By ANNA GILGOFF

Special to The Press

After a two-year absence, Mr. Northwestern returned to the stage offering seniors the opportunity to create their own show that combined music, dance, and fashion, ultimately resulting in a friendly competition for the coveted title.

Nate Peters took top honors and the right to claim the Mr. Northwestern title for 2022.

For his talent, Peters sang his own version of “Rainbow Connection” and accompanied himself on guitar.

“I’ve been playing since 2017,” he said.

At the conclusion of his song, the entire cast of Mr. Northwestern took to the stage to sing the final chorus in a display of camaraderie combined with humor.

This very combination tied the acts together.

Playing Beethoven’s popular Fur Elise on the piano, Dylan Moss performed the piece in a traditional manner while his competitors strolled along the stage scattering Monopoly money.

Suddenly, Batman emerged to nab a thief attempting to steal the money for himself.

There were individual acts as well.

Ethan Lazarus self-titled his talent as “card magic.

“I’ve been doing card tricks for years,” he explained.

Lucas van Lierop’s entry was a brain game where he said it was all about “trying to fool the audience.”

Borrowing from the vaudeville entertainment of old, this year’s Mr. Northwestern included 10 senior boys practicing and rehearsing to create an entirely original program designed to make the audience laugh.

All in good fun, Mr. Northwestern is a student council fundraiser according Student Council Co-President Eli Dellicker.

“This year, we’re donating to Alex’s Lemonade in honor of Wyatt Newhard, a Northwestern student who would have been a junior this year,” he said.

Newhard died at the age of 14 after an 11-year battle with neuroblastoma.

Behind the scenes several students were on hand to help in various ways.

“I’m secretary of student council but I’ve never been a part of Mr. Northwestern before,” junior Angelina Klein said. “The seniors have been working really hard on the show.”

The last time Mr. Northwestern was staged, the seniors were freshmen.

“In the last couple of years, we hadn’t done it,” Dellicker said. “So it’s been a challenge since we don’t have any experience with it.”

But the absence gave the event a restart.

“We’re reinventing a little bit of the show, while giving the students freedom,” said Lauren Elsenbaumer, one of the two student council advisers.

According to her, she and co-adviser Tim Churetta established some parameters on what would be acceptable, including a code of behavior.

“There was a lot of chatter among the students,” Elsenbaumer said two days before the event. “This is the first big student council event, and we are very excited to have something like this.”

Peters commented on the contest.

“It was a very enjoyable way to end the our high school experience at Northwestern,” Peters said.