By Jenna Lewis-Keddy and Alli Avola
Ladies and gentlemen, Westborough High School will host the annual Mr. WHS fundraiser on Wednesday, May 17 at 7:30pm. Eleven extremely talented senior boys have been working for hours on end to give the WHS community a great show. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this hilarious yet nail biting competition, the 11 senior boys were selected by their classmates to compete for the crown and the title of being “Mr. WHS.” The competition consists of four parts; a group dance and a swimsuit, talent, and fashion portion. In between each part, there are pre-recorded videos of the contestants for the audience to enjoy.
Also, each year the show has a different theme. For instance, last year’s theme was Star Wars and this year’s theme is… well, you’ll just have to be there on May 17 to find out. Everyone that attends the competition gets to vote for who they want to win it all. When all of the votes are in and counted, the winner from the previous year comes out onto the stage to crown the new winner. It truly is something you don’t want to miss.
A lot of time and preparation goes into Mr. WHS. In the days leading up to the show, the competitors ask their peers and fellow Rangers for donations at lunches. The money that is collected goes to the Westborough Food Pantry. In addition, the boys, as well as the choreographers and MC’s, practice for hours after school. One of the contestants, Vikram Matthew, says that “[the show] has been a pretty serious commitment especially in the final weeks. We started with 3-4 practices a week right after school for about half an hour and have now transitioned to about 3 hour rehearsals twice a week.” At these rehearsals, the contestants practice both the group dance and their solo talent act.
Although these hours are long and time consuming, the students participating in the competition love what they are doing. Another student participating in Mr. WHS, James Coffey, says “While it’s been a large commitment, all eleven of the guys as well as the girls running the event have grown very close together. We’ve had a lot of laughs and certainly a lot of fun.”
A lot of the students in this competition have also learned new things about themselves. Matthew reflects, “I have never been the type to get on stage and be comfortable so it’s been a totally new experience for me but so rewarding to challenge myself and have a good time.” And Coffey adds, “Mr. WHS has been an eye opening experience because I never knew how good of a dancer I was.” As for the audience, be on the lookout for James’ killer dance moves this Wednesday.
You don’t want to miss this hilarious and classic WHS event! It is one of the many fun traditions that sets Westborough High School apart from other schools. Tickets will be on sale at lunches throughout the week for $10. They will also be on sale at the door for $12.
