For its 10th anniversary, the popular Mr. West Essex senior pageant and talent show, held on March 22, expanded its horizons with female contestants pairing up with male contestants. Seniors Ant Sangillo and Alexa Artale were crowned winners of the new and improved Mr. and Ms. West Essex.

Hosts Chris Tsakonas and Devyn Aschenbach said the format’s changes led to new creative performances. “I think it really forced people to come out of their shells and be comfortable with people that they normally would never be comfortable with,” Aschenbach said.

The show ran similar to past years with an opening number, catwalk, talents and teacher impersonations. The opening number of the show related to current world issues, as the girls running in the show staged a women’s march for equality, leading into the introduction of the “Ms. West Essex” aspect of the show.

“I thought the opening number was relevant to today’s society, but it really wasn’t as comical as past years,” senior Joey Ploscowe said.

The catwalk consisted of who wore it best and a “Barbie and Ken” catwalk segment. Contestants poked fun at fellow peers by imitating seniors Nick Silvestro and Thomas “Tommasino” Tortorello.

Talent highlights included Ant Sangillo and Alexa Artale’s original song about Fairfield, as well as Alex Apito and Michael DiGiacomo’s trivia game that even brought DiGiacomo’s mother into the contest: When his mother answered a question incorrectly, a part of his body got waxed.

Teacher impressions consisted of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Llauget by the Ruvo twins and Ms. Lazarro and Mr. Ferrara by Apito and DiGiacomo. “One of my favorite parts of the show was the impressions when Paige Wasserman and Heath Kalb imitated Ms. J and Mr. Humes,” sophomore Tommy Drago said.

Participants worked on the show for four weeks, pushing them outside comfort zones and putting on a memorable show.

“We practiced a lot so I wasn’t too nervous,” Artale said. “I just hoped that everything would work out right.”