If you didn’t see “Bone Dance” the last two weekends, you really missed out. Madison College Performing Arts presented “Bone Dance” as this semesters production. Created by Jeffrey Herbst and originally produced by Northern Sky Theater in Fish Creek, Wisconsin the show combines many small scenes in a way that defies categorization.

“Bone Dance” consists of 17 scenes split between music, comedy and ghost stories. Some of them I’d heard before, like “The Hearse Song” whose chorus will not be stuck in your head, “The works crawl in, the worms crawl out.” Others, like the story of “The Snow Woman of Musashi” were new to me. Between scenes sometimes a member of the cast would come out and tell skeleton jokes, the kind of jokes your elementary school nephew would tell you.

The large and diverse cast featured both new and veteran performers. While the style of the show with it’s varied scenes doesn’t have any traditional main characters, the standout performance for me was Diana Rodriguez-Greene. Her portrayal of the Ghost Witch in the scene “Big Eater,” was just the right amount of playful and powerful. Later, taking the lead in the musical performance “Skeletons in the Closet,” Rodriguez-Greene showed the audience she could sing as well as act. A talent she showed again in “Red, Hot, Cool Cats” as Cat 3 where she and her cat friends seduce a preacher to the dark side. Her cast bio says this is her first show in seven years, which I find hard to believe.

The choice to include a live band really added to the ambience of the night. Particularly when trombonist Alexander Bauer left the confines of the band area and danced around the stage during his solo in “Skeletons in the Closet.”

The costumes by Rebecca Sites and puppets by Madison College’s own Emmalee Pearson added much to the show. My favorite costume of the night had to be the Snow Woman from “The Snow Woman of Musashi.” Played by Julie Gulling and voiced by Maria Cina, the stark white mask and traditional Chinese dress transformed the scene into the snowy woods where it was set. The puppet of the night you’ve probably seen on the posters around school, the Corpse bride. Puppeteered and voiced by Nick Kaprelian, her white wedding dress and sickly green skin really had me believing that the townspeople were running in fear.

While amplification is usually not needed in Studio Theater, some of the singing was a little quieter than I would have liked. Perhaps showing that some of the performers were less comfortable with this aspect of the show.

Overall, another performance that really shows the talent of our student body. If you have not taken advantage of one of the shows here I urge you to. All Madison College Performing Arts shows are free for Madison College students with your OneCard.