. Instead, Janesville’s own Christian comedian Brandon Johnson shared some alternative swear words like “turd,” “wingnut,” and “crapola.” Johnson really brought the humor to the show with that one.
The Ziemke family (Joe, Kristin, and Stella) then sang “Perfectly Loved” by Rachael Lampa. The mother-daughter duo of Irene Mulcahey and Emily Kolars then performed “God Is In This Story” by Big Daddy Weave and Katy Nichols.
The Trinity Church Ladies were featured in another skit, where they were at an amusement park riding a rollercoaster. After that, Family Tradition (Alicia Addler, Doug and Josh Berndt) then performed “Where I Find God” by Larry Fleet. Amber Ness followed with a breathtaking performance of the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” The trio of Ben Groskreutz and Ryan and Tyler Priebe followed up with Ricky Skaggs’s “Hallelujah, I’m Ready To Go.”
The final skit of the performance was another episode of “News from the Pews.” Following that was Noah Androli’s phenomenal vocal solo of “Hymn of Heaven,” where the Trinity Lutheran Church Choir backed him.
The performance ended with the whole cast performing We the Kingdom’s “Holy Water” (with Alicia Addler, Amber Ness, and Ben Groskreutz featured in solos) followed by Mac Powell’s “River of Life.”
Others in the cast this year who have yet to be mentioned are Linda Fetchenhier, Natalie Priebe, Carol Steinberg, Teresa Schumacher, Sherry Trahms, Kay Gottschalk, Leah Owens, Stacey Steel, and Melanie Teachout. Jeff and Ingrid Huelsnitz are this year’s emcees, who paid tribute to former emcees Ed and Sue Stock. Band members include Sheldon Brandt on steel guitar, Johnathan Moeller on acoustic and lead guitar, Eric Zimmerman, on bass, Josh Berndt on drums, and Jim Kozan on keyboard and harmonica.
The crew for these performances included Icabod Productions on the soundboard, Dan Zieske and Ben Groskreutz on lights, Trinity Lutheran Pastor Kristian Bjornstad as the videographer, backstage assistants Bette Berndt, Jill Johnson, Sheila Seifert, and Teresa Schumacher, photographers Danielle and Jason Androli, program creators Donita Hagen and Sherry Trahms, and co-producers Paula Arndt, Irene Mulcahey, and Sheryl Williams.
