Inside the Doors of Grand Hotel: A Peek at Linn-Mar's Preseason Environment

LOGO: grandhotel.show

By Timothy Laubach, Iowa contributor

Linn-Mar high school’s varsity show choir, 10th Street Edition, is known for its extravagant and emotional storytelling within its shows, and 2026 will be no different. This year’s show is a murder mystery set at the Grand Hotel. Before Linn-Mar’s preview night, HomeRoom conducted an investigation of its own, diving further into this year's theme and the secret behind the culture within the choir.  

This year’s show follows the character Nora Winslow right after her grandfather’s death. After snooping around in his office, she finds a letter from him that tells her to open the wardrobe. When she does, she gets transported to the 1970s and the Grand Hotel, where she retraces her grandfather’s journey of solving the murder of her grandmother. Throughout the musical murder mystery, Nora comes across three suspects: Mrs. Mabel, the hotel manager, Mr. Scott, the hotel janitor, and the Chef. Each suspect seems equally suspicious and the ending is unexpected. Junior Madalyn Kramer, who plays Mrs. Mabel in the show, said, “you gotta pay attention to the details.” Julian Anderson, a senior in 10SE explained that “it’s a little bit funky. People will love it or hate it”.  

The general consensus between the students was that this year’s group is more hardworking and focused than ever before. Brevyn Morrisey, who plays the Chef in this year's show, recounts moments of complete silence in rehearsal in between songs where the only noise to be heard was the directors giving instruction, and the sound of heavy breathing from across the choir. Morrisey also stated that “there is a lot more effort individually outside the show choir room.” Carson Royer, a junior at Linn-Mar, said “this year, when we make a change, it sticks.”

When asked about their struggles this year, the biggest challenge mentioned was the show’s demanding vocals. Leah Glew, who plays the show's main character, Nora, noted that despite that, there's no give-up in the group “There’s a lot of moments where we can’t get something, but we won’t stop working until we can get it,” Glew said.

When asked what their favorite thing about being in 10th Street Edition was, it would've been easy for performers to mention the success - 10SE hasn't lost since the current crop of seniors was in middle school. However, the students didn’t mention winning or success once. Alongside being grateful for their director and choreographers, the biggest favorite mentioned was the positive community within the choir. Senior Daniel Lorenz mentioned that 10th St. is “one of the most tight knit groups I’ve ever been a part of”. Anderson explained that “the group dynamic of 10th Street is just insane,” and that he is grateful to spend two to three days a week with the same group of people.

Having an intricate show and being able to convey a theme is a hallmark of recent Linn-Mar shows. “I feel our whole team is motivated by a desire to impact audiences with the stories we tell," director Trent Buglewicz said. "Our focus on the importance of each show allows us to make decisions vocally, choreographically, and theatrically that don’t play to a ballot, but serve the intention of the text, the commitment to character, and the story as a whole.” According to the performers, artistry is a big motivating factor this year and the goal is to be as “electric” as they can.

Even though artistry and culture drives Linn-Mar, competition season is still a big part of the year. Students are especially excited to go out of state to Nebraska for the Gretna East Echoes Of The East on January 24. 10SE kicks off their competition season by hosting Supernova on January 17. They will also appear at Gretna East, the Prairie Premiere on January 31, Urbandale Show Choir Invitational on February 14, and Liberty Storm the Stage on February 28.