JAY — Following in the footsteps of an old Jay High School tradition, Spruce Mountain High School has started a new tradition with the annual lip sync contest.

Back by popular demand after a three-year hiatus, the lip sync provided an evening of relief from winter’s icy grip as students took to the stage on Jan. 10. The students gave the audience a smorgasbord of different acts in a friendly competition for three prizes.

The evening’s hosts, Caitlyn Beliveau and Matt Vigue, didn’t know until just before the show that they would be announcing the acts and offering comedic commentary in between.

“We were nervous about doing it,” said Beliveau.

“It was given to us as a gift from Mrs. (Kristal) Anuszewski,” Vigue commented. “It ended up being pretty fun.”

The opening act was a chronological review by the Broadway Bound class of some of the best musicals Broadway has produced. Students who performed in the first act included Vanese Barnes, Vigue, Beliveau, Tara Williams, Kaylee Maraffa, Haley Donka, Autumn Michaud, Brooke Steele, Liz Chretien, Katie Gordon, John McKenna, Jon Morse, Kurt Tibbetts, Nick Guild, Shane Missler, Camden Noll, Dillen Christian, Dalton Webster, and Brett Simmard.

Broadway Bound was the sponsor of this year’s lip sync. Vigue and Beliveau shared some of their thoughts on the semester-long class.

“We’ve been working on our performance and we watched a lot of Broadway plays,” said Beliveau.

“We learned a lot about the history of the plays,” said Vigue. “It was pretty interesting.”

Anuszewski noted that for a while, she wasn’t sure if there would be enough students to do the lip sync.

“A lot of kids sign up and they’re responsible for putting their stuff together. They get busy with other stuff, and it’s right after Christmas break,” she explained.

This is the first year of the Broadway Bound class. They have studied various plays and in doing so, have learned about American culture.

“Experiences are common and timeless,” said Anuszewski. “Those experiences we see in the arts bind us as a human race.”

The first place winner was “Help”, featuring senior class officers Brooke Steele, Ian Jewett, Shelby Bryant, and special guest, teacher Robin Miller, performing the famous Beatles song. Bryant took second place with “Everybody Talks”, a “chin sync” on a large screen featuring Bryant wearing plastic eyes and a fake nose and mustache on her chin. Third place went to Alex Kennedy, Sarah Collins, Chloe Flagg, Dustin Jones, and Camden Noll for “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Other performances included “There is a Reason These Tables are Numbered”, by Kaylin Beck; the SMHS girls’ varsity basketball team (Vanese Barnes, Victoria Ouellette, Kailee Newcomb, Emily Keene, Emily Hogan, Samantha Richards, Amia Pelletier, LaDesta Tracy, Amanda Castonguay, Brooke Tracy, Rylee Moore, Nicole Hamblin, and Alex Bessey), who did “Space Jam”; Autumn Bridges and Alyssa Black, who performed “Stay”; “Star Wars Rhapsody”, by Jason Griffen, Scott Hilliard, Shane Riley, Caleb Beaudoin, Andrew Catnese, and Andrew Richards; “Bleeding Love”, by Sasha Brown; “Let Me Clear My Throat”, by SMHS boys basketball players Matt Vigue, Austin Darling, Austin Couture, Peter Theriault, Anthony York, and Deonte Ring; “Skater Boy”, by Jillian Buote; “Turn Up the Music”, by Javonta Hill; and “Do You Love Me” from Fiddler on the Roof, by teachers Barbara and Eric Jewett.

Proceeds benefited the SMHS Drama Club that is fundraising to purchase a new light board.

The Broadway Bound class at Spruce Mountain High School presents a musical review during the school’s lip sync on Jan. 10.

Left to right: Camden Noll, Alex Kennedy, and Chloe Flagg perform “Bohemian Rhapsody” during the SMHS lip sync.

Barbara and Eric Jewett, both teachers at SMHS, perform “Do You Love Me” from Fiddler on the Roof.

Javonta Hill does a backflip to “Turn Up the Music”.

The Phoenix girls’ basketball team jams out to “Space Jam”.

Matt Vigue and Caitlyn Beliveau were hosts for the lip sync.

Jillian Buote performs “Skater Boy”.

The Phoenix boys’ basketball team entertained with their rendition of “Let Me Clear My Throat”.