On Friday, Feb. 24, Kingsway hosted their annual Kingsway Live Show in the sold-out Eitel Theater. The show, which was previously known as Mr. Kingsway, showcases the talents of 12 senior boys as they compete for the coveted title of “King of Kingsway”.
Each boy is assigned a month as part of the show (i.e., Mr. January). This year’s contestants in month order were Zach Webb, Fox Camann, Jake Mason, Roman Kuzmizk, AJ Brennan, Adam Bretz, Christian Torres, Nate Maiers, Jason Zheng, Luke Wordelmann, Jack Arena, and Danny Allen.
At the end of the show various awards are given to the boys who excelled in specific areas of the competition. This year’s winner of both the King of Kingsway and People’s Choice was Mr. September, Jason Zheng.
Unlike most boys in the show, Zheng was not particularly interested in joining. “After being nominated by other students, I started to picture what this experience could be like and how much fun it would be. I realized an opportunity as special as this just wasn’t something I could pass up,” said Zheng.
The boys spent two months rehearsing for the show, including long days and late nights. “While they were probably two of the busiest months of my life, they were absolutely two of the best months of my life,” said Zheng.
This year’s theme was Hollywood which was a call back to this year’s homecoming dance of the same theme. The show began with a short clip of each boy as a classic movie character.
Many of the boys picked cult classics like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Risky Business, and Indiana Jones. Each clip ended with the boy being invited to compete in Kingsway Live in order to get people excited for the rest of the show.
The movie clips were edited by Mr. May, AJ Brennan, who says that his biggest takeaway from the Kingsway Live experience was “just the camaraderie between all the guys and every practice having so much fun with everyone”.
In addition to the clips, the show included full group dance numbers, lip sync battles, a strut contest, a Q and A segment, and a slow dance with each boy and their mother. The show also included a guest performance by senior, Francesca Solari, who sang “Somebody to Love” by Queen.
All the boys picked one senior girl to be their escort for the evening. The girls wore long gowns and participated in the strut competition and a dance number with their contestant.
The show was hosted by student council executive members: Shelby Dyer, Cali Volpe, Alyssa Donahue, and Alex Marx. It was choreographed by Shelby Dyer, Michaela Taylor, and Miranda Zeno.
During the week leading up to Kingsway Live, the school hosted a “Penny Wars” competition in which students could donate to one of the 12 charities that each contestant got to select. The contestant who chose the charity that raised the most money is always given the “Biggest Heart Award’. This year’s winner was the Special Olympics, and it was chosen by Mr. October, Luke Wordelmann.
This charity won largely because one student, John King, reportedly brought a suitcase full of pennies to donate to the Special Olympics.
Wordelmann and his escort, Olivia Lewin, also won the title of “Best Strut”.
Everyone in attendance voted for their favorite contestant during intermission in order to name the People’s Choice Award. After Zheng was crowned “King of Kingsway”, the 11 other contestants lifted him up and the crowd chanted his name.
This joyful conclusion to the evening was a testament to the friendships formed as the 12 boys worked hard to put their best foot forward this winter.
“To the future Kingsway Live boys, have fun and enjoy the process! This truly is a once in a lifetime experience. It will be over before you know it, so make sure to take time to appreciate it in the moment, “ said Zheng.
— by Audrey Pachuta, 12th Grade
