David Kominars is comfortable being in the spotlight. He started his musical theatre career as Willard Hewitt in the 2017 production of Footloose and now will portray Phineas Taylor Barnum in the 21st annual Mr. Linganore competition. The theme is “Men of Vision.”

P.T. Barnum was a showman and politician in the 19th century around the time of the Industrial Revolution. He is credited with founding the Barnum and Bailey Circus. 

Kominars chose to be P.T. Barnum because he came from humble beginnings, which is something that Kominars believes we all can sometimes relate to. Barnum had a vision that nobody else saw, yet, he still chased after that goal of making people smile. Kominars finds many similarities between Barnum and himself, the main one being they’re both entertainers. 

“I want to make people laugh. I want to make people excited about what they’re watching,” said Kominars. 

Kominars learned about Barnum through the movie The Greatest Showman, a historical fiction film built around the true story of Barnum’s journey to make his vision a reality. 

Supporting Kominars will be his escort and dance partner, Alexis Fowler, as well as his manager, Emily Webb. Kominars’ sponsor is Stephen Lewis Barrett Contracting. For his talent, Kominars is planning to sing. 

“I think he [Kominars] is going to do really well. His voice is beautiful, which helps make him a really strong contestant,” said Webb.

On Wednesday, March 4 all the contestants will compete in Preliminary lunchtime competitions which add points to a contestants overall score. Kominars is most excited for the sweetheart letter competition with conversation hearts.   

The main influence for Kominars participating in Mr.Linganore is due to past contestant, Lincoln Robisch. As one of Robisch’s friends, Kominars heard about all the fun he had in the competition and was swayed to participate in his senior year. 

Performing is a passion for Kominars, so much so that he is the Vice President of the International Thespian Society. Kominars has taken Guitar 1, Piano 1, Advanced Theatre Production, and four semesters of Choir, among other musical theatre based classes. 

While Kominars is very involved in theatre, he is also a youth leader at El Shaddai Congregation, a member of Frederick County Young Life, and was a member of the football team sophomore year. 

Although Kominars is a natural performer, his favorite part about Mr. Linganore is being able to spend time with the other contestants. 

“Even though we are competition, I want to get to know everyone better and just have fun,” said Kominars. 

The preliminary lunchtime competitions occur during all three lunch shifts on Wednesday, March 4. The Mr. Linganore competition is on Saturday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m. Contestants earn points when they sell tickets, so see Kominars for a ticket, $8.00 ($10 at the door).