TOWAMENCIN – As the lights dimmed on the North Penn High School auditorium stage, twelve hopeful seniors prepared to entertain a packed house of excited students in the highly anticipated event known as the one and only Mr. North Penn. The event draws a huge portion of the student body from all grades, with proceeds benefiting a charity of the NHS cabinet’s choosing.

Hosts Kelci Beatty, Corway Chao, and Ben Hoffman emceed the event, keeping the atmosphere light between acts. This Sunday, Neil Patrick Harris will host the Oscars, and he could learn a thing or two from this lively trio. After the introductions, the twelve contestants kicked off the show with a choreographed dance to the latest pop hits, all performed in yoga pants nonetheless.

After the dazzling presentation of the teachers who would be casting their critical eyes on the performances, the show started with the contestants throwing cheesy pick-up lines at host Kelci. With broom in hand, one contestant offered to “sweep [Kelci] off her feet” to wry laughter from the audience.

After one, or eleven, too many pick-up lines for Kelci, it was clear that she and the audience were ready for the swimsuit portion of the competition. Whereas in the Miss America pageant, contestants wear high heels and skimpy bikinis, the Mr. North Penn contestants put creative spins on beach wear, with original and clever skits involving a shark attack, synchronized swimming, and the revenge of Carrie Underwood in jean shorts. A riveting rendition of Tom Cruise’s ubiquitous performance in Risky Business was another contestant’s contribution, and it drew thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd. Although it seemed as if this was as great as the night could get, the talent portion of the evening was sure to dazzle the crowd with all twelve contestants’ unique skills.

Every one of the potential candidates shined in the talent portion; it was inspiring to see such an impressive range of displays, from the beatboxers, to the comedians, to the singers and their mellifluous (#Shostak) voices. A drum-battle-turned-synchronized-drum-duo was the first talent act of the night, and certainly set the bar high for the rest of the contestants. One act invited the audience to sing along with him for “Waiting On the World to Change”, the crowd obliging only on the ‘waaaitiiin’ section of the chorus, to the amusement of the entire venue. The audience also enjoyed singing along to the “Let It Go” portion of the string quartet’s medley of songs. No one really wanted the fun to end, except maybe the people looking to buy their chicken sandwiches, but the night had reached intermission, when the crowd would vote for their favorite contestants with paperclips and hope to tip the scales in favor of their favorite with coins.

The return of the competition invited previous Mr. North Penn winner Ryan Aragona on to the stage in the form of a video, showing his journey from West Chester University back home to his roots at North Penn. The crowd readily awaited his appearance, but they would have to wait until after the formal wear section of the night to see him.

The twelve brave dudes (in fact, only two of them were Dudes) were certainly dressed to impress in their formal wear, attired in a range of designer brand tuxedos, ties, shirts and trousers, all provided by a generous local male apparel store. They drew ‘oohs’ and ‘awws’ as they traversed the stage with their impeccably dressed dates, many of whom were a friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, or even, in the case of one contestant, his mother.

The question and answer section followed the formal wear, but first, all of the contestant’s families got invited up on stage to have a dance party with their hopeful candidate! It was truly adorable to watch the contestants and their families dance terrifically — or terribly — on stage for everyone to see. Each contestant was asked a different question by Kelci, Corway, or Ben, and they provided corny but amusing answers. One contestant was asked what he would do if he was crowned the victor, and in a daring burst of adrenaline, he declared, “In fact, there’s one thing I’d like to do right now — and that’s take a selfie with Burton T. Hynes himself!” As he walked down the aisle to pose with our very own principal, his audacious action was met with uproarious applause from the audience and, amusingly, the remaining eleven men firmly saluting on stage.

After last year’s winner, Ryan Aragona, performed a dance number with the same troupe of girls in his journey home video, it was time to get down to business. The tension in the air skyrocketed as the lights dimmed and the show turned serious again. The hosts asked for a crowd drumroll, and announced the second runner-up, Max Muñoz, and the first runner-up, Josh Bower, to roaring cheers and applause. The tension in the room skyrocketed as they waited, game-show style, before finally announcing the 2015 Mr. North Penn as…Anthony Flores! The crowd answered with deafening applause and shouts of victory.

The new Mr. North Penn was shocked when he was announced as the winner, but he’d been mentally preparing, even though he may not have known it, for a few years now.

“This has been my absolute favorite activity at North Penn since I saw the first show in sophomore year. It feels incredible to win, but it was also a complete surprise to me!” Flores declared.

However, his intentional preparation before the competition was no walk in the park.

“The dance took all of the rehearsals to learn. The swimsuit part actually finally came together today, and today was also the first time the full group in my talent even met! It’s taken me basically two months and a lot of hard work, and it feels great to be recognized for that.”

The NHS advisers, Ms. Michelle Machado and Mrs. Alexis Parrish, who have now successfully run their third show working together, and the crowned Flores, shared similar opinions on the camaraderie formed between the boys, regardless of the competition. “They really became best friends. They made their own Facebook chat and group…they even tried to go bowling together one night after practice. It was very cute to see,” observed Machado.

Although many performances of the night will not soon be forgotten, neither will the donation made to charity from the night’s proceeds.

“The cabinet chose Autism Speaks this year. They conduct research on autism and develop programs and a better awareness for children with autism in the community,” Machado noted.

It’s fair to say the show would not have gone on with the help of the faithful NHS advisors who work hard at every step of the process building up to the big day.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s great to work with a lot of different students whom I usually wouldn’t get to work with. It’s a lot of fun seeing the smiles on the boys’ faces,” remarked Machado about the rewarding nature of the event.

As the lights dimmed again and the crown started to flood out of the auditorium, it seems a new air of camaraderie had been formed not just between the contestants, but between everyone in the auditorium. The crowd sing-alongs and bursts of laughter at a North Penn inside joke really united everyone under a common banner of a love of comedy and healthy competition. Sure to host another hilarious competition next year, the auditorium waits to be filled yet again with twelve guys dancing to Taylor Swift in yoga pants.