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And the Winner is...

Meeting the needs of our customers is Job One here at R&H. And those needs are as diverse as the thousands of customers we serve each year. Always looking for a common bond between the largest and smallest among you, we were thrilled to discover that some of you are bonding on your own.

There are a growing number of professional theatres across the country that are sponsoring high school musical awards programs -  their own versions of Broadway's Tony Award. We've become aware of these exciting programs as more and more high schools seek permission to perform excerpts from our musicals at regional award ceremonies.

Among the oldest is the Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre Production. It is sponsored by Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and bears the name of one of Pittsburgh's favorite sons. The Gene Kelly Awards was launched in 1991 as a means to recognize and encourage student achievement and to focus the attention of the community and school districts on the importance of musical theatre and arts education.

Also anxious to promote musical theatre in the schools is Paper Mill Playhouse. In 1996 this Millburn, New Jersey theatre created the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards. So successful has this program been that participating schools have grown in number from 65 in its pilot year to 102 schools from every corner of the state this year. More recent programs have been started by the Helen Hayes Performing Art Centre in Nyack, New York (whose program, which started in 1999, is aptly named the Helen Hayes High School Theatre Awards), and by Casa Manana Musicals in Fort Worth, Texas. Casa Manana created its award in 2000 and calls it the Betty Lynn Buckley Award in honor of its own hometown girl who made good.

Most of the award ceremonies occur in the spring, taking advantage of the annual "spring musical" presented by many high schools. But it takes many months of preparation before the awards can be given. Susan Speidel, Director of Education, at Paper Mill Playhouse begins in October the process of recruiting evaluators who will judge the high school musicals. Applications from participating high schools are accepted in November and in January orientation/training sessions are held for new and returning evaluators. The evaluators then attend the musicals from February through April. Their evaluation forms are submitted to a nominating committee and in May the evaluators meet for a day-long session to select the winners. All of this preparation culminates in the awards ceremony in June.

Some of these ceremonies can be pretty exciting for the young nominees. At the 2000 "Helen" Awards ceremony, Gwen Verdon stepped in for an indisposed Donna McKechnie and presented the award for best choreography to Fox Lane High School for their production of DAMN YANKEES. How exciting it must have been to accept that award from the Broadway's original Lola!

And what do the participants in these competitions have to say? Two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee, Donna Mazziotti tells us: "Performing at the awards ceremony was a very important experience for me. I was placed among performers who are my peers which really boosted my self-esteem." Though enthusiastic about the Betty Lynn Buckley Awards, Fursey Gotuaco of Richland High School cautions, "Competition can be a two-edged sword" that can "overshadow art. If the only reason to do a show is to win then the production has missed the mark." John MacLean, Director at Woodlands High School feels, "The Helen Hayes organizers have made this a real showcase, stressing recognition over competition. In the best way, the awards raise the bar for all of us. I leave the ceremony with new ideas, my students leave with a new inspiration, and parents and administrators leave with a new appreciation for what it takes to achieve a more professional standard. Everybody wins."

Teresa Silvestri, Education Programs Coordinator at Pittsburgh CLO stresses that "we pay tribute to the students' achievements both on and off the stage and honor the hard work they devote to their musicals. We hope that the arts education and all that the students learn about themselves and others through the experience of presenting a musical is something that they will take with them on whatever journey they take."

Indeed some awards program participants have journeyed along the roads to Broadway and the Silver Screen. Former Paper Mill Rising Star Award winner (and Tony nominee as well), Laura Benanti, starred in the recent Broadway productions of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and SWING! while nominee Anne Hathaway co-starred with R&H favorite Julie Andrews in the THE PRINCESS DIARIES released this summer.

Programs that encourage the performance of musicals by young people benefit so many. Besides opening new cultural doors, participating in the production of a musical can give a sense of community to students who might otherwise never know what it is to belong. Danielle Rudess, program Director for the Helen Hayes High School Musical Awards, sums it up: "Striving for excellence is the key and we celebrate that excellence. No matter how many awards a school goes home with I hope they all take home with them an interest in striving for excellence and an increased enthusiasm for the performing arts.

"So each spring, when it is announced, "And the winner . . . ", we agree with John MacLean - "Everybody wins!"