Hear Ye! Hear ye! North hosted its annual Madrigal Dinner Dec. 8 and 9.

125 cast members brought a wide variety of entertainment including senior Jean Garciera as the king and senior Tricia Tabladillo as the queen, a jester played by freshmen Jude Rotkis and head wenches senior Lily Wan and sophomore Grace Koilopoulos.

“There is going to be a new script this year for a six-year rotation, so in five years we will be having a new one,” choir director Monica Bertrand said.

The hallway and student cafeteria were once again tranformed into an 11th century medieval castle complete with stone walls, regal banners and holiday décor.  The expansive head table was drapped in red velvet fit for royality.

“We had gotten some new set stuff made by the tech last year so we are going to use that this year again,” Bertrand said.

Gypsies, mistrals, beggars, poets, knights and pages traversed through the tables providing entertainment. There was even a comical skit of Robin Hood performed as well as traditional songs that got everyone in the holiday spirit.

During the Robin Hood skit, the cast got the crowd in a roar of laughter. The players got a chance to bring up audience members and let them be quirky and goofy on the stage.

Throughout the evening, pranks were played on the guests. One in particular that the audience seemed to really enjoy was “the forking.”

The court jester would plant a fork by an audience member and since “there are no forks allowed in the kingdom” the guest had to get up and perform a challenge against one of the people at the head table.

“The forking is so fun to do because the person never knows its happening and its always exciting to see how they play out,” senior Patrick Leblanc said.

All of the food served was able to be eaten by  hand in true medieval fashion which added to the experience.

This year’s audience was comprised of loyal fans, friends, and family as well as former students who performed in the Madrigals Diner when they were students at North.

“They’re all so talented, and its wonderful to be able to see them perform,” alumni Joseph Nuzzi said.

The Bella Voce choir performed two songs for the dinner including “How Merrily We Live” and “Merry Christmas Darling.”

“Madrigals is like entering a whole new world, and I love being a part of it and singing in front of people,” junior Taylor Doubeck said. “I also like the new songs that Bellas get to sing.”

The success of the production required comradery between different members of the music department.

“I loved singing with my friends and peers,” senior Josh witfield said. “The experience was so fun, and one that I will never forget.”

Junior Austin Waner concurred.  “[The best moment was] seeing everyone come together because there is a big divide between different choirs and cliques, but at Madrigals, everyone is together for one purpose,” Waner said.

The Madrigal Dinner is a choir favorite event that parents, teachers and students enjoy being a part of because students get to play characters and interact with the crowd. Everyone is involved in various ways throughout the evening.

“The viewers like it because it gets them in the holiday spirit,” Bertrand said.