Deepher Dude drew students of the University of New Haven to Dodds Theater Nov. 20; not a single seat was free Thursday night as students came out to support Delta Phi Epsilon sorority for their annual event.
Deepher Dude, a male pageant show held annually by the sisters of DPhiE, raises funds and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. At the end of the night, Jesse Latorraca was crowned Deepher Dude; JP DiTommaso finished second.
“It’s still hitting me in waves,” Latorraca said. “I’m so honored to be Deepher Dude and I can’t wait to work more with the ladies of DPhiE.”
Hosted by last year’s Deepher Dude, Connor Debold and DPhiE sisters Kayla Wallace and Isolina Seda, Deepher Dude was a success by keeping the crowded theater entertained and laughing from start to finish.
Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States. CFF became one of DPhiE’s three philanthropies in 1967.
Megan Scutti, DPhiE’s vice president of programming, and Nikole Schroder, coordinator of philanthropy, coordinated the event. The two had been working on Deepher Dude for while; they began talking about it at the end of last semester and really started to plan the night in the middle of the summer.
The 10 contestants of Deepher Dude raised $4,259.90—far more than the $2,789 the contestants of last years’ Deepher Dude raised. Contestant Jeff Peck raised the most money of all the contestants.
“We didn’t expect to raise that much at all!” said Scutti. “We were hoping for $3,000 and on the day of, we were just at $2,000. Slowly, right before the event, we got a huge hit of donations.”
The contestants made their way to the stage and started the show by performing a choreographed dance to a medley of different Top 40 songs, setting the atmosphere for the night. The contest featured four rounds—formal wear, creativity, talent and DPhiE inspired.
For the first round, each contestant wore formal attire and was escorted by a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon across stage.
The boys showed their creativity in the second round by coming out in outlandish costumes with their escorts. Winner Jesse Latorocca performed a chemical reaction that created oxygen for those suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Between each round, guest performances kept the crowd entertained. These performances featured the Elite Step Team, the UNH Dance Team, the 5-6-7-8 Dance Team and the brothers of Lambda Alpha Upsilon.
The final round of the show was DPhiE inspired; most contestants dressed in purple and gold, the sorority’s colors, or as unicorns: the sorority’s mascot. This round was accompanied by trivia questions about Cystic Fibrosis and the sorority in general.
The crowd was in for a surprise when winner Latarocca shaved his head for the crowd after raising $50 throughout the night. “It started as a joke, but then I figured it’d be a good way to keep raising money for a great cause,” he said.
Deepher Dude was truly centered on bringing awareness of Cystic Fibrosis to the campus throughout the night; the night started with an informational video and guest speaker Lauren Brennermen spoke about her fight with Cystic Fibrosis.
