The largely successful Mr. Massapequa event returned to the MHS gymnasium in style on March 26, and, like it has been in past years, was a huge success.
Mr. Massapequa, an all male beauty pageant, is a parody which pokes fun at the Miss America competition which takes place in the United States each year. Several weeks before the event, students nominated their peers to participate.
Despite the fact that staff members were eligible for nomination as well, none of the teachers were present in the competition. This year’s event was the ninth annual contest and second consecutive year after the event’s absence in 2012 and 2013.
The occasion kicked off (literally) as the contestants danced in a routine with the Chiefettes. Shortly beforehand, hosts Nick Gariglio — who, to the surprise of the audience, was also a contestant, — Joanna Pisciotta, and Cara Duffy introduced the panel of judges.
The panel consisted of the previous year’s winner, Mike Dito, Mrs. Debra Price, Ms. Maria Bonavoglia, and seniors Morgan Wing, Danielle Bianco, and Matt Spinelli.
After the introduction and a performance from talented singer junior Rebecca White, the talent competition was in full swing. Students did everything from musical performances, such as lip-sync battles and rap freestyles, to choreographed dances in order to showcase their talent.
Spectators cheered on their male classmates in return for all the laughs they received throughout the first half of the night.
“I had a great time at Mr. Massapequa and I thought all the contestants were really funny,” senior Emily Caulfield said.
Following the action-packed talent portion of the show, the guys strutted their stuff down the catwalk in their best casual attire. After great showings from all of the contestants, the judges revealed the five finalists who then had to answer a series of questions to win over the judges one last time.
Before the questions began, senior John Witt took the time to ask fellow senior Michaela Koetzner to prom — this, of course, was just one of the night’s many highlights.
In the end, Witt took home the prestigious title of Mr. Massapequa.
“[Winning Mr. Massapequa] was really crazy honestly,” Witt said. “It was so much fun and getting to perform with the other contestants made it all the better.”
Witt isn’t the only one who has high praises for the event. Junior Amanda Biggin was also pleased with the outcome.
“Mr. Massapequa was extremely entertaining and all of the acts did an amazing job,” Biggin said. “I will definitely be going again next year!”