Arts & Entertainment
Benaroya Hall Spotlight on Edmonds Heights' Production
The school received its third straight best musical nomination from the 5th Avenue Awards, and will perform a number from "The Drowsy Chaperone" at Benaroya Hall on Monday.
The bright lights will be shining on the drama students from Edmonds Heights K-12 alternative school on Monday night.
More than 120 students, parents and friends will be in Seattle’s Benaroya Hall to take in the 2011 5th Avenue Awards: Honoring High School Musical Theater. The annual event is sponsored by Wells Fargo and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The school’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone is nominated for Outstanding Musical Production, continuing a tradition at the school, which used to be called the Edmonds Homeschool Resource Center. Edmonds Heights is part of the Edmonds School District.
“This is the third year in a row that we’ve been nominated for outstanding musical,” said Shileah Corey, the school’s drama, theater and voice teacher. (The previous nominees were Jekyll and Hyde and The Wiz.) “We didn’t win, but’s it’s really hard to do with more than 90 productions nominated (in all categories). We honestly don’t care about that. The kids are just thrilled to get up and perform before their peers and their parents.”
Because of their nomination for best musical, Edmonds Heights students will be performing a number from The Drowsy Chaperone at the awards ceremony.
The Drowsy Chaperone, with a story by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, debuted in 1998 but only last year released its production rights.
“We had the first show in the Seattle area,” said Corey. “It’s a very funny, beautifully written show. The students jumped on it right away. They love good drama, but they also love good comedy. They’re very hard workers and a dedicated group. I think that showed during the production.”
To be nominated for a 5th Avenue Theater award, schools must notify the theater in advance. The theater sends judges to productions statewise.
“The send three judges per show,” said Corey. “We may not always get a nomination or award, but we always gets pages and pages of feedback from them. It’s fantastic. I’ve found it to be very valuable since it reinforces what I’m teaching the students.”
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, another Edmonds Heights production, is also nominated in several categories.
The awards will be broadcast on a local cable access channel and will be online live on the theater's website. For more info on the nominations and broadcast, go to the 5th Ave Website.