The Rotary Drama Awards program recently took place for the 50th year.
According to their program, this annual event was the brainchild of Painesville Rotarian Robert Tischer, who believed that students who participate in school theater productions should receive recognition similar to that bestowed upon students who participated in athletics.
Hear, hear!
The Drama Awards Program this year went all out to celebrate their milestone 50th anniversary. The awards were presented May 13 by members of the Painesville and Mentor Rotary Clubs as well as theater program alumni from several of the high schools. The event was held at Mentor High School.
A special appearance via video was made by Tony Gonzalez, a Mentor graduate, whose career has taken him to Broadway (“Mamma Mia”), Las Vegas and Japan (Disney). Also presenting an honor was Thayne Jasperson, an original member of the cast of “Hamilton.” Tony and Thayne announced the nominees for the best Comedy/Drama and best Musical, respectively.
Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners, and to really any young thespian who dared to audition and tread the boards at our area theaters this year. Thanks for a year’s worth of entertainment. Good luck, seniors, and see you next school year, underclassmen!
(Winners are noted with an asterisk*
Best Musical
Fairport Harding High School’s Dorothy in Wonderland Directed by Katie Johnston
*Harvey High School’s Legally Blonde, directed by Kimberly Hildack
Lake Catholic High School’s Little Women, directed by Kyle Lorek
Mentor High School’s 9 to 5, directed by John Greene
Perry High School’s Cinderella, directed by Jennifer Hunter
Riverside High School’s The SpongeBob Musical, directed by Laura Poje
Male Lead in a Musical
*Fairport: Diesel Cueni as Lion
Harvey: EJ Wilson as Emmett Forrester
Lake Catholic: Luke Joy as Laurie Laurence
Mentor: Jason Hodkey as Franklin Hart
Perry: Spencer Kilpatrick as Topher
Riverside: Joey Pascal as SpongeBob
Female Lead in a Musical
Fairport: Hannah McCauley as Dorothy
*Harvey: Lourdes Gonzalez as Elle Woods
Lake Catholic: Ella Raddell as Jo March
Mentor: Noni Arndt as Violet
Perry: Lilah Yeager as Ella
Riverside: Lily Mitchell as Sandy Cheeks
Male Support in a Musical
Fairport: Hunter Wilson as Tinman
Harvey: Levi Mullen-Zurbrugg as Warner Huntington III
Lake Catholic: Vincent Regano as Professor Bhaer
Mentor: James Goodman as Joe
Perry: Nicholas Sladek as Jean-Michel
*Riverside: Jackson Vargo as Patrick
Female Support in a Musical
Fairport: Irelyn Swan as Alice
*Harvey: Symone Bibb as Paulette Buonofuonte
Lake Catholic: Mary Kate Hever as Beth March
Mentor: Alex Ward as Judy
Mentor: Addy Muha as Doralee
Perry: Nola Sedivy as Marie, Fairy Godmother
Riverside: Hannah Bauer as Pearl
Male Sub Support in a Musical
Fairport: James Thellman as Scarecrow
*Harvey: Jacob Boehm as Professor Callahan
Lake Catholic: Jonathan Hoose as Mr. Laurence
Perry: Augusto Nagy as Sebastian
Riverside: Gabe Asamoah-Addo as Plankton
Female Sub Support in a Musical
Fairport: Violet Cueni as White Rabbit
Harvey: Matilda Day as Vivienne Kensington
Lake Catholic: Kelly Mills as Marmee March
*Mentor: Reagan Simon as Roz
Perry: Aubry Sudo as Madame
Riverside: Karianne Rateno as Karen
Scenery/Costumes/Props in a Musical
Fairport: Dorothy in Wonderland
Harvey: Legally Blonde
Lake Catholic: Little Women
Mentor: 9 to 5
*Perry: Cinderella
Riverside: The SpongeBob Musical
Best Comedy/Drama
Fairport Harding High School’ s A Night of Shakespeare! Directed by Katie Johnston
Harvey High School’ s Steel Magnolias Directed by Kimberly Hildack
Lake Catholic High School’ s An Evening of David Ives One Act Plays Directed by David Malinowski
Mentor High School’ s The Nerd Directed by John Greene
Perry High School’ s I Hate Shakespeare Directed by Jennifer Hunter
*Riverside High School’ s Death By Chocolate Directed by Brad Allen
Male Lead in a Drama/Comedy
Fairport: Diesel Cueni as Romeo
Lake Catholic: Josh Skunda as Don
Mentor: James Goodman as William Cubbert
Mentor: Owen Medved as Rick Steadman
Perry: Spencer Kilpatrick as Hamlet
*Riverside: Joey Pascal as John Stone
Female Lead in a Drama/Comedy
*Fairport: Marissa Malone as Puck
Fairport: Hannah McCauley as Fool
Harvey: Lourdes Gonzalez as Shelby Eatonton-Latcherie
Lake Catholic: Kimmy Wiertel as Dawn
Mentor: Nadia Nasky as Tansi McGinnis
Perry: Shaylee Frazier as Unhappy Person in Audience
Riverside: Shambhavi Sajeev as Lady Riverdale
Male Support in a Drama/Comedy
Fairport: Brenden Patterson as King Duncan
Lake Catholic: Vinny Delgrosso as TV Man
*Mentor: Vinny Gamiere as Warnock Waldgrave
Perry: Tyler Contenza as Claudius, Othello & Anthony
Riverside: Ryan Bodnar as Alfred Mellox
Female Support in a Drama/Comedy
Fairport: Irelyn Swan as Juliet
Harvey: Juliana Rael as M’Lynn Eatonton
Lake Catholic: Emily Schoen as TV Woman
Mentor: Kara Cogan as Celia Waldgrave
*Perry: Liv Woloszynek as Narrator, Three Witches & Juliet
Riverside: Lily Mitchell as Margaret Daniels
Male Sub Support in a Drama/Comedy
Fairport: James Thellman as Mickey
Lake Catholic: Jake Stevens as Bill
Mentor: Joe Sharaba as Axel Hammond
Perry: Augusto Nagy as Historian, MacBeth & Romeo
*Riverside: Teagan Baus as Ed Parlor
Female Sub Support in a Drama/Comedy
*Fairport: Miika Toutant as Portia
Harvey: Matilda Day as Truvy Jones
Lake Catholic: Ava Passerell as Betty
Mentor: Frankie Hakli as Thora Waldgrave
Perry: Aubrey Sudo as Lady MacBeth, Puck & Cheerleader
Riverside: Karianne Rateno as Deslexia
Scenery/Props/Costumes in a Comedy/Drama
Fairport: A Night of Shakespeare!
Harvey: Steel Magnolias
Lake Catholic: An Evening of David Ives One-Act Plays
Mentor: The Nerd
Perry: I Hate Shakespeare
*Riverside: Death By Chocolate
