The opening night of the 2013 Halo Awards was electric. The students were dressed to the nines, many of the ladies in their prom gowns and the gentlemen dressed for the occasion. At the reception held for the hour before the awards ceremony, Seven Angels photographer Gary Rosengrant snapped photos of the nominees and I even had one taken of me.
Once the doors to the Palace Theater opened, the students hurried to sit in their assigned sections marked with large signs on the orchestra level. I joined the parents and friends in the balcony, where I was welcomed by Paul Roth, the PR person for Seven Angels. Mr. Roth took a huge number of photos of the people on stage from across the aisle.
Semina DeLaurentis, Artistic Director at Seven Angels, explained that these awards began at her theater with a dozen schools from the greater Waterbury area, and now has grown to 42 high schools from six of the eight counties in Connecticut. The fourteen distinguished (and probably very tired) Halo judges attended an astounding 82 high school productions this year; it took the team two nights of deliberations to choose the winners in all the categories. The awards galas were sponsored by the Naugatuck Savings Bank Foundation.
Michelle Gotay was the host for the first night. Although it was her first time ever hosting the event, she was a natural. Decked out in a floor length brown frock, she looked the part of the talented actress and motivational speaker that she is. The bonus was that she was hysterically funny throughout the evening. Because she knew that asking the teens to turn off their cell phones was useless, she requested that they mute them and Tweet and Instigram "the Halos out of the evening." She may have been just a little intimidated by the host scheduled for the next evening (WATR's Tom Chute,) but perhaps it is he who should be a little afraid.
The performances by the students were all first rate. The curtain raiser were none other than Naugatuck High School's Preston Bogan and Kaylin Spaulding as Michelle and Brian from Alice Through the Internet. This talented duo told me that they scored their own dressing room that evening and their improv was the perfect way to open the gala. Immaculate HS performed "96,000" from In the Heights, Pomperaug HS did "Forget About the Boy" from Thoroughly Modern Millie. The Gunnery presented "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" from their Avenue Q. The three schools that did Fiddler on the Roof worked together to present a collection of scenes from the show. Nonnewaug HS did "Guys and Dolls" from their production of the same name and Bethel HS performed a scene from Murder is a Game. The first act closed with the rousing "One Day More" from Les Miz and the audience was on its feet.
The second act opened with Torrington HS and Holy Cross HS doing two different songs from their productions of Godspell. The teachers that work with the nominated students were called to the stage to be honored. Oxford HS performed "Been a Long Day" from their production of How to Succeed... while Shepaug HS sang "Coffee Break" from the same show. New Fairfield HS did "Before the Parade Passes By" from Hello Dolly and Chase Collegiate reprised the opening number from their production of Into the Woods. New Canaan HS did the final number, "Change in Me" and the finale from their Beauty and the Beast.
In between all this, distinguished presenters read the names of each and every nominee and then announced the winners. The student came to the stage to accept their trophy and certificate and have a photo taken. The winners in each category are listed below:
Tuesday, May 28, 2013 Halo Award WINNERS
MUSICALS
Best Musical
• Ridgefield HS- Les Miserables
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
• Watertown HS- Ted Rogozinski as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
• New Canaan HS- Christy Coco as Belle in Beauty & the Beast
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Musical
• New Canaan HS- Daniel Klingenstein as Gaston in Beauty & the Beast
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical
• Immaculate HS- Deanna Lasco as Vanessa in In the Heights
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
• Pomperaug HS- Daniel Dressel as Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
• Wamogo HS- Stephanie Davis as Doris Macaffee in Bye Bye Birdie
Best Comic Male Performance in a Musical TIE
• Oxford HS- Tyler Panek as J.B. Biggley in How to Succeed
• Housatonic Valley Regional HS- Becket Harney as Motel in Fiddler on the Roof
Best Comic Female Performance in a Musical
• Wamogo HS- Emily Creighton as Mae Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie
Best Performance by a Couple or Duo in a Musical
• New Fairfield- Joe Lewis & Ryan Taylor as Cornelius & Barnaby in Hello Dolly
Best Acting by an Ensemble Cast in a Musical
• Holy Cross- in Godspell
Best Standout Performance in an Ensemble Musical:
• Holy Cross- Ryan Holub as Jesus in Godspell
Best Orchestra: (75% students or more)
• Ridgefield HS- Les Miserables
Best Specialty Ensemble in a Musical:
• The Gunnery- “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist” in Avenue Q
Best Choreographer
• Nonnewaug HS- Shannara Bauer for Guys and Dolls
Best Dancing
• New Canaan HS- Beauty & the Beast
Best Featured Dancer(s)
• Immaculate HS- Katie Franqueira as Graffiti Pete in In the Heights
Gypsy of the Year
• Watertown HS: Lauren Diaferio
PLAYS
Best Play
• Pomperaug HS- The Learned Ladies
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
• Shepaug HS- Billy Heyne as Sir Peter Teazle in School for Scandal Best
Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
• The Gunnery- Sagine Corrielus as Amanda in The Glass Menagerie
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Play
• Watertown HS- Josh Diorio as Captain Hook in Peter Pan
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Play
• Hartford Classical Magnet School- Tracie Kunzika as Clytemnestra in Iphigenia 2.0
Best Featured Actor in a Play
• Chase Collegiate HS- Hayden Hall as Paul Bonin in A Lesson Before Dying
Best Featured Actress in a Play
• New Canaan HS- Isabel Lawrence as Washing Machine (Soap Opera) in All in the Timing
Best Comic Male Performance in a Play
• Chase Collegiate HS- Brian Smail III as Duane Wilson in Harvey
Best Comic Female Performance in a Play
• Bethel HS- Jennifer Cote as June Ripley in Murder is a Game
Best Acting by an Ensemble Cast in a Play
• Torrington- Welcome to the Monkey House
Best Specialty Ensemble in a Play - This category was not in the program; if this award was given out, I missed it!
• Immaculate HS- Rachel Volpe, Katie Franqueria & Jessi Cowle as “The Witches” in Macbeth
• Hartford Classical Magnet School- Briana Salmon, Olivia Sayah, Tracie Kunzika & Shannon Kennedy as “Witches & Conjurers” in Dark of the Moon
Fearless Award (Play)- Language and subject
• Hartford Classical Magnet School- Iphigenia 2.0
Best Original Music or Scoring in a Play
• Chase Collegiate HS- Niko DeGroot for A Lesson Before Dying
TECHNICAL/ADMIN CATEGORIES
Best Lighting Design
• Chase Collegiate HS-Matthew Szczygiel for A Lesson Before Dying & Into the Woods
Best Scenic Design
• Shepaug HS- Julia McCabe, Bruce Laveine, Conor Schur, Emma Thermer, Kelby Lawson, Gabe Ducey, Jared Marsh, Sadie Fleming, Kelley Swenson, Amber Wright, Jack Sorrel, Josh Thermer, Emily Taylor for How to Succeed…
Best Costume Design
• Pomperaug HS- Natalia Riedel, Designer and Melissa Hampton, Assistant for The Learned Ladies
Best Hair and Make-up Design
• Immaculate HS- Rachel Maguire and Karly Coppola for Macbeth
Best Sound Design
• Woodhall School- Jared Asher for Of Mice and Men
Best Sound Execution
• Ridgefield HS- Jacob Feldman & J.P. Misciegna for Les Miserables
Best Stage Management & Running Crew
• Ridgefield HS- Maddie Wrablewski, SM and Holly Storm, Crew Chief for Les Miserables
Best Special Effects
• Torrington HS- Jagger Perusse for his video in Godspell
Best Props Design and Management
• New Canaan HS- Bridget Dougherty, Props Head and Lauren Peet, Props Assistant for Beauty & the Beast
Best Original Program Cover Design or Artwork
• Pomperaug HS- Noelle Tweedie for The Learned Ladies
Special Recognition Awards
“Above and Beyond” (or “The Mickey Rooney Award”)
• Watertown HS- Total Student Production
o Andrew Terzigni: Stage Manager, Lighting, Sound and Set Designer
o Yasmine Al-Omari & Stephanie McCaffrey, Directors
Against All Odds (Overcoming all obstacles)
• Joel Barlow High School Orchestra
The Gino Conforti Award
• Joel Barlow’s Tahlia Cott
• Watertown’s Olivia Moaddel
Artistic Director’s Award
• Shepaug’s Amanda Taylor
Outstanding Contribution to the Community
• Bethel High School for Cinderella, Cinderella
Producer’s Award
• Joel Barlow’s Thomas Ordway
Stanislavski Award: No Small Players
• New Fairfield’s Nicole Bobbins
More about the Halo Awards and Wednesday night's gala tomorrow.
