After a long couple weeks of dance rehearsals, tux fittings, and practicing their talents, Mr. Jeremy Brown unmasked the winner of Mr. Linganore 2022 as Joey Dorman. Jack Sears was runner up, and Mikeah Smith came in third place. 

Dorman, who chose Darth Vader as his character, amazed the crowd with his character entrance. He dressed as Darth Vader with his red lightsaber and even used the force on two guests in the audience. 

“Me and Tommy just got force choked by Darth Vadar but don’t worry we’re ok!” Adam Hernandez tweeted during the show. 

Jack Sears had the help of Lindsay Toothaker, Kelly Alt, Michaela Galick, and Brynee McKinney in his entrance. The girls wore red, white, and blue skirts and carried Captain America flags. 

Smith as Phantom of the Opera rowed her way to the stage in a boat along with her escort Elaine Escamilla.

“Having such a supportive escort really made my experience. I got to do this with my friend and I wouldn’t have wanted to do this with anyone else besides Elaine,” Smith said.

At the end of the Entrance portion, there was a three-way tie for entrances: Joey Dorman, Jack McCoy (Wesley from The Princess Bride), and Joshua Parker as Spider-man. Both McCoy and Parker staged fight scenes in their entrances.

The talent portion of the competition was broken into two parts. Jack McCoy went first, giving the audience a taste of his many musical talents. He played the trumpet, baritone, and the piano. Smith was next singing “This Side of Paradise” by Coyote Theory. Daniel Etherton played an original piece on the piano.

Sears did a remix of Big Time Rush’s song “Big Time Rush” renaming it to Big Time Lancer. He recruited Marty Ratchford, Sam Metzner, and Zach McCaa to help him perform. Dorman made a tribute to Elvis Presley by singing “If I can Dream”. He wore a white suit and had his name shine bright in red lights behind him.

The lights that spelled Joey were a huge undertaking for Dorman’s family. They arrived early and helped to hide the 8 ft letters behind the curtain.

Josh Parker did a comedy skit including balloons. The crowd erupted with laughs as Mrs. Natalie Rebetsky came out as a clown to participate with Parker. He created a balloon giraffe and competed with Rebetsky to create a flower and a crown.

The men were dressed by Deja Vu Boutique who provided tuxes for the men for the formal wear and interview competition. Third place was Daniel Etherton. Second place was Joey Dorman and first place was Josh Parker. 

The contestants and their escorts competed in a dance competition choreographed by Linda Sander. The contestants ended the competition doing the signature “ It’s Raining Men” dance. The final scores for all the competitions; the lunch contests, formal wear, introductions, dancing, Uno’s Nights, ticket sales, and talents were in and the top three were announced.

The three finalists were Mikeah Smith, Jack Sears, and Joey Dorman. The winner would be determined on their final answer to a question the judges randomly came up with. 

Incorporating the Man behind the Mask theme and the pandemic, the judges asked the contestants: Who pushed you in your life to keep going during Covid-19?

All three contestants gave heart filled answers but Dorman gave the most touching answer. He talked about going to the grocery store with his mom and wondering if they would survive Covid-19. Dorman got emotional and even shed a few tears which touched the hearts of the judges and crowd.

After listening to the final answers by the contestants, the judges made their decisions. Before Mr. Brown shared the winner, former Mr. Linganore from Class of 2020, Braden Weinel, gave a small speech. He talked about how the last production that was held in the auditorium before Covid-19 was Mr. Linganore and gave thanks to everyone who showed up to the competition. 

“I had a really big smile on my face. I wouldn’t wrap my head around it, I was really excited,” Dorman said.