Lakeville North Theater Receives Multiple Awards for Musical Production

On June 6, students and staff from Lakeville North will be honored at a Hennepin Theater Trust awards ceremony at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. The school will be celebrating, not only their first-time honor for Outstanding Production, but nine other individual acting awards as well.

The Spotlight Musical Theater Program of the Hennepin Theater Trust sponsors the awards each year, and Kristen Mundahl, an English and theater teacher at North, is excited for the cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie, this year’s Spotlight winner.

“It’s really big and exciting news for us. It’s our first time winning the Outstanding Production award,” Mundahl said. “It’s an honor for us to be on the list of distinguished performers and we’re really looking forward to the awards night.”

The Hennepin Theater Trust sent three critics to review the musical, who looked for excellence in a number of areas including technical quality, ensemble and individual performance, choreography and vocal performance.

“They do an excellent job with the wide range of elements they critique on,” Mundahl said. “That feedback provides both positive reinforcement and suggestions for improvement, so it’s really valuable information for directors and cast members.”

At the awards ceremony, the full cast will perform a medley of songs from the production, and individual award winners will perform in a variety of numbers with other recognized students from the around the metro area and the state.

This year’s list of individual award winners from the Thoroughly Modern Millie cast at Lakeville North are:

Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role:

Millie Dillmount- Emily Scinto
Jimmy Smith- Shane Lord

Honorable Mention in a Leading Role:

Miss Dorothy Brown- Myrrh-Anna Kienitz
Mr. Trevor Graydon- Ben Stefonowicz
Muzzy VanHossmere- Emily Pratt

Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role:

Mrs. Meers- Sami Pieck

Honorable Mention in a Supporting Role:

Miss Flannery- Hannah Johnson

Honorable Mention in a Featured Role:

Ching Ho- Andrew Curry

The crew for Thoroughly Modern Millie:

Director: Kristen Mundahl
Musical Director: Paul Wigley
Assistant Director: Matthew Erickson
Choreographers: Betsy Booton and Kristen Mundahl

Tickets to the Spotlight Musical Theater Awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 6 may be purchased at  http://www.hennepintheatretrust.org/. 

In other Lakeville North Theater news, the theater department will offer its “Behind the Scenes Summer Theatre Camp” again in July. The camp, now in its third year, is open to elementary and middle school-aged students.

“It’s a great summer opportunity for kids that started as a fundraiser,” Mundahl said. “It helps raise some revenue for the theater department, but it also raises awareness of what theater is all about and what we love about it. It also gives younger students the chance to see what being in a production is all about.”

Students at Lakeville North say the camp has been a big success. Alex Corbin was a participant last summer.

"I've never seen so many kids having so much fun together in theatre.  Everyone had a blast and couldn't wait for the next summer,” Corbin said.

Casey Williams agreed.

"Camp has been one of my favorite parts of theatre. Not only is it fun for the kids, but it's rewarding for the high school students, too,” Williams said.

The camp sessions run Monday through Friday, and include studies in acting, singing, dance, and theater tech. Classes are taught by Mundahl and Lakeville North theater students, and culminate with a short performance on the Friday of each session. Camp week for elementary-age kids will be July 11th-15th, and July 25-29th for middle schoolers.

Registration for Lakeville North High’s “Behind the Scenes Summer Theatre Camp” is limited and closes June 1. For more information, contact Kristen Mundahl at: lnhstheatre@gmail.com.