YAMO

YAMO is a completely student written, directed, and performed MusicAL comedy that runs every fall at Evanston Township High School 1. It was founded in 1957 as a talent show, and has progressed every year after that. Now the show is put on by the ETHS Theater Department2. Characterized by (usually) short, funny skits and clever songs, YAMO delights audiences each and every year, and is one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the ETHS calendar. In 2007, YAMO celebrated its 50th anniversary with seven sold-out performances of "Fast Times at YAMO High."

The Name

The show's odd name has been shrouded in mystery. There are three schools of thought as to the origin of the name. The first is that it was a take off on Northwestern University's original WAA-MU show3, so named because of the Women's Athletic Association and Men's Union organizations that gave it its name; "YAMO" was a joke based on "WAA-MU". The second theory is that in some obscure Far Eastern language, a roughly translatable "Ya" and "Mo" means "Little Wildcat", or Wildkit, the ETHS mascot. The third and most Occam-like is that it stands for Youth of America Marches On, corny-sounding now, but less so in Eisenhower-era America.

The Process

The show is almost a year long process. The applications for the student board positions go out in November for the following year's show. Students are notified in early spring AbOUT the selections of the board. The students on board begin to discuss the show and auditions, which take place around the end of May. After the cast and orchestra are chosen, there is a full YAMO meeting where the board is introduced to the cast, crew, and orchestra. The board meets throughout the summer to discuss the progress of the show. The script, set, and music are all completed over the summer. Cast, crew, and orchestra return the week before school to begin rehearsals. During this week the traditional YAMOlympics occur, pitting the different companies against one another. Rehearsals continue through September and October and the show typically goes up in October. Then the process starts all over again.

The board, composed of writers, directors, and musical personnel, meets in the summer to create the show under the direction of two to three faculty advisors. The advisors help the students by giving constructive criticism and IDeaS. When necessary, the musical advisor helps to provide the student composers with the software needed to create orchestrations.

Show History

This list consists of every YAMO, its year, title and general director/chairman in charge of the production.

  1. 1958: "YAMO '58": Tom Newman
  2. 1959: "YAMO '59": Mike Chanowitz, Herb Rudoy
  3. 1960: "YAMO '60": Gerron Vartan
  4. 1961: "YAMO '61": Julius Erienbach, Suzan Rider
  5. 1962: "Everything's Coming Up Crab Grass": Jane Galloway, Robert Hoist
  6. 1963: "32 Flavors or Something for Everyone": Debby Horwitz
  7. 1964: "Where There's a WILL There's a Way" or "Avon Calling" or "Great Exporations" or "Or Not to Be" or "A Visit from a Small Planetagenet": Jack Howe
  8. 1965: "36-24-36" or "The Student Body" or "That Winning Combination": Tobby Lombar, Burt Weissbourd
  9. 1966: "Greenwich Pillage" or "How to Better Expresso Yourself": John Collar
  10. 1967: "ETHS Through the Looking Glass" or "What's a Nice Show Like You Doing in a Place Like This": Kurt Westerberg
  11. 1968: "The Persecution and Alienation of the YAMO Audience as Performed by the Inmates of Evanston Township High School" or "How to Learn the Games People Play in Ten Easy Lessons and One Hard One": Kenneth I. Lewis
  12. 1969: "YAMO is a Four Letter Word" or "All Great Truths Begin as Blasphemies": George Bernard Shaw, Judd L. Parkin
  13. 1970: "YAMO '70": Laurence de Looze
  14. 1971: "The Electric Mosaic Goodtime Factory": David Weinstein
  15. 1972: "Moving It Up": Philip J. Tugendrajch
  16. 1973: "Quocumque Nomine": Brian C. Keneipp, Michael Rosewall
  17. 1974: "It Won't Hurt a Bit": Jay Shefsky
  18. 1975: "Easy as Pie": Jason L. Parkin
  19. 1976: "Anon the Brighter Side...": Daniel A. Greenberger
  20. 1977: "Off the Top": Elizabeth Levin
  21. 1978: "Shoot for the Starts": Joel Jacob, Jared Moses
  22. 1979: "Stop Me If You've Heard This": Christopher Wilson
  23. 1980: "I Haven't Had This Much Fun Since Yesterday": Timothy Reinhard
  24. 1981: "Don't Make Me Laugh": David Thompson
  25. 1982: "YAMO 25, Northwestern 0": John Thompson
  26. 1983: "It's Not My Fault, I Swear!": Steven Pink, Michael Stoyanov
  27. 1984: "Deal With It": Paul David Friedman
  28. 1985: "I Can't Believe They Made Us Say That!": Christopher Busiel
  29. 1986: "Relax, It's Only a Game!": Eric A. Franzon
  30. 1987: "You Think I'm Joking, Don't You?": Raphael Beck
  31. 1988: "World Tour": Timothy A. Herbert
  32. 1989: "Can I Keep It, Can I, huh, Please? I'll Love It, and Feed It, and Pet It, And Call it YAMO!": Shannon Moffet, Alex Teller
  33. 1990: "The Greatest Show Unearthed": Keith Borden, Aaron Dellutri
  34. 1991: "Cosmic Relief": Joel A. Chasnoff
  35. 1992: "Believe It or Not": Michael A. Gwinn, Adam J. Altman
  36. 1993: "Breakfast of Champions": Evan A. Jacover
  37. 1994: "The Comedy That Grows": Ariel M. Gershon, Dana L. Slocomb
  38. 1995: "Can You Imagine...": Jonathan E. Seyfried
  39. 1996: "Some Assembly Required": Bonnie K. Robinson, Thomas R. Woodridge
  40. 1997: "Masters of the Looney-verse": Nathan E. Deiman, Robin Suzanne Linn
  41. 1998: "The Final Clue: YAMO in the Upstairs Theatre with the Laughs": John L. Altschul
  42. 1999: "YAMO Sells Out": Zachary M. Gilford, Geoffrey C. Hamilton
  43. 2000: "The Symbol": Jessica Mueller
  44. 2001: "An Unlikely Lineup": Nora Fiffer
  45. 2002: "Knowledge is Temporary, Funny is Forever": Daniel M. Stermer
  46. 2003: "YAMO on Ice: Tooth Fairies and Other Cruel Hoaxes": Chase E. Kimball
  47. 2004: "YAMO, I Love You": Anna G. Ashley, Andrew M. Mueller
  48. 2005: "In Accordance With the Prophecy": Brittany P. Scurry
  49. 2006: "YAMO For Dummies4": Marie C. Semla
  50. 2007: "Fast Times at YAMO High": S. Jake Pollock

Famous Alumni

- John Cusack

- Joan Cusack

- Jeffrey Lieber

- Zach Gilford

- James Vincent Meredith