Tuesday Evening Halo Award Wrap Up

Waterbury - Seven Angels Theatre presented the first night of the 19th Annual Halo Awards 2022 on Tuesday evening at the magnificent Palace Theater in Waterbury.

Click here to view the entire list of winners posted on the Republican-American website.

The Halo Awards Coordinator is the actor Constantine Pappas, assisted by Melissa Stemmer. Pappas came to the box seats where the presenters and the press were seated at intermission looking very relaxed, considering the pressure of running the three hour awards gala on Tuesday.

Michelle Gotay, actress and motivational speaker, returned to serve as host of all three evenings. She looked stunning in two sparkly gowns as she kept things moving with humor. Actor Jimmy Donohue was her partner in crime, representing voting company Dewey Cheatum and Howe and delivering pizza to kick off intermission.

The original 12 schools that participated in Halo judging have grown to an impressive 80 high schools in all corners of Connecticut. Judges attended 135 productions this year, shows that included 6,500 high school students as actors, musicians and crew. The new school this year is Bristol Eastern High School.

Semina De Laurentis, the Artistic Director of Seven Angels and the Halos guru, reminded every student in the audience to hang on to their ticket so that they could use it as Halos Pass to attend any upcoming production at 7A free of charge.

Tuesday evening presenters included professional actress Joanne Chenkus, ACT of Connecticut Producing Director Erin Craig, Director/Founder of City Youth Theater Shelby C. Davis, 7A Artistic Director Semina De Laurentis, professional actress Joyce Jeffrey, Artistic Director of ACT of Connecticut Daniel C. Levine, the Palace Theater’s Sheree Marcucci, author and playwright Charles Monagan, Halo judge Angela Mantero, former State Representative Selim Noujaim, Pappas, director/choreographer Foster Evans Rease, Equity actress Mandy Leigh Thompson, and professional actress Kadie Lee Tolderland.

My favorite part of every Halo Awards gala is being able to enjoy many performances by the nominated productions.

Weston High School opened the show with “Take Me to Heaven (Reprise” from their production of “Sister Act” with lots of nuns in full costume. Weston took Best Sound Design and/or Execution for Tejal Dhiman, Chase Cameron and Aubrey Hayden for “Sister Act,” as well as Best Orchestra and Best Dancing. Weston also took Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Contemporary Musical for Audrey Mbwa-Mboma as Deloris Van Cartier in “Sister Act.”

Notre Dame High School in West Haven then performed “Git It” from “Little Shop of Horrors” complete with their Audrey II puppet. Notre Dame West Haven took Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Luke Beerli as Robin Hood in “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood.” The school also took one of the Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for Cassandra Horn as Town’s Gal in “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood,” and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Classical Musical for Jack Damato as Seymour in “Little Shop.”

After some awards, West Haven High School brought out their prop piano to perform “Beethoven Day” from their “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” in full costume. West Haven was awarded Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Classical Musical for Madelyn Roche as Lucy in the show.

Ridgefield High School brought along a small pit of musicians to perform “Woe Is Me” from their “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Ridgefield earned Best Specialty Ensemble in a Production for Nate Cohen, Henry Regnery, Motria Holian and Audrey Huff in “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread” in “All in the Timing,” as well as Best Performance by a Cast in an Ensemble Production for “Spelling Bee.”

In between Special Recognition Awards, Wilbur Cross High School presented “Not Myself Today” from their show “Freaky Friday.” Wilbur Cross took Best Scenic Design and/or Execution for Kaylee Zawodowksi, Bryan Calderon Dendregas and Shane Omar Rodriguez for “Freaky Friday.” East Lyme High School then performed “Bop to the Top” from “High School Musical” in costume with a prop ladder. East Lyme was honored with Best Comic Male Performance in a Play for Patrick Conaway as Oliver/Uncle Dave/Victor in “Puffs.”

The next performance was from Immaculate High School, displaying their impressive choreography in “Green Eggs and Ham” from their show “Seussical.” Immaculate took one of the Halos for Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Musical for Dominic Chila and Olivia Chila as Cat in the Hat and Jojo in this production.

Stonington High School performed “Shy” from “Once Upon A Mattress” in full (and impressive) costumes. Stonington took Best Props Design and/or Management for Caroline Sanford, Will Fyke, Lacy Brickey and Leah Machinski for this show. Stonington also walked away with Best Classical Musical for “Once Upon A Mattress.”

Westbrook High School showed off wonderful vocals in “Julie’s Song” from “The Theory of Relativity” wearing cat ears, accompanied by piano. Westbrook took Best Special Effects for Andrew Livingstone and Kyle Malazzi for “12 Angry Jurors,” as well as Best Incidental or Original Music in a Play for Joshua Davey for the same play.

Next up was Fairfield Ludlowe High School closed the first act with “All About the Green” from “The Wedding Singer” dressed in black and white. This school won Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Kyle Geriak as Glen in “The Wedding Singer,” and one of the Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for Szilvi Cimino as Jack in “Lord of the Flies.” Fairfield Ludlowe also was honored with Best Contemporary Play for “Lord of the Flies.”

Act II opened with Sacred Heart Academy’s performance of “Shakin’ The Blues Away” from “Holiday Inn,” showing off their great choreography dressed in their show shirts. Sacred Heart took Best Featured Dancer(s) for Jenna Davis, Sophia Mastriano, Adramma Ramos, Lorelei Natale, Arianna Chavarria and Cassidy Colantonio for their production.

After the Harmony Robe Parade honoring the best chorus winner, Old Saybrook High School performed “Take Me to Heaven” from “Sister Act.” This school took Best Comic Female Performance in a Musical for Lilah Spedding as Sister Mary Patrick in “Sister Act.”

Bristol Eastern High School donned their headpieces to perform “Who I’d Be” from their production of “Shrek.” Bristol Eastern walked away with Best Comic Male Performance in a Musical for Cjay Gibbs as Donkey in “Shrek.”

Then New Canaan High School took to the stage for “Under the Sea” from “The Little Mermaid.” New Canaan earned Best Costume Design and/or Execution for Clara Bloom and Ava Zinczenko for “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Little Mermaid,” and Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical for Charlotte Jensen as Ursula in “The Little Mermaid,” who accepted in her magnificent costume.

Stamford High School then performed “Thinking of Him/I Miss The Music” from “Curtains.” Stamford took the Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Lucy Santora as Carmen Bernstein in “Curtains,” and Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Musical for Maxwell Guttman as Aaron Fox in the show.

Avon High School followed with “Sister Act Mashup” from (you guessed it) “Sister Act” in full costume. Avon was honored with Best Running Crew for their run crew for “Sister Act,” as well as one of the Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Musical for Bella Johnson and Brie Beard as Deloris and Mother Superior in the show.

Darien High School changed into their costumes to perform “Secrets’ from “The Addams Family,'' complete with their ancestors. Darien took Best Hair and/or Makeup Design and/or Execution for Mia Roofhooft for “Addams Family,” as well as Best Chorus. The school also was honored for Best Lighting Design and/or Execution for Sadie Leopold and Daphne Hentsch-Cowles for both “Metamorphoses” and “The Addams Family.” Darien also took Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Contemporary Musical for Luke Ryan as Gomez in “Addams Family.”

Westover School sent four girls to perform “No One Is Alone” from their production of “Into the Woods.” Westover walked away with Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Beldine Atieno Wasonga as Maria in “Twelfth Night.” The school also earned Best Classical Play for “Twelfth Night.”

After the Dance Molinari Scholarships were presented, Hopkins School filled the stage with “One Day More” from “Les Miserables,” wearing their show shirts and complete with the red flag. Hopkins was honored with the Halo for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for Silas Webb as Lord Capulet in “Romeo and Juliet,” as well as Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Play for Felipe Perez as Mercutio. Hopkins also walked away with the final award of the evening with Best Contemporary Musical for “Les Miserables.”

Laurelton Hall won Best Original Program Cover Design or Artwork for Ava Breiser for “Snoopy! The Musical,” and Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Play for Brooke Jones as Cardinal Richelieu in “The Three Musketeers.” Notre Dame Catholic High School took Best Stage Management.

St. Luke’s School took Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Play for Hannah Johnson and Samantha Bauer as Suzanne and Carina in “Eureka Day,” as well as the Fearless Award for “Eureka Day.” Wilton High School took Best Male Standout Performance in an Ensemble Production for Illeas Paschalidis as Black Stache in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” as well as Best Female Standout Performance in an Ensemble Production for Lucy Beach as Molly Aster in the show.

The Seven Angels Awards Team includes Semina De Laurentis, Mary Ann DeSorbo, Jimmy Donohue, Stephanie Gordner, Morgan Griffin, Debra Healy, Jewell Hearon, director Scott Kealey, Bob Keating, Lyn Licese, Joshua Lopez, Katrina Paul, 7A press representative Paul Roth, Christine Simone and Melissa Stemmer.