 |
| John Jay Man 2016 |
The crowded auditorium buzzed with excitement as the students and parents waited patiently for the eleventh annual John Jay Man to begin. The show was set up by National Honor Society, and all the money made that night went towards the Grace Smith House. The show opened with the hosts, Jake Karst and Vishnu Adapa. Then, the much anticipated John Jay Men were introduced, first with a “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift parody video, which briefly introduced all 10 of the men. The curtain raised and revealed Michael Flanagan, Joey Smith, Josh Martel, Ryan Schumacher, Eric Wakefield, Matt Benedict, Lorenzo Aviles, Vinny Farina, Kevin Turi, and Dan Fay standing in a line wearing neon colored shirts with corresponding bandanas. They performed a hilarious dance which was choreographed by NHS president Grace Gionta and Anna Difede.
Next, each John Jay Man was introduced individually wearing their character wear, which was their outfit of choice that mirrored their personality. Once everyone was introduced, the men came out on stage one by one wearing formal wear, featuring many coloured tuxedos and stunning dresses worn by their ladies. The last event before intermission was their personal skits: the 10 men performed their variety of talents, such as monologues, interviews, instrument playing and opera.
We were then released for an intermission, and when we came back, the hosts began elimination rounds. Each John Jay man was eliminated until only three remained: Mr. Nice Guy (Kevin Turi), Mr. #Artsy (Joey Smith), and Mr. Goofball (Vinny Farina). A careful decision was made by the judges. Finally, Joey Smith, otherwise known as Mr. #Artsy, was crowned John Jay Man 2016. Not only did Joey impress the judges with his musical abilities during his skit by playing the banjo, acoustic guitar, saxophone and drums, but he wooed their hearts by telling the story of his first date with his girlfriend, Sarah Holan. He told about how he tried to teach her guitar and while she was trying to make conversation, he sat awkwardly and stared at the floor, only communicating through murmurs. They've been dating many months since!
Mr. #Artsy is a definite crowd pleaser and deserves the title John Jay Man.