Cue announcer: “This is … ‘Mohigan Idol.’ ”
OK, so Ryan Seacrest won’t be on the stage of the Metropolitan Theatre next month to emcee, but the Hollywood-styled glamour and glitz of the talent show for a good cause will still commence as it has since 2011, organizers say.
That was the year the then-student council of MHS had a charitable idea to play off the popularity of “American Idol,” the network television juggernaut.
“We can raise money for the hospital,” the budding policymakers said.
As in, WVU Medicine Children’s.
To date, the talent show for students from Mon’s public and private schools has raised nearly $200,000 for the hospital.
It’s had a profitable run, organizers said — and that even includes 2020, when the pandemic booted it off the stage of the Met and into the virtual realm for remote entertainment.
“It has been pretty amazing,” MHS teacher and student council advisor Gretchen Gibson told The Dominion Post previously.
“We went from a couple of acts in our auditorium, to all this,” she said. “It’s been pretty special.”
That’s because WVU Medicine Children’s is special, she said.
Young patients from all 55 counties in West Virginia undergo specialized treatment there.
Their families bring them from surrounding states and across oceans to get well.
The hospital is known for its neonatal care, and its physicians regularly receive national and international accolades for their work and research.
All that, plus its own 10-story tower, adjacent to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital.
Then, there’s “Idol,” on its own.
As in, the fun spectacle of a countywide revue of students from all grades, all carried out under the lights at the storied stage on High Street.
String quartets. Metal bands.
Tap dancers and those who sway to ballet or interpretive jazz.
Solo vocalists crooning, or belting it out, to backing tracks from the Great American Songbook or the Memphis Blues.
This year’s competition even features a battle of the bands, organizers said.
Mohigan Idol 2023 will be at 7 p.m. March 4 at the Met, and video auditions will be accepted through the end of this month.
Visit www.mohiganidol.com to donate and virtually meet the elementary, middle and high school contestants.
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