Perhaps if you have stayed late at school on a Monday through Thursday anytime over the past few weeks you have been treated to the (hopefully!) melodious sounds of law revue rehearsals. Auditions for the annual sketch show took place this past November and the energy of the cast and board has grown steadily since then with everyone's eyes on the prize: a great show on February 21st.

The cast and board should be commended for their commitment, creativity and hard work. People may not realize just how much work goes into putting together the Law Revue show but it's a tremendous effort on all parts. Over break, members wrote and submitted scripts to be read and voted on by all board members. The Sunday before school started, the board then met in a seven-hour summit to vote on scripts and cast the show. While seven hours may sound epic, returning board members from Law Revue 2008, said this was far more efficient than last year's meeting. Credit head writer Matt Orlins, Director Maureen McGough and Assistant Director Terry Schoone-Jongen for that. While far from slave drivers, they have run a very tight ship with their eyes always focused on that February 21st prize.

Adding to the impending brilliance of this year's show is the money we have amassed to spend on props and sets. The SBA was consistent with past years' allotments to the organization at the beginning of the year, but this year we also received funds from the Student Assembly (SA) which comprises representatives from the undergraduate as well as other graduate institutions under the GW penumbra. We received these funds thanks in large part to work done by the SBA executive board early on in the year. While negotiating what percentage of our student activity fees the law school would get back this year, President Brett Sheats et al included in the deal that law school organizations would be able to approach the SA throughout the year for co-Sponsorships.

Law Revue took advantage of that provision in mid-November when Producers Chrissy Davis and Erica Oleszczuk, accompanied by Sheats and SBA Executive Vice President Rahul Reddy successfully solicited the SA for funds. Our own Music Director, Luke Wilson is a graduate school representative in the SA. He says, "The SA was truly interested in helping fund the Law Revue show as much as possible. The exposure that it gives undergraduates, law students, and members of the law and GW community alike to the trials of law school life is one of the biggest outreaches that the law school has, second to the Van Vleck competition."

Wilson goes on to say, "the impact of the extra money on the show is already visible. We can be as creative as we want with costumes and other aspects of the show, putting us on par with many of the student theater productions on the undergraduate side, moneywise. [We can] focus on preparing for the show, instead of worrying about whether we can pay the fees to rent Lisner auditorium."

Also contributing to our financial boon this year is the incredible success of this year's DC9 show. The crowd last Thursday was so large the bouncers had to turn away some thirty people at the door. The two Law Revue bands, Restatement Third of Rock and Motion to Quash rocked the law school audience with covers of classics like "Piano Man" and "Brick House." Motion to Quash singer and Law Revue cast member Aaron Joachim was thrilled with the evening: "The DC9 concert went incredibly well - we sold out the venue, had people dancing in large groups by the stage, and the band had to pull out a song they hadn't played in almost a year to come up with a second encore. Needless, to say we had a lot of fun!"

The success and excitement of the DC9 show mirror how the Law Revue board and cast feel about the show's progress so far. Law Revue director Maureen McGough gushes when asked about how the show is coming together saying, "I'm honestly shocked at how fast everything has come together. I toyed with the idea of saying it was going really poorly so that I would set every one's expectations really low and they would be pleasantly surprised - but I have to be honest - I think this is going to be a fantastic show." She couldn't help but add (maybe as shameless publicity stunt) that the most fun she's had so far was "shooting the video where Terry Schoone-Jongen takes his pants off."

These enthusiastic sentiments are echoed by first time Law Revue cast member Lindey Ingraham. Explaining why she decided to try out this year she says, "I went to the show last year and could tell that everyone in the cast was having so much fun and the audience enjoyed it so much I wanted to be a part of something that seemed to be so much fun and makes light of the stresses we deal with everyday. I am really glad that I decided to do it has probably been my most enjoyable extra curricular activity."

Modest Schoone-Jongen puts it succinctly: "There's definitely still a lot of hard work that needs to be done, but everyone involved is working hard and we'll definitely get to where we need to be. We set a high standard for the show's quality last year, and I think this year's production will compare favorably to last year's." Perhaps as one of the Music Directors I am biased, but I completely agree!