By Lisa DiCarlucci

The Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity held a variety show on Thursday to benefit the Red Cross. “There’s no business like show business” featured a diverse group of Hofstra talent.

The M.C. for the evening, Emmannuel Mubaraz, was already trying too hard and the show hadn’t even started yet but he did his best to rile up the crowd after a half hour of waiting.

Parks Middleton was first up on the stage playing his ukulele.  Taking his performance in a nontraditional direction, he performed “E.T.” by Katy Perry. The staccato nature of the song does not translate well with only a ukulele and vocals but his performance was still charming and unique.

Maggie Doherty followed with a slightly larger instrument and a soulful acoustic Janis Joplin cover. Doherty’s voice was near flawless as she effortlessly skated through the song with a smile on her face. This girl is definitely a star in the making and a pleasure to watch perform as she makes her rounds on the Hofstra stages.

J. Gatsby, a rap act, with help from the M.C. Emmannuel Mubaraz, provided a change in the evening’s tempo, getting the small audience on their feet. Unfortunately there wasn’t much more movement from the audience which is likely due to the inconsistent rhythm and indecipherable lyrics. The second song from Gatsby found a better rhythm but a tone deaf chorus sung in unison was already out of breath. They had good energy but it just wasn’t enough.

Nikki DeRosa was the last act of the evening singing a piano ballad with accompaniment. Her voice made up for any of the evening’s previous flaws, giving a pitch-perfect performance with passion and ease.

The show totaled only 45 minutes with several of the advertised performers not making an appearance. Short and sweet, the show raised money for a great cause.