As the curtain drops on the high school theater season, the casts and crews hope to add one final moment in the spotlight at the 2014 Sovereign Majestic Awards.
The annual awards, recognizing excellence in Schuylkill County high school theater programs, will be held at 7 p.m. May 19 at North Schuylkill High School. Tickets for the event are $8. Students who were involved in their school's production are admitted free.
"It highlights the remarkable talent we have in our county," said Amy Burkhart, executive director of PADCO, which coordinates the event. Held since 2006, Burkhart said the awards are modeled after the Tony Awards, which salute Broadway theater.
According to the Sovereign Majestic Theater website, www.sovereignmajestic.com, nine schools entered productions to be judged for this year's awards. They were: Blue Mountain, "Thoroughly Modern Millie;" Minersville Area, "Anything Goes;" Nativity, "Godspell;" North Schuylkill," Annie Get Your Gun;" Pottsville Area, "Oliver!;" Schuylkill Haven Area, "Sweeny Todd The Demon Butcher of Fleet Street;" Shenandoah Valley, " The Producers;" Tamaqua Area, "Honk!;" Tri-Valley, "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
Adriane Drum, director at Tamaqua Area, said the Sovereign Majestic Awards are a nice addition to the theater season.
"Months and months of practice go into creating a show, and it is often disappointing when the show has ended. The awards ceremony gives the students something to look forward to and to be excited about," Drum said.
Nominations were announced Monday and Tamaqua Area's production of "Honk!" was one of the five selected for Outstanding Overall Production. The other nominees are Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area and Schuylkill Haven Area.
"Honk!" is a musical adaptation of the classic children's story "The Ugly Duckling." Drum said the show went "extremely well." It was held on March 21 and 22, and Drum said both shows were well attended.
The success of the show was particularly exciting for Drum because of the show's young crew. She said the cast consisted of 38 students in grades seven through 12, plus 40 additional students in the stage crew, light crew, pit band, hair and make-up and set construction crews.
"I was so proud of the entire group for everything that they were able to accomplish, particularly because they are such a young group. And for the majority of the students, this was their first time being involved in a musical," Drum said.
Of the 38 cast members, she said eight were returning members from last year's crew.
For her efforts, Drum was nominated for Overall Direction, along with Harry Lucas from North Schuylkill, Maria Malek and Amy Babcock from Pottsville Area, Gloria Evert from Schuylkill Haven Area and Lisa Gillespie and Kelly Coldren from Blue Mountain.
Gillespie said it was the students' decision to enter the production into the awards and it paid off with multiple nominations Monday.
"As for the awards, we did not even commit to being included in them until the last minute. The students wanted to be involved, so we agreed," she said.
"Thoroughly Modern Millie" is set in 1922 and follows a young girl named Millie who travels to New York from Kansas in hopes of finding a rich husband. The club held three performances from April 4-6.
"We are extremely happy with the outcome of the show. The students were completely committed and worked hard to put on three outstanding performances," Gillespie said.
For both Drum and Gillespie, who were first-time lead directors, the focus was more about getting the students ready for the best performance possible.
"Generally, I don't think about the awards ceremony while preparing for the show. In fact, it was only when someone mentioned that the judges had picked up their tickets on the night of the show that the Sovereign Majestics were mentioned," Drum said. "Many of the younger students had no knowledge of the awards ceremony until the few upperclassmen explained it to them."
"The focus of our efforts has always been to put on the best show possible with the resources we have. We would have put on exactly the same show if there were no awards program, no judges and no outside recognition," Gillespie said.
However, both are pleased that there is a special event to honor the students and their work.
"Of course, as a director, you always think about the nominations earned the previous year and hope to improve on that. It is extremely fulfilling to see the students get recognized for their hard work," Drum said. "It is wonderful to see the reactions of those students fortunate enough to be nominated for an award, and it is a wonderful confirmation of their talents and efforts."
Gillespie said the event is also a good way to expand the arts in the county.
"I applaud their attempt to acknowledge the students efforts and to continue to promote the arts in our area," she said.
In addition to the presentation of awards, the event will feature pieces from the nominated shows. Burkhart said each school is allotted 4 minutes to perform a number from their musical. For example, Drum said her students will be performing "Poultry Tale" at the ceremony.
Also, alumni award recipients of Outstanding Leading Actor/Actress, Outstanding Supporting Actor/Actress and Outstanding Male/Female Vocalist are invited to present the awards. The alumni attending will have the opportunity to participate in a musical number made specially for the event.
For more information on the awards show, visit the Sovereign Majestic Theater website.
List of nominees:
Outstanding leading actress: Lauren Tidmore as Millie Dillmount in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," Blue Mountain; Maura Gownley as Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun," North Schuylkill; Leah Guzick as Oliver Twist in "Oliver!," Pottsville Area; Morgan Bates as Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Schuylkill Haven Area; Aimee Hull as Ida in "Honk!," Tamaqua Area
Outstanding supporting actress: Taylor Zerbe as Mrs. Meers in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," Blue Mountain; Cassidy Munley as Nancy in "Oliver!," Pottsville Area; Meghan Artley as Ulla Inga Hansen Bensen Yonsen Tallen Hallen Svaden Svanson in "The Producers," Shenandoah Valley; Olivia Behr as Dot in "Honk!," Tamaqua Area; Kylee Clark as Rona Lisa Peretti/Olive's mom in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," Tri-Valley
Outstanding leading actor: Jeffrey Lazarchick as Jimmy Smith in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," Blue Mountain; Aden Wolfe as Frank Butler in "Annie Get Your Gun," North Schuylkill; Anthony Wojciechowsky as Fagin in "Oliver!," Pottsville Area; Jacob Beers as Ugly in "Honk!," Tamaqua Area; Jared Kehler as William Barfee in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," Tri-Valley
Outstanding supporting actor: Daniel Heim as Mr. Trevor Graydon in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," Blue Mountain; Tyler Rossias as John the Baptist/Judas in "Godspell," Nativity; Andy Kelley as Bill Sykes in "Oliver!," Pottsville Area; Nick Twardzik as Leo Bloom in "The Producers," Shenandoah Valley; Jacob Gursky as Cat in "Honk!," Tamaqua Area
Outstanding chorus: Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Shenandoah Valley, Tri-Valley
Outstanding female vocalist: Eva Blankenhorn as Muzzy Van Hossmere in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," Blue Mountain; Makenna Copeland as Makenna in "Godspell," Nativity; Maura Gownley, North Schuylkill; Cassidy Munley, Pottsville Area; Morgan Bates, Schuylkill Haven Area
Outstanding male vocalist: Jeffrey Lazarchick, Blue Mountain; Aden Wolfe, North Schuylkill; Anthony Wojciechowsky, Pottsville Area; Riley Miller as Max Bialystock in "The Producers," Shenandoah Valley; Jacob Beers, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding character actor: Katie Krasinski as Bonnie LaTour in "Anything Goes," Minersville Area; Kyle McGarry as Sweeney Todd in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Schuylkill Haven Area; Evan Rooney as Franz Liebkind in "The Producers," Shenandoah Valley; Jeffrey Stahler as Bullfrog in "Honk!," Tamaqua Area; Jonathan Snyder as Leaf Coneybear/Carl's dad in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," Tri-Valley
Outstanding scenic design: Blue Mountain, Minersville Area, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area
Outstanding lighting design: Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area, Shenandoah Valley
Outstanding small ensemble: Jordan Tellez as Ching and Pierce Beck as Ling in "Anything Goes," Minersville Area; Leah Guzick as Oliver Twist, the Street Criers and Chorus, "Who Will Buy" from "Oliver!," Pottsville Area; Kyle McGarry as Sweeney Todd and Morgan Bates, "A Little Priest" from "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Schuylkill Haven Area; Evan Rooney, Nick Twardzik and Riley Miller, "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" from "The Producers," Shenandoah Valley; Caitlin Chiaretti as Olive Ostrovski, Kylee Clark as Olive's mom and Cory Leitzel as Olive's dad, "The 'I Love You' Song" from "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," Tri-Valley
Outstanding achievement in costume design: Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding achievement in hair/makeup: Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area, Shenandoah Valley
Outstanding graphic design: Blue Mountain, Nativity, Schuylkill Haven Area, Shenandoah Valley, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding video design: Blue Mountain, Schuylkill Haven Area, Shenandoah Valley
Outstanding orchestra: Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding choreography: Blue Mountain, North Schuyl-kill, Pottsville Area, Shenandoah Valley, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding stage crew: Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding lobby design: Blue Mountain, Minersville Area, Nativity BVM, Shenandoah Valley, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding production number: Blue Mountain, "Speed Test," "Thoroughly Modern Millie;" North Schuylkill, "I Got the Sun in the Morning," "Annie Get Your Gun;" Pottsville Area, "Consider Yourself," "Oliver!;" Shenandoah Valley, "Along Came Bialy," "The Producers;" Tamaqua Area, "The Wild Goose Chase," "Honk!"
Overall direction: Lisa Gillespie and Kelly Coldren, Blue Mountain; Harry Lucas, North Schuylkill; Maria Malek and Amy Babcock, Pottsville Area; Gloria Evert, Schuylkill Haven Area; Adriane Drum, Tamaqua Area
Outstanding overall production: Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area, Tamaqua Area