This week the first rehearsal of the Mr. LT pageant kicked off.
The pageant, historically a tongue-in-cheek fundraiser for a scholarship fund — has only a few weeks to come together and yet, by the seat of its pants, it does, offering goofy laughs and real talent to near sell-out crowds.
It’s one of the biggest ticketed events for the Reber Center each year and while this year’s competition will take a few more weeks to produce and rehearse, the ambition for bigger laughs and more elaborate skills should make the payoff well worth it, and if the first rehearsal is any hint at what’s to come, the audience should be entertained. Within about 30 minutes, the 10 competitors, under the guidance of two student choreographers, had the basics of the opening dance nailed down. Most already had a talent in mind.
It’s only fitting the 10th anniversary should warrant the effort.
The event raises money for the Jack Kunkle Memorial Scholarship Fund. Kunkle was the very first Mr. LT, crowned in 2014 and died from brain cancer after graduation and each year, the pageant, open to juniors and seniors, raises about $5,000 in his name. Besides the good it does, it’s grown into one of the best-loved shows of the year, all through dancing, swimsuits, an interview portion, a formal wear and a talent competition.
If the contest categories evoke stodgy talent show expectations of hours-long drudgery, the LT event is anything but. Partly, it’s practical.
As Peter Geddeis, the director of student activities, told the assembled Tuesday, Jan. 30, school officials are, in some ways, quite liberal and in others, fairly conservative. Obviously, the swimsuit competition isn’t too revealing per school rules, but the wackier the more welcome, inviting competitors to trot out floaties, SCUBA gear or, really, any old swimming costume.
But the competition is also a chance for older students to get in front of a spotlight and leave a mark and make a memory, so the result is also naturally fun and, if Tuesday is any hint, this year’s talent portion should be something to see.
To secure props and gear, Geddeis asked the students if they knew yet whether they’d have any special requirements for the talent portion.
One boy asked if he could cook on stage.
“We’ll have to check,” he responded. “I’ll have to ask.”
Another asked if he could use flash paper.
Again, Geddeis said he’d ask about using the paper, a must-have for flashy and fire-savvy magicians anywhere and this year, the magician is nothing if not savvy.
Lochlan McElroy, now senior, did the pageant last year. Magic is something of his specialty, having been practicing since he was a child, but he said he didn’t work out the timing quite right last year. The trick dragged.
“My act last year involved a lot of intentional fumbles leading up to a trick, but it went so long last year I think people thought the last trick was an intentional fumble.”
He said he planned to tighten it up and knows how to do that.
“This year I’m going to keep it short and sweet and make sure it’s interesting to watch,” he said.
With one-and-a-half months to work on the bit as opposed to three weeks, he figures he’ll have it worked out.
“There’s a lot more rehearsals we have to do,” he said.
Though, he said, he had a blast last year, too and that should remain unchanged.
“I did it last year it was a lot of fun and I’m hoping the event goes well this year,” he said.
Go it will. Although it’s a newer school tradition, the Mr. LT pageant is among a few annual events that hasn’t taken any time off.
In 2020, Geddeis said the contest was on track to sell out the Reber Center, but with days to go the school district — and the country at large — shuttered due to COVID-19. But the students were still geared up and ready to go and so, with the help of LTTV, the competitions were broadcast one night a week, for a week.
“Mr. LT is one of the few events to continue uninterrupted through the pandemic,” he said.
The show must — and did and does — go on.
This year’s show will be at 7 p.m. on March 16, and tickets are $5 each, though the school will also raise donations online for the memorial scholarship fund.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
