Pelham Theater Program Collects Nominations, Wins at National Youth Arts Awards

From PMHS: The PMHS productions of “The Miracle Worker” and “Barnum,” as well as the Middle School production of “Beauty and the Beast Jr. earned an impressive eight awards and 11 additional nominations at the National Youth Arts Awards ceremony held on Aug. 20.

Sock-n- Buskin’s performance of the musical “Barnum” won Outstanding Production and Andrew O’Brien, who played Phineas Taylor Barnum, was honored as Lead Actor in a Musical. Veronica Stern, as Jenny Lind, and Athena Woodfin, as Joice Heth, also won awards for Supporting Actress in a Musical while Tom Kramer (guest artist) and co-Director Neil Schleifer each won awards for Costume Design.

Additionally, Schleifer and co-Director Tom Beck won Direction Awards. Also nominated for their
performances in “Barnum” were Maggie Solimine, as Chairy Barnum, for Lead Actress in a Musical, Jack
Finegan, as Tom Thumb, for Supporting Actor in a Musical, Joseph Egan for Set Design, Donna Fox for
Choreography and Maria Abeshouse for Musical Direction. “Barnum” was also nominated for an
Ensemble Award.

Solimine’s performance as Annie Sullivan in the drama “The Miracle Worker” earned her an award for
Lead Actress in a Play. Also nominated for the same award was Emma Chase as Helen Keller.
The Middle School’s performance of “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” also garnered awards and nominations
with Austin Kelly, who played Cogsworth, winning an award for Supporting Actor. Jack Denison as The
Beast and Malia McLellan as Belle were nominated for Lead Actor and Actress respectively while
Emmett Doyle as Lumiere was nominated for Supporting Actor. The production also was nominated for
an Ensemble award.

Images Courtesy of PMHS