Josh Cox

The true genius of this show is the way it promotes optimism, love, and how a family can take any form or shape.

After seven seasons, a slew of time-slot shuffles, and 123 episodes, it has come down to this.

This week’s episodes truly feel like the beginning of the end for the show.

Valerie Rockey should win because the show crowns America’s Favorite Dancer, not the best dancer on the show. Choreographers don’t give her much to do in group numbers, but her gift all season has been personality.

The 20-year-old Franklin Central grad began dancing at age 3 at the Tippy Toes School of Dance on the south side.

A wonderfully poignant turn came courtesy of accompanist Ben Toth, whose arrangement of Sylvia Plath’s “Mad Girl’s Love Song” let Jackson wrap his voice around every sad, sexy line.

Previous incarnations of his ‘Cocktail Hour’ show featured arrangements of songs by Joni Mitchell, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, and Amy Winehouse.

One of the best moments of the evening came early on as she started into the brilliant mash-up of two pop-music nuggets, Ellie Goulding’s “Starry-Eyed” and Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games.” That’s when the night’s brief drama played out.

Benanti has shared the stage with numerous Broadway stars, co-owns Kristen Chenoweth’s TV curse, and kills it on Twitter. Here she comes, Indy.

Purple, commonly associated with royalty (and Wendy Williams), was chosen to complement the throne-like shape to the back of the chair.

The surefire standout of the night was Jasmin Richardson as Felicia, just as impressive in her quiet moments on stage as when she let that glorious voice soar.

The songstress revealed various realms of her range, both musical and stylistic, and, at one point, took the theater to church.

You no longer need to ride a Harley or be a hipster to cultivate a beard. You, too, can be the charmingly hirsute talk of the town. All you need are the right tools to maintain a tightly kept beard.