(Story updated as of May 8, 2017)
Providence Day School’s recent Upper School musical “Sideshow” has garnered several nominations in the 2017 Blumey Awards.
The sixth annual High School Musical Theater Awards, known as the Blumey Awards, which honor excellence in high school musical theater, will be presented by Wells Fargo in Belk Theater in Charlotte May 21.
Blumenthal Performing Arts launched the program in 2012 to recognize, reward and encourage talent and achievement in musical theater among high school students in the greater Charlotte area.
Based on the Broadway musical about the lives of Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who became famous performers in the 1930s, PDS’s “Sideshow” was performed in the McMahon Fine Arts Center theater April 6-9.
“‘Sideshow’ was a risky, somewhat unknown choice for the Upper School musical this year, but the cast and crew exceeded my expectations as usual and blew it out of the water,” said Caroline Bower, Upper School theatre teacher and musical director.
“It is a timely story about the importance of diversity and inclusion, and for it to be recognized is extremely humbling,” she said. “I am so proud of everyone who made this special show happen, and I am honored to have our show garner the nominations it did for the Blumey Awards.”
“Sideshow” was nominated for Best Supporting Actress (11th-grader Katlyn Gonzalez as Daisy), Best Supporting Actor (12th-grader David Conlin as Buddy), Best Set Construction, Best Ensemble/Chorus and Best Overall Direction.
11th-grader Tessa Giordano (as Violet) and 10th-grader Chris Melton (as Terry) also were among the students who scored in the top 20 in the Best Actor and Actress categories and were invited to audition for the Blumey Award judges May 6. Chris was among the six nominees for both of the categories chosen after the auditions and announced May 8.
Blumey Award winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Belk Theater on Sunday, May 21, at 7 p.m.
Like the Tony Awards, the Blumey Awards ceremony will feature a performance by each of the six nominated schools in the best musical category, a medley of performances by the six finalists for Best Actor and for Best Actress, and an opening and closing number that features two students from each of the 46 participating schools.
Tickets for the ceremony go on sale to the public on Thursday, May 4, at 10 a.m.
Maureen O'Boyle, WBTV news anchor, and Amy Burkett, WTVI general manager, will emcee the black-tie event. This year, the Blumey Awards also will be broadcast on WTVI on Tuesday, May 30, at 8 p.m.
Learn more about the Performing Arts at PDS.