Halo Award Tuesday Evening Wrap Up

Waterbury, CT - The first night of the 16th Annual Halo Awards presented by Seven Angels Theatre was celebrated on Tuesday evening, May 28, 2019, at Waterbury’s Palace Theatre. The awards ceremony honors the best in high school theater in Connecticut and was sponsored by Ion Bank Foundation and DECD State of CT Department of Economic and Community Development.

“The Halos - Seven Angels’ answer to the Tonys” - WATR personality Barbara Davitt

Michelle Gotay, a talented actress and motivational speaker, hosted the joyful evening for the sixth consecutive year and looked especially fabulous this year, at one point a svelte ”lady in red.” Jimmy Donohue served as her sometimes partner in comedy, especially during the seventh inning (and much appreciated) stretch. Ms. Gotay, a dear friend of 7A star Earlene Babcock, dubbed the event a “feel good night” and the well-dressed teens that traveled from across the state brought tons of energy to the Palace.

The host told the audience that the Halo Awards have grown from a mere 12 schools to now 70 high schools; the number of participating schools required Seven Angels Theatre to stretch the event to a third night to be held next Monday. By dividing up the schools into three nights, the festivities ended earlier than usual.

The dedicated Halo judges attended 124 productions that involved over 6,000 students on the stage and behind the scenes. This year there is a new version of the Halo Award trophy that was presented to the winners, as well as some certificates.

The 26 featured schools at the Tuesday evening gala included Bethel HS (first year,) Bloomfield HS, Canterbury HS, Chase Collegiate School, Cromwell HS, East Lyme HS, Farmington HS, Granby Memorial HS, The Gunnery, Immaculate HS, Laurelton Hall, Newington HS, Northwestern Reg. 7 HS, Notre Dame HS, Notre Dame Catholic HS, Salisbury HS, Southington HS, St. Luke’s HS, Stonington HS, The Taft School, Torrington HS, Trinity Catholic HS, Watertown HS, Westbrook HS, Wolcott HS and The Woodhall School.

The evening’s presenters included Equity candidate and Torrington HS grad Justin Torres, Bob Burns, the director of the Mattatuck Museum, Equity actress Christina Carlucci (who is nominated for a CT Critics Circle award for FIRST DATE at 7A,) former teacher Joanne Chenkus, Waterbury Board of Alderman Paul Pernerewski, Halo Judge Kevin Pelkey, James Donohue, actress (and mother of Marissa Perry) Joyce Jeffrey, Palace Theater PR Officer Sheree Marcucci, playwright Charles Monagan, Palace Theater CEO Frank Tavera, actress Mandy Leigh Thompson, actress Patti Paganucci, Halos guru Melissa Stemmer, and of course Semina De Laurentis, the artistic director of 7A.

Click here to read the list of awards presented, with the exception of the special awards that I will add when the press release is issued to ensure correct spelling of names.

On to the performances, always my favorite part of the evening. The gala opened with a strong performance in full costume by Southington HS of “You’re the One That I Want” from GREASE.

Students that attended the evening were reminded to save their ticket so that they can use it as a Halo Pass to attend one performance of any Equity performance at Seven Angels during the upcoming season. After the opening remarks by 7A Artistic Director Semina De Laurentis, who also asked the Halo Judges in attendance to stand and be recognized, Immaculate HS took to the stage in costume to perform “Magic to Do” from their production of PIPPIN and they nailed it. Nicole Kolitsas won the Halo Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Contemporary Musical as Leading Player Dark in PIPPIN at Immaculate High School. Although I was not able to catch her performance, I am certain that she was amazing.

Northwestern Regional 7 HS performed the lovely duet “Notice Me Horton” in costume from their production of SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL with Holly McCann on the piano. Next up was Notre Dame HS in full costume to perform “Brotherhood of Man” from HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING with some fabulous choreography by the young men.

After several special recognition awards were presented, it was Canterbury School’s turn to take to the stage. Two cast members performed the classic “A Little Priest” from their production of SWEENEY TODD in great costumes to a music track; despite some challenging microphone issues, the duo performed admirably. Margaret Melich was nominated for a Halo for her role as Mrs. Lovett and Giorgo Caripidis went on to win the Halo Award for Leading Actor in a Classical Musical for his portrayal of Sweeney.

East Lyme HS performed a great medley from their production of GUYS AND DOLLS in full costume and Granby Memorial HS got to show off their production of GREASE with “Freddy My Love.” Chase Collegiate performed a stunning rendition of “Relativity” from their production of THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY with Nathaniel Zembruski on the piano. Mr. Zembruski later accepted the award for Best Orchestra, which must be made up of at least 75% high school students, on behalf of Chase.

After the Gypsy of the Year was named and donned the fourth of the Gypsy Robes (now light purple,) Stonington HS had the chance to perform a fine medley from their musical HELLO, DOLLY! With piano accompaniment, the cast sang and danced in full costume with props and impressed the audience. I was not surprised that Stonington went on to win the Halo for Best Classical Musical at the end of the evening.

After intermission, Act II opened with Bethel HS performing the finale from their musical FOOTLOOSE with some excellent dancing. Bethel was awarded the Halo for Best Contemporary Musical in the final award presentation of Tuesday evening.

Watertown HS commanded the Palace stage with their performance of “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” from their musical WE WILL ROCK YOU. They were accompanied by recent WCSU graduate Christine Manolo on piano, a drummer and an electric guitar. The Gunnery performed “Join the Family Business” from Young Frankenstein in full costumes.

Torrington HS charmed everyone with their performance in full costume of “Oklahoma” from OKLAHOMA! Ms. McCann accompanied the cast on piano. Farmington HS was unable to perform their scheduled number from THE LITTLE MERMAID. Trinity Catholic HS showed off “I’m Not At All in Love” from their musical THE PAJAMA GAME; Brady Hayes and Jessica Bircaj took home the Halo Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Classical Musical for their performances as Sid and Babe in the Trinity Catholic production.

Westbrook HS, who had an extra long commute to Waterbury, performed “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from their production of SPAMALOT in full costume. Ben Schreck, who was nominated for a Halo for his role of King Arthur, took home a Halo for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Max Levene in Westbrook’s HEAVEN CAN WAIT. The winner of the Artistic Director Award was Mr. Schreck, who picked up Semina De Laurentis onstage in celebration.

Elnora Amenta of Westbrook HS also won the Halo for Best Props Design and/or Management for SPAMALOT and HEAVEN CAN WAIT.

After the awarding of the Dance Molinari Scholarships and the Artistic Director Award, the final performance of the evening was a stellar performance by Newington HS of “One Day More” from Les Miserables in all black except for the large red flag.

And now on to Wednesday...

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417