Roger Rees nominees include 8 from here
The Roger Rees Awards waiting is over. The Roger Rees Awards waiting has just begun.
Judges from the Roger Rees Awards have winnowed some 190 performers to a select group of 51, and eight theater kids from the Lower Hudson Valley have just learned they made the cut.
They’ll attend the Rees Awards weekend May 16 and 17 in New York City, where they’ll join other triple threats from elsewhere in the Hudson Valley, NYC and Long Island.
They’ll attend master classes and learn show tunes and dance routines to prepare for a workshop performance on the stage at Symphony Space. At the end of that performance, they’ll learn if they’ve been named outstanding performer and eligible to move on to the Jimmy Awards in June.
Who from here is headed to Rees weekend?
The eight students from the Lower Hudson Valley who were tapped to move on in the Rees Awards competition are:
Dominique Alvarez, who played Eponine in Rye Country Day’s “Les Miserables”;
Winter Donnelly, from NYC’s LaGuardia High School, who played Beverly in Archbishop Stepinac’s “Come From Away”;
Oliver Ipri, who played Nicely Nicely in Pleasantville’s “Guys and Dolls”;
Jian Kawai, who played Barry Glickman in “The Prom” at Rye Neck;
Haley Millowitz, as Madame Thenardier in “Les Miserables” at Rye Country Day;
Donovan Russell, who played Percy Jackson in “The Lightning Thief” at Woodlands;
Dominick Stern, who played Pippin in Dobbs Ferry’s “Pippin”; and
Michael Troy, who played Albert Peterson in “Bye Bye Birdie” at Suffern.
Stern is the one of three sophomores in the final 51. Ipri is the only freshman.
Nominations, auditions, Rees weekend
Here’s how the Rees Awards work.
Theo Lencicki, artistic director of the Broadway Education Alliance, told me that 103 schools participated in the program this year. Judges saw performances and, based on their reviews, each production had a maximum of two performers nominated to participate in the Roger Rees Awards.
Last weekend, at Marymount Manhattan College, LIU Post and Rockland Community College, the nominees performed again for a panel of judges led by Lencicki. They also attended a master class with faculty from across the region.
From those auditions, 190 or so students were winnowed to 51 students who were tapped to move forward in the competition, to the Roger Rees weekend, where they’ll attend more master classes, see a Broadway show and perform in a showcase on May 17 at Symphony Space. Tickets to the 7 p.m. performance are available here.
Awards are given in several categories: outstanding performer, emerging artist, choral group performance, new faces, scenic and costume design, high school orchestra, and student reporter. The winners for outstanding performer move on to The Jimmys, the National High School Theater Awards, on June 22 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre.
Outstanding performers and emerging artists from here
Schools from Westchester and Rockland have fared well at the Rees Awards in years past.
In the outstanding performer category, Lower Hudson Valley schools swept the 2023 honors with Tatum Hopkins from Nyack and Calvin Lindo from Stepinac. Liam Ginsburg from Pelham won in 2022 as a freshman; Meredith Heller from Pelham won in 2020; Jeremy Fuentes from Stepinac won in 2019; Alyssa McDonald from Nyack won in 2018; Sarah Liddy won in 2014; Halle Mastroberardino from Harrison won in 2013, back when the Rees Awards were called The Gershwin Awards.
There’s also the emerging artist awards, and Lower Hudson Valley schools have made their mark there, too.
Last year, Pelham’s Grace Kiamie was the emerging artist for her performance in “Big Fish” at Fordham Prep. In 2018, Megan Campbell from Brewster High School was named emerging artist winner for her work in “Ragtime” at Stepinac. In 2016, Justin Sturgis from Rye Neck was emerging artist for “Into the Woods.” In 2015, Gregory Cary was emerging artist from Hendrick Hudson.
Hear from Rees winners
Here’s Pelham’s Liam Ginsburg talking to me a couple of months back about his Roger Rees experience.
Grace Kiamie had a great perspective on the competitive nature of the Rees and other programs and how not to let it get the better of you. Give a listen.
Other key year-end dates
Saturday, May 16: Pedro’s Open Mic at Harrison High School.
Sunday, May 17: Roger Rees Awards at Symphony Space.
Monday, May 18: Metro Awards nominations announced.
Monday, June 15: Metro Awards at Purchase College.
Monday, June 22: Jimmy Awards at Broadway’s Minskoff Theater.
Will write soon.