High school’s spring musical nominated for four Basie Awards
'I'm so proud of the work they've done' — Director Gary Kilmer
The Asbury Park High School musical, “Once on this Island,” has been nominated for four Basie Awards.
The cast and crew received nods for outstanding lighting design in a musical, outstanding student/adult orchestra, outstanding chorus in a musical, and outstanding direction in a musical. The nominations were announced on May 8.
The “Once on this Island” performances, which took place on April 18, 19 and 20, told the story of a group of Caribbean islanders who through storytelling are able to calm down a young girl during a violent tropical storm. The original book and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, and the play is based on Rosa Guy’s novel My Love, My Love, which in turn inspired Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.
“Every time I raise the bar for the theater and dance students here at Asbury Park High School, they not only meet it, it seems like they spread their wings even further and soar over it,” Gary Kilmer, Theater and Dance teacher and Director of the musical, said of the nomination and the cast members. “I’m so proud of the work they’ve done, and I’m already seeing the results in these young people. They have not only become smart and aware performers, they are becoming more confident, more comfortable in their own skins, and more productive members of their school and their community. To me, that says this program is working.”
The Basie Awards, which started in 2006, high schools’ dramatic and musical theater. All schools provide four tickets to each production and the evaluation committee assesses each production, nominations are then made and a final awards ceremony ties the event together.
“I am extremely proud of our Theater and Dance Department, they worked very hard to make this performance the best so far, and they definitely accomplished just that,” said Superintendent Denise Lowe. “This was the largest cast so far, and realizing that about 95 percent of the performance required singing it was truly quite an excellent achievement. The performance was picked perfectly, as it allowed our students to open up about their own experiences during Hurricane Sandy. This is all about bringing the community together regardless of their background.”
The Count Basie Theater Awards Ceremony for Excellence in High School Dramatic and Musical Theater will take place on Wednesday May 22 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank.
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