February 1st, in the theatre, an EHS tradition continued as junior and senior young men participated in the annual Mr. EHS competition. Marking the kick-off to Wish Week, the contestants participated in a talent and showcase similar to Miss. America in the hopes of becoming Mr. EHS 2018. Jack Rust and Caleb Sewell hosted and added humorous and quite often corny jokes.

“I personally was hoping for people to at least laugh at a few of my jokes, but as a collective we just wanted the audience to be entertained,” Rust commented.

It was more than just a few jokes to make people laugh and have a night off. Student Leadership also put a lot of time into making sure no problems occurred during the show and everyone was enjoying themselves.

Judge Jeana Khalaf-Cheetany stated, “Mr. EHS is such a fun and exciting night for us as a school.  It’s a great spirit filled event that brings together students and staff.”

Mr. EHS creates a way for students to give for Wish Week, but also enjoy a night away from stress.”

“A lot goes into making this possible. We started planning this event in early December. It has taken tons of work from theater tech crew to our sponsors helping us run the whole event,” Rust added.

The purpose of Mr. EHS is to allow students to have a fun yet respectful night. Along with that it gives some of the contestants a chance to bond with people they usually wouldn’t have the chance to know.

Noah Pruitt, a contestant, stated that, “It’s about being supportive of your fellow classmates that you’re competing against. It’s kind of a brotherhood-like bonding experience.”

Throughout all of it the Raptor Way was emphasised heavily. The overall goal is to find someone who embodied the true spirit of the school by having contestants participate in talent, lip-synch, school pride, and formal wear rounds. Contestants started with a choreographed dance as a whole then split off to separately show the student body what they could do. Seth Wells showed off handmade raptor wings to exemplify his school spirit during the karaoke competition, while other contestants ranged from casual raptor shirts to sunglasses and bandanas.

Wells explained, “The wings were inspired by a shirt I created earlier in the year. I was going to wear the shirt, but I wanted to go big. I wanted to have them open for a big reveal to surprise and wow the audience.”

All the contestants gave their best shot at singing, but in the end lost to Well’s flashy and unique style.

Jesse Davis then kicked off the talent portion with a blast from the past showing off his boy band by lip synching 90s hits. The contestants had the moves and style complete with audience members crowding the stage.

Davis explained, “It’s a parody of beauty pageants in which a bunch of boys go and make fools of themselves, but also get to show off their personalities and entertain a bunch of people. I’ve watched Mr. EHS for the past three years, and my freshman year I got the idea for miy 90s boy band inspired talent. ”

The interactive show kept the audience engaged and laughing all night. Scott Maclean led a yoga class during the show and finished his act by singing a soulful song. David Klein used his knowledge of tools to create a recorder out of a carrot.

Pruitt explained, “I got my act cut two days before the show, meaning I had to come up with a whole new one basically on the spot. Half of it ended up as improv.”

Pruitt eventually landed on a comical lesson about how to make a PB and J with chocolate milk.

While all the competitors gave it their best shot showcasing gymnastic, dance, and other miscellaneous talents, Tony Perlis wowed the audience by performing a magic trick. It involved guessing the cards of students on stage with almost a perfect record and ended with a shocking reveal. Chris Stockman was picked from the audience to draw a card and then asked to stop on a random drawing of gifts. When the joking was over Perlis opened a box he handed off to an audience member at the beginning of his act and revealed the volunteers card and a pair of Hamilton tickets that was picked from the drawings.

Perlis stated, “It felt awesome. It’s always cool to get up onstage and really blow some people’s minds…and the reaction from the audience is priceless!”

Judges and students alike were so amazed Perlis took home the talent award.

Closing the night, contestants walked out in tuxedos with their escorts dressed to impress. The contestants answered a simple question pertaining to them, the school, or the Raptor Way. After everyone had an opportunity to answer, all of the contestants lined-up as the title of Mr. EHS was given to Sam Onilenla who won the favor of the students and competition judges.

Onilenla recounted, “I just wanted to participate to do the Jackson 5 skit with my football bros and to be the winner I was just shook.”

While many found Onilenla to be a worthy winner, others had trouble accepting it, calling it a popularity contest.

Wells stated, “I believe that the competition isn’t as fair as it could be. I feel as though as the winner only won by the popularity contest from the audience.”

In the end though, Mr. EHS was a fun night for contestants and audience alike. Regardless of the drama surrounding any school event like this, students, leadership, and judges alike would like to see this contest continue.

Khalaf-cheetany finished by saying, “In so many ways Mr. EHS represents the RAPTOR way.  From a teacher’s perspective, it’s so wonderful to watch students support and honor each other during this event”