Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards Winners Announced at Palace Theater Gala

For the fifth year, The Spirit of Broadway Theater in Norwich, CT presented The Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards at a black tie gala event at the Palace Theater in Waterbury on Tuesday night. The large number of high school students in attendance took the black tie dress code very seriously and they appreciated each other's work throughout the glittering evening.

The host for the gala was Tony Award winning actress Debbie Gravitte and she kept the show moving for the three and half hours without an intermission. Starting at 6:00 pm was a very good idea; I was home by 10:00 pm.  

The program  celebrates arts in our schools and recognizes individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performances by high school students from throughout Connecticut. As the nationally designated, high school musical theater awards program for the State, The Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards are connected with The National High School Musical Theater Award Program based in NYC. The lucky winners of the outstanding actor and actress of the Connecticut awards will participate in a five-day intensive “Broadway boot camp” in New York and then compete nationally at a ceremony to be held July 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre.

This year 26 high schools from across the state participated and the award winners are announced in between performances from the nominated productions. The quality of these performances were truly outstanding, even for someone who had seen many of them before. When Newtown HS took to the stage to open the evening with "Brotherhood of Man" from their How to Succeed.., I literally felt chills. There were several numbers from Ridgefield HS' Les Miserables and all of them were excellent. The huge cast of Trumbull HS' Crazy for You performed an amazing tap number.
 
The talented actress playing Violet in Regional Center for the Arts' 9 to 5 secretly changed her costume onstage. The two numbers from St. Paul's Catholic HS' (a school that has taken part in the awards all five years) production of Little Women made me wish I had seen the entire show. Immaculate HS showed off their talents in some numbers from In The Heights. When Amity HS took to the stage for two numbers from their awesome production of Sweeney Todd, it brought down the house.  

Some special "moments" included a moving tribute to Newtown with selected students singing "Seasons of Love;" this was introduced by the producer of From Broadway with Love. Former award winners returned to perform separately and together. Some of these young people also served as presenters with Miss Greater Waterbury handing out the awards to the winners. A large orchestra that appeared to contain at least some student musicians accompanied the vast majority of the performers and played while some recipients made the long trek to the stage. The nominees were projected on a smallish screen and featured photos of their productions and stylish graphics.  

The award winners were allowed to give an acceptance speech and were gently hurried if they went on too long. Some of them were very heartfelt and the words of Taylor Varga from Newtown HS brought tears to this reviewer's eyes. My one complaint was that the houselights were dimmed so low that I had a tough time keeping track of who won what. I did not have that trouble at the Halo Awards, but then I was sitting in a different part of the balcony.  

Congratulations to all the winners and to the Spirit of Broadway Theater on putting together a professional and impressive gala. Please note that the name of the awards is in fact "Musical Theater" and not "Music Theater" as it appears on their Facebook page. Although my ticket to the event was a little pricey, I look forward to attending the gala next year.
 
2013 WINNERS

OUTSTANDING HAIR & MAKE UP ACHIEVEMENT

Amity Regional High School – SWEENEY TODD

OUTSTANDING COSTUMING ACHIEVEMENT

Trumbull High School – CRAZY FOR YOU
Mary Joan Wright, Merial Cornell, Jeanette Davidson

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN ACHIEVEMENT

Amity Regional High School – SWEENEY TODD
Dan Hassenmayer

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN ACHIEVEMENT

Immaculate High School – IN THE HEIGHTS
Joe Loya & Mary Raymond

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION

Amity Regional High School – SWEENEY TODD
Robert & Andrea Kennedy

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY

Trumbull High School – CRAZY FOR YOU
Frank & Abigail Root

OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION

Ridgefield High School – LES MISERABLES
Joyce Flanagan

OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRA

Amity Regional High School – SWEENEY TODD
 
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS

St. Paul’s Catholic – LITTLE WOMEN
Jillian Caillouette – JO MARCH

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR

Newtown High School – HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS
Taylor Varga - J. PIERPONT FINCH

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Valley Regional High School – BRIGADOON
Grace Carver – MEG BROCKIE

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR

Amity Regional High School – SWEENEY TODD
Peter Charney - TOBY

OUTSTANDING CHORUS

Stamford High School – GUYS & DOLLS
Bennett Leads – NICELY-NICELY JOHNSON

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE GROUP
 
Trumbull High School – CRAZY FOR YOU – Follies Girls
Beth Murphy, Marisa Noschese, Carley Berlin, Ava Gallo, Katherine Griffin, Kayla Murry, Rakshana Selvarajan, Ya’Monei Teel

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR

Amity Regional High School – SWEENEY TODD
 
OUTSTANDING LOBBY DISPLAY

Amity Regional High School – SWEENEY TODD
Cheri Charney & Tom Lawler


OUTSTANDING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT and ARTS IN EDUCATION AWARDS.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NOMINEES
(5 awards presented)

Trumbull High School – CRAZY FOR YOU
Greg St. Germain – Student Lighting Design

Waterbury Arts Magnet School – IN THE HEIGHTS
Claire Gaudette - PSM

Ridgefield High School – LES MISERABLES
Catherine Heller – Scenic Artist

Valley Regional High School – BRIGADOON
Benedict Stephens – Student Percussion

Newtown High School – HOW TO SUCCEED
Sean Watkins – Stage Manager

ACHIEVEMENT IN ARTS EDUCATION AWARDS
(1 award  presented)

Plainfield High School – WILLY WONKA
Brian Stevenson & Kevin Marino

The 4th President's Award went to Cary Dupont from St. Paul's Catholic HS and OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC DESIGN went to Westhill High School for CHICAGO.