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Monthly Archives: June 2011

Theatre Review: Priscilla Queen of the Desert @ Palace Theatre, 06/25/11

30 Jun

If you are looking for good time on Broadway, then grab tickets to Priscilla Queen of the Desert! It’s funny, endearing, fabulous, and chock full of some of the biggest and best pop songs ever written!

I will say this: Priscilla Queen of the Desert is about a thousand times more interesting and exciting than the Broadway staple, Mamma Mia. It’s hard not to compare the two shows because both shows use familiar pop music to drive their stories. You might think that songs like, “It’s Raining Men”, “I Say a Little Prayer”, “Holiday/Like a Virgin” and “I Will Survive” aren’t musical theatre worthy but book writers, Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, have cleverly crafted a smart book, full of heart, that presents the material in a way that works fabulously!

The story centers around Tick (Will Swenson) who decides he finally needs to go back to Alice Springs, Australia to meet his eight-year-old son, Benji (Luke Kolbe Mannikus), for the first time. He persuades his two friends, Bernadette (the amazing, Tony nominee, Tony Sheldon) and Adam/Felicia (the incomparable Nick Adams) to come with him by telling them they will be performing their dragtastic act at the Alice Springs Casino. They jump on a bus, aptly named Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and they are off on an adventure of a lifetime.

Scene after scene, you’ll be amazed how the bus moves, changes and lights up on the stage. Brian Thomson, who designed the production and bus concept, created one of the most fantastic, magical sets I’ve ever seen. First off, the bus moves around the stage with complete ease, even though it’s a full-size bus! You also are continually amazed how it transforms right in front of your eyes. The unbelievable transformations makes the bus an almost fully realized character in the show, but never overshadowing the story or the three main characters. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen in the theatre before!

The best part of Priscilla Queen of the Desert is not the flashy songs or the incredible Tony-winning costumes, it’s the story (even though the costumes are absolutely to die for). You can’t help but love all of the characters in this show and you deeply connect with them on a very heartfelt level. It doesn’t matter that they are fabulous drag queens, the story focuses on love and acceptance — two things we all need. While this musical is chock full of camp, pink boas and sequins, you still walk out of the theatre deeply touched and that’s why I loved it.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert teaches us to love, accept each other’s differences, and that our unique personalities should be celebrated but it also makes sure you are having a fabulous time. This show is fierce! Don’t miss it!

 
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Posted by on 06/30/2011 in Broadway, Theatre Review

 

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Theatre Review: “Sister Act” @ The Broadway Theatre, 6/22/11

26 Jun

All I can say is this: if Sister Act would have opened in the 2009-2010 Broadway season it would have won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Hands down! To be honest, it is the best new musical I’ve seen on Broadway in the last two seasons. It is hard to dislike a chorus of spectacular singing nuns in shiny sequin costumes belting their faces off. It absolutely blew me away.

The first time I saw this show was in London was in November 2009. I had some issues with book, especially among the male supporting characters. There was also some continuity issues in the plot. They were more focused on the flash and glitz and the heart of the story was lost. Every change they made from London to Broadway was the correct addition or subtraction. The story is clearer, the relationships between characters are stronger, and the show flows so much easier. In the end, the show actually becomes even flashier than it initially intended because it has so much heart to it.

I walked into a show that I thought was going to be so-so and it ended up being absolutely fabulous! As Deloris sings, “It’s fabulous, baby!”.

Patina Miller (Deloris Van Cartier) had a new vigor to the role that made her Tony-nominated performance unstoppable. The relationship arc between Deloris and Mother Superior (the incomparable Victoria Clark) was so heartwarming. I actually teared up a little bit in the middle of the second act because their intense love-and-hate relationship was so connected and effective. Plus, the added song, “Haven’t Got a Prayer”, sung by Mother Superior was one of the best moments in the show. It was beautiful.

The set designed by Klara Zieglerova was stunning and was robbed of a Tony nomination and the 2011 Tony Award for Set Design. (It was way more creative and intuitive than The Book of Mormon’s or The Scottsboro Boy’s set.) It reverently moved to encapsulate the beautiful convent called The Holy Order of the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith. At points, it was breathtaking. It was one of the most beautiful sets I’ve ever seen.

The nuns were spectacular. Sister Mary Robert (Marla Mindelle) was one of my favorites. Her incredible number, “The Life I Never Led” was amazing. Ms. Mindelle has an incredible belt and Menken’s music isn’t afraid of showing it off! Almost every song in the second act was a show-stopper (except for the guys’ number, “Lady in the Long Black Dress”). The second act blew me away, number after number. It just kept getting better and better until their joyous closing number, “Spread the Love Around”, which they performed for the Pope.

The music, by genius Alan Menken, was hummable, fun and engaging. (I can’t wait to hear the Broadway cast recording!) The book by Cheri Steinkellner & Bill Steinkellner was fantastic thanks to Broadway’s “book-fixer”, Douglas Carter Beane. The cast was incredible. It’s rare that I want and will pay to see a show again on Broadway, but I could easily see this show multiple times! Take your friends. Take your family. Take everybody! They will ALL love it.

This production is a God-send and the only show on Broadway that can honestly claim that it’s “God’s Favorite Musical”, because it is.

 
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Posted by on 06/26/2011 in Broadway, Theatre Review

 

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Theatre Review: “Baby It’s You” @ Broadhurst Theatre, 6/24/11

25 Jun

Two and a half hours and 40 songs later, I walked out of the Broadhurst Theatre wondering what I just saw. I didn’t hate it, but I really didn’t care for it either. Baby It’s You is a mash-up version of Dreamgirls, Jersey Boys, and Smokey Joe’s Cafe but the downfall is that it doesn’t do anything better than any of those shows.

The story centers around the life and career of housewife gone record studio exceutive and producer, Florence Greenberg. It never centers around The Shirelles, even though the four girls sing almost every number. While, we were all connected to the fabulous Beth Leavel (playing Flo), it didn’t matter because we never really cared about any of her relationships. It doesn’t have the story or connection like Dreamgirls does, nor do you care about the characters like you do in Dreamgirls. Baby It’s You focuses on a lot of small conflicts that are usually resolved in minutes or even seconds. The first act closes and there’s nothing driving you to come back after intermission. I was even confused that the first act ended. (I turned to my neighbor, who I didn’t know, and said, “What just happened?” He had no idea.)

At one point, in the second act, there were several huge conflicts that were resolved by singing a song like “A Thing of the Past” or “Walk on By.” When Flo divorces her husband, no one cared. When Flo’s boyfriend and business partner, Luther Dixon (Allan Louis), broke up with her and left their business for Capitol Records, no one cared. We cared about Flo, but it never went any further than her, so in reality we saw her as a self-centered bitch who put herself and career first and ignored the rest. She ignored her husband, children, friends and sacrificed her life for The Shirelles. But I never realized or agreed that it was worth it.

I actually took the other sentiment — make sure your dreams align with your partner’s and family’s dream(s) or you will lose everything and you’ll be left with nothing like Flo.

I can only imagine that that’s certainly not the moral that they were trying for.

The music was fun but it was never executed well enough to blow me away like I was when I saw Jersey Boys. Christina Sajous, who played Shirley (the main lead of The Shirelles) was fantastic, but unfortunately she didn’t have that “star quality”. (I kept wanting her to sing songs from American Idiot instead!) The rest of group was great, but not amazing. It’s interesting to note that the playbill doesn’t even mention who the music/songs were written by. It’s a musical, with 40 songs (about 20 too many), and they didn’t even mention who wrote these iconic songs. Bad form, in my opinion.

It also never succeeded in being as exciting as Smokey Joe’s Cafe is. The performers had very few times to let go and perform the music as it was intended. The music was always shrouded with story and over-sentimentality. The best songs of the evening were the two encores, “Shout” (Reprise) and “Twist and Shout”. Part of that was because you finally knew the show was over, but also because the cast finally had a chance to let loose and enjoy themselves and the music. I wanted more of that kind of energy the entire time. I actually dozed off for a few minutes in the first act because the energy never changed on the stage — very one note.

While, I enjoyed the history lesson, I never ultimately cared about any of it. Ms. Beth Leavel deserved her Tony nomination, but I can also see why she didn’t win. She created subtext and story when there was none. She made moments work when they weren’t supposed to. She made a show that had no life and gave it the only life there was. Ms. Leavel is a star. Without her, this show will have little left.

Regional and community theatres will produce this show because it panders to the retired “blue-hair” audience, the season subscription buyers. And while it seemed the older generation genuinely enjoyed the show, there’s little connection to the rest of us. After every “blue-hair” in New York City has seen this, the show will have to close. It just doesn’t resonate with anyone else.

Baby It’s You ended up being just okay and in a season of 10 new musicals (and two excellent revivals), there’s little room for a show that’s just okay.

 
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Posted by on 06/25/2011 in Bay Area Theatre, Broadway

 

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The Broadway Critic Blog is looking for Writers/Bloggers/Editors

20 Jun

The Broadway Critic Blog is looking for skilled writers/bloggers/editors to write about Broadway, reviews of theatre in the Bay Area and New York City, theatre gossip and anything else that deals with musical theatre and theatre in general.

You must have a huge passion for Broadway/musical theatre, have a unique voice and be willing to put your ideas/opinions out there into the blogosphere.

Please be:

  • located in the Bay Area, CA or New York City
  • willing to post at a minimum 1x a month, but we’re looking for 3-10x a month
  • a skilled writer with awesome grammar
  • dependable and responsible
  • easy to contact by email/phone (you must have an internet connection)
We are looking for someone to cover the following areas in the Bay Area:
  • Theatre Reviewer in the Bay Area (South Bay) – focuses on reviewing musicals/plays at San Jose Rep, San Jose Stage Company, Broadway San Jose, City Lights Theatre Company, The Retro Dome, West Valley Light Opera, Symphony Silicon Valley, South Bay Musical Theatre and Tabard Theatre and others
  • Theatre Reviewer in the Bay Area (Peninsula) – focuses on reviewing musicals/plays at Theatreworks, Bus Barn Stage Company, Pear Avenue, Broadway by the Bay, Hillbarn Theatre, Ray of Light, Palo Alto Players, and others
  • Theatre Reviewer in the Bay Area (East Bay) - focuses on reviewing musicals/plays at Berkeley Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, Diablo Theatre Company, CCCT, Woodminster, Willows Theatre Company, and others
  • Theatre Reviewer in the Bay Area (San Francisco) - focuses on reviewing musicals/plays at SHNSF, 42nd Street Moon, SF Playhouse, and others
We are looking for someone to cover the following areas in New York City:
  • Review Broadway plays/musicals
  • Report on 1st previews of Broadway shows
  • Reviews of Off-Broadway Musicals
  • Reviews of musical theatre festivals
  • Reviews of Broadway events (like Broadway Bares, etc…)
  • Reviews of solo-shows performed by Broadway performers
Columnists:
  • Broadway Gossip column
  • Weekly Broadway Blogger Round-Up column
  • Open to other ideas….
To apply, please send your resume and a copy of a writing sample to: thebroadwaycritic at gmail.com. Please also let me know where you are located and what type of writing you would like to do.
There is no pay, but for most part, we can get you press tickets to all shows in the Bay Area, and some in New York City (though that’s limited right now — probably in the future, we will be able to get more).
 
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Posted by on 06/20/2011 in Bay Area Theatre, Broadway, News

 

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The 2011 Tony Award Performances

15 Jun

From the poll that I published on Monday, it looks like that the 2011 Tony Awards were a huge success! Currently, 71% of the people that took the poll said they absolutely loved them! Personally, I thought it was entertaining, interesting and I loved the performances, though I had some reservations about a few (specifically, why didn’t Josh Gad perform with the cast of The Book of Mormon).

The biggest issue I had was that they went over about 5 minutes and my DVR didn’t record the next program. Since, my TV wasn’t on CBS, it didn’t do any back recording. I missed the main event: when The Book of Mormon won Best Musical! But, as everyone knows by now, I’m okay with missing that speech.

But the closing rap, was absolutely stellar. Watch that here.

Here’s all of the 2011 Tony Award performances:

Anything Goes performing “Anything Goes”

 

Sister Act performing “Raise Your Voice”

 

Priscilla Queen of the Desert performing “It’s Raining Men”

 

Catch Me If You Can performing “Don’t Break the Rules”

 

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying performing “Brotherhood of Man”

 

The Scottsboro Boys performing “Commencing in Chattanooga”

 

The Book of Mormon performing “I Believe”

 

Memphis performing “Steal Your Rock n’ Roll”

 

Company performing “Side by Side”

—-

And my favorite speech of the evening goes to Sutton Foster:

 

 
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Posted by on 06/15/2011 in Broadway, News

 

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The 2010-2011 Broadway Musicals – What Shows Will Last?

14 Jun

Looking back at the 2010-2011 Broadway season, it was quite the year for new musicals — 11 new Broadway musicals opened in the 2010-2011. Here’s a list:

2010-2011 Broadway Season:

  • Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* - Closed January 2nd, 2011
  • Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson ** - Closed January 2nd, 2011
  • The Scottsboro Boys ** - Closed December 12th, 2011
  • Elf* - Closed January 2nd, 2011
  • The Book of Mormon* - Opening March 24th, 2011
  • Priscilla Queen of the Desert ## - Opening March 20th, 2011
  • Catch Me If You Can # - Opening April 10th, 2011
  • Wonderland # - Closed May 15th, 2011
  • Sister Act ## - Opening April 20th, 2011
  • Baby It’s You* - Opening April 27th, 2011
  • The People in the Picture* - Closing June 19th, 2011
* No out-of-town tryout   ** Off-Broadway   # Out-of-town tryout    ##Transfer from London
—

It’s interesting to note that I knew Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown would never be able to save face after that first awful preview and would not extend (and get generally ignored by the Tony committee). I hope that this show has some life after Broadway, but I’m fearing that most directors will skip this one, since it’s style is extremely unique and it’s an ensemble show that even the likes of Patti Lupone, Sherie Rene Scott, Laura Benanti and Brian Stokes Mitchell couldn’t even save.

After I saw a Sunday matinee performance of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, it was clear that it should have stuck around Off-Broadway in a small house where it could have gained a cult following. (Listen to the music, here.) Now it’s up to regional theatres to give this show it’s chance to shine. It will become a favorite! Broadway just wasn’t the right place for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

The Scottsboro Boys quickly came and went. Yes, it was moving its subject matter is incredibly important, but the NYC audience couldn’t keep this one afloat. The tourists just weren’t interested (nor was I). It seems that this show has had a Parade-type of fate. It won’t even do well regionally or even among the community theatres. The difficulty of casting and subject matter will keep most theatre companies far away from this piece. I’m interested in seeing it again when it plays A.C.T. in San Francisco next season, but ultimately this is a show that will rarely be seen.

I missed Elf, since it was a limited holiday run. I heard great things about this show — perfect holiday fare. This show will have a seasonal life for many years to come. I still want to hear a cast recording of this show! (Maybe it will come back again for a limited run this holiday season — White Christmas did several times.)

I saw a late preview of The Book of Mormon and knew it was going to be a huge hit and win most of the Tony Awards and that is exactly what it did. I hated the show, but still valued the production qualities. They are some of the best I’ve seen on Broadway in recent years. It will be very interesting to see what and how the regional and community theatres deal with The Book of Mormon’s horribly offensive nature. I bet most theatres won’t have the guts to produce this show. I can only think of 2-3 theatres in the Bay Area that could even remotely touch this piece and it would still be a stretch for two of them. The show will tour and do well, but I highly doubt it will ever be in league of Wicked, Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera. It’s one thing for a tourist to see this show in New York City, but I doubt many of them will sit and laugh at the same offensive jokes when their friends and neighbors are in the audience. There is a huge South Park fandom, but most of their fans can’t afford the ridiculous prices to see this show.

I had the opportunity to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert in London last June and loved it. I’m hoping it will have a long shelf life — let’s kick out Mamma Mia and keep Priscilla Queen of the Desert because it’s a hellavu lot better. I don’t know how they will continue to sell the Palace Theatre, but I’m hoping they do! You have to see this show for the awesome pop tunes, heartfelt story and incredible Tony-winning costumes. See it, now!

Catch Me If You Can will be around for awhile. It has a recognizable name and tourists will go to it, even though it was one of the longest three hours of my life. I thought it was a major train wreck, but after Norbert Leo Butz won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor, people will make sure not to miss his performance. Out of the three shows I’ve seen Norbert perform in – The Last Five Years, Wicked, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – this performance is my least favorite. I did like some of the music, but the story-telling never packed any emotional punch. I never cared once about any of the characters. While people might see it once, they won’t be back for more.

Wonderland was another show that I didn’t have the opportunity to see since it closed after only 31 previews and 33 performances. I’m not a huge Wildhorn fan and the music is very Wildhorn-esque (big power-pop ballads). I felt that some of the technical areas of the production were very strong. The Tony committee completely snubbed Wonderland – a very strong statement telling Frank Wildhorn he wasn’t welcome on Broadway. I was very surprised because the costumes were spectacular (designed by the same person who designed Wicked) and definitely worthy of a nomination!! This is a show that is going to be a huge hit in the schools, community and regional theatres across the U.S. It’s family-friendly, a story that everyone knows, and includes pop-style music that people will love. This show is going to be the new Suessical. A total flop on Broadway but a star in the musical theatre world outside of New York City. Just you watch!

Sister Act will be on Broadway for awhile. It will tour; it will be produced all over America and the stage musical will become a house-hold name. The music, by Alan Menken, is fantastic; the story is fun and engaging and you can’t get much better than a stage full of singing nuns belting their faces off! I loved it in London and I can’t wait to see it on Broadway next week.  Plus, their Tony performance was amazing! Tourists are going to flock to see Sister Act!

Then, there’s the one juke-box musical this year, Baby, It’s You!, based on The Shirelles’ music and story. The reviews were lukewarm and everything I’ve heard has been iffy, at best. I have a feeling that this show might be closing really soon. Now, it might push through like last year’s Million Dollar Quartet, but MDQ‘s fate is now being ushered to Off-Broadway at New World Stages. (It’s probably where it should have have been all along.) I didn’t get a chance to see this show as it started previews after my last New York City trip, but I won’t be very sad if I miss it. Plus, there’s that law suit that no one is talking about…

Finally, there’s People in the Picture, produced by Roundabout Theatre. It’s always been a limited run, but this show only has eight more performances left. It is slated to close on June 19th, 2011. Donna Murphy, the star of the show, was nominated for a Tony Award, but Sutton Foster easily beat her with her role as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. I haven’t heard very many good things about this show and it’s subject matter isn’t going to connect with audiences across mid-America, so I have a feeling that this is a show that won’t be remembered in 5 years time. (It will probably be forgotten even faster than that.)

—

2010-2011 Broadway’s Revivals:

Anything Goes is one of the biggest winners of this season and will be a huge hit for Roundabout Theatre Company. Frankly, they really needed it after last season’s awful revival, Bye Bye Birdie. I saw the first preview of this revival and knew it was going to win the hearts of everyone. It’s classic musical theatre at its finest. Sutton Foster is absolutely sublime as Reno Sweeney and the rest of the cast is fantastic. Kathleen Marshall’s choreography and direction is absolutely unreal. This is one of the best shows I’ve seen on a Broadway stage — an absolute must-see!!

The only other revival this season, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is also a success story. Obviously, it’s huge star, Daniel Radcliffe, is raking in ticket sales, but audiences are falling in love with the rest of the cast too. John Larroquette just won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role. The dancing and direction, by Rob Ashford, is classic Broadway. I hope to see this next week as well.

—

The 2010-2011′s biggest winners:

  • Anything Goes
  • The Book of Mormon
  • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
  • Sister Act
The 2010-2011 Broadway musicals that will have life after Broadway:
  • Sister Act
  • Wonderland
  • Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Time will tell, on whether or not these musicals will be a huge success:
  • Elf
  • Catch Me If You Can
  • Priscilla Queen of the Desert
  • Baby, It’s You
This season’s shows that will be forgotten:
  • Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
  • The Scottsboro Boys
  • The People in the Picture
What did you think about the 2010-2011 Broadway season? What were your favorite shows? What were your least favorite shows?
 
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Posted by on 06/14/2011 in Broadway, News

 

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Poll: Did You Enjoy the 2011 Tony Awards?

13 Jun

What did you think? Did you like the Beacon Theatre? What about the performances?

Take the poll and discuss in the comments!

 

 
4 Comments

Posted by on 06/13/2011 in Broadway

 

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Theatre Review: “Mamma Mia” @ Broadway San Jose, 06/07/11

10 Jun

Broadway San Jose is celebrating their 2-year anniversary and the close of their 2010-2011 season with the hit songs of Abba in the Broadway smash hit, Mamma Mia. Some of the world’s best pop songs are featured in this show – “Dancing Queen”, “S.O.S.”, “Mamma Mia” and “Take a Chance on Me”. It’s fun, light-hearted and never takes itself too seriously.

Mamma Mia is the ultimate chick-flick of musical theatre. My advice: leave your husbands at home for this one and get a group of girls together and have some serious fun! You will leave the theatre with a big smile on your face, mostly because the touring cast is having so much fun on stage that you can’t ignore their infectious energy!

A current staple on Broadway, Mamma Mia will have it’s 10-year anniversary on Broadway on October 18th, 2011. It opened in a post-September 11th aftermath, where Broadway audiences needed to escape and start smiling again. With the current economic crisis, audiences are still looking for an escape and they know it’s a sure-fire thing with Mamma Mia. Also, with the success of the 2008 movie, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, it’s still an unstoppable force. The Center for the Performing Arts was completely sold-out opening night on Tuesday!

The star of the this touring production is local Bay Area actress, Alison Ewing (Tanya). Her charisma, comic timing and physical comedy was fantastic. Ewing was last seen in the Bay Area performing at San Jose Rep’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Rona. Whenever, the three ladies, Kaye Tuckerman (Donna Sheridan) and Mary Callanan (Rosie) were on stage I was always watching Ewing. She’s a true star in this production.

Chloe Tucker (Sophie Sheridan) and Happy Mahaney (Sky) held the show together with their great looks, romantic charm and great singing ability. Tucker’s spunk and energy easily carried the show and she was irresistible. It was also great to see Mahaney perform on stage after he hosted the 2011 Stage Top Honor Awards Gala the night before at the California Theatre. His love for the theatre is palpable!

Unfortunately, we saw the understudy for Sam Carmichael, played by Jeff Applegate (usually played by John Bisom). Usually, I love seeing understudies, but Applegate’s age and lack of charisma left a hole in the romantic relationship between Donna and Sam. It felt awkward when they decided to marry at the end of the show because their relationship never really worked, nor did I ever believe that Applegate could have ever been Sophie’s dad.

Overall, Mamma Mia wasn’t my favorite show. It was actually the first time I have ever seen it. It obviously has found a world-wide audience and that can’t be ignored, but somehow it didn’t pull me in like I thought it would. But if you are looking to smile, laugh and listen to some of the best pop songs ever written, then you’ll enjoy Mamma Mia. It’s almost impossible not to.

 
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Posted by on 06/10/2011 in Bay Area Theatre, Broadway, Theatre Review

 

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The 2011 Stage Top Honor Award Winners

06 Jun

San Jose, CA — June 7, 2011 – San Jose Stage Company and Broadway San Jose are pleased to announce the winners of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards. Two Bay Area students, Trevor Bates and Maya Maniar, were also chosen for Outstanding Performance by an Actor and Actress in a musical to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards: 2011 JIMMY Awards, where they will perform on a Broadway stage.

Local high school students learned on Monday, June 6th at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose, at a gala ceremony worthy of red carpet pomp and circumstance, that they were winners in various categories in the Top Honor Awards.  From Best Actress and Actor, Costume or Hair and Make Up Design, to Lighting and Scenery, and Orchestra and Chorus, the winners and their fan clubs celebrated.

“This year’s competition was fierce! In some of the categories it came down to one vote, so all of the schools should feel very proud of their accomplishments and productions this year,” said Spencer Williams, Director of Education for the San Jose Stage Company.  “It’s so wonderful to see all of the participating schools come together at the end of the year and celebrate each other’s productions! Each year the talent surpasses all of my expectations.”

And the winners are:

GRAPHIC DESIGN:

• Judi Fuller & Jami Smith – Valley Christian High School – Fiddler on the Roof

HAIR/MAKE-UP DESIGN:

• Laura Raitt – Heritage High School – The Scarlet Pimpernel

COSTUME DESIGN:

• Tacy Heath & Tammy Vance – Heritage High School – The Scarlet Pimpernel

LIGHTING DESIGN:

• Ryan Willer – Irvington High School – Starmites

SCENIC DESIGN:

• Troy River – American High School – Little Women

DIRECTION:

• Doug Santana – Archbishop Mitty High School – The Drowsy Chaperone

CHOREOGRAPHY:

• Robyn Tribuzi – San Mateo High School – The Wedding Singer

MUSICAL DIRECTION:

• Attilio Tribuzi – San Mateo High School – The Wedding Singer

ORCHESTRA:

• Christopher Wu – Archbishop Mitty High School – The Drowsy Chaperone

CHORUS:

• The Harker School – Pippin

BEST FEATURED PERFORMER:

• Lindsay Meyer (Anytime Annie) – The King’s Academy – 42nd Street

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

• Jordan Joly (Marmee March) – American High School – Little Women

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

• Max Ashcroft (Armand St. Just) – Heritage High School – The Scarlet Pimpernel

BEST LEADING ACTOR:

• Trevor Bates (Man in the Chair) – Archbishop Mitty High School – The Drowsy Chaperone

BEST LEADING ACTRESS:

• Maya Maniar (Hope) – Castilleja School – Urinetown

OUTSTANDING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN TECHNICAL THEATRE:

•  Michael Ackley – Heritage High School – The Scarlet Pimpernel

•  Trevor Longbottom – Pinewood School – Bye Bye Birdie

•  Sana Yamaguchi – San Mateo High School – The Wedding Singer

BEST OVERALL PRODUCTION:

• San Mateo High School – The Wedding Singer

 
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Posted by on 06/06/2011 in Bay Area Theatre, News

 

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