Totem Pole Playhouse, America’s beloved summer theatre located in Caledonia State Park, has announced 75 nominations in 15 categories for the second annual Totem Pole Awards recognizing outstanding achievement in musical theater production and performance by high school students in Adams, Franklin, and Fulton counties.
Named after the Totem Pole Playhouse, one of the longest running, nationally-recognized, fully professional summer theatres in the country, the awards focus solely on the performances of high school students, honoring their acting, singing, and dancing abilities.
Bermudian Springs High School production of Seussical led all schools with a total of 13 nominations followed by Mercersburg Academy’s production of Urinetown with 12 nominations.
The five high school productions nominated this year for the Carl Schurr Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical are: Urinetown, Mercersburg Academy; Seussical, Bermudian Springs High School; Little Shop Horrors, Waynesboro Area Senior High School; Guys & Dolls, Littlestown High School; Beauty and the Beast, New Oxford High School.
The nominees for Outstanding Performance by an Actress and an Actor in a Leading Role are:
Maggie Dennis, Waynesboro Area Senior High School; Crystalyn Gureckis, New Oxford High School; Keighley Taylor, Bermudian Springs High School; Sarah Steele, Chambersburg Area Senior High School; Andrea Crawford, Shippensburg Area Senior High School; Andy Barkdoll,
Waynesboro Area Senior High School; Zach McDonald, Mercersburg Academy; Alexander Wilkinson, New Oxford High School; Antonio Rinaldi, Gettysburg Area High School; Javier Sandoval, Littlestown Senior High School.
The nominees for Outstanding Performance by an Actress and an Actor in a Supporting Role are:
Nikki DeParis, Mercersburg Academy; Darcy Long, Shippensburg Area Senior High School;
Caitlin Binner, New Oxford High School; Alexa Frey,Bermudian Springs High School;
Lauren Mellott, Chambersburg Area Senior High School; Graham Hardman, Gettysburg Area High School; Alex Jackson, Mercersburg Academy; Matt Meckley, Bermudian Springs High School; Ben Stauffer, Littlestown Senior High School; Holden Lupey, Forbes Road Junior Senior High School
The nominees for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Female and Male Ensemble member are: Lexa Treml, Mercersburg Academy; Rachel Warthen, Gettysburg Area High School; Emily Curry, Bermudian Springs High School; Bailey Nordin, Chambersburg Area Senior High School; Brittany Parson, McConnellsburg High School; Richard Reinberg, New Oxford High School; Connor Zahm, Bermudian Springs High School; David Hewitt, Shippensburg Area Senior High School; Billy Crowder, McConnellsburg High School; Danny Booth, Mercersburg Academy.
The five nominees for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Dancer are: Abbie Smuda, Gettysburg Area High School; Sierra Everhart, Forbes Road Junior Senior High School; Sara Holden, Littlestown Senior High School; Lillian Doyle, McConnellsburg High School; Allyssa Christner, New Oxford High School
A total of 10 area high schools participated in this year’s Totem Pole Awards with the full list of nominees in each of the 15 categories available on Totem Pole Playhouse’s Facebook page and website.
Totem Pole’s Producing Artistic Director, Rowan Joseph, will host the awards ceremony at
Gettysburg College’s Majestic Theater, Sunday, May 17th at 5PM which will include performances from the nominated actors, actresses, and musicals along with the presentation of the 2015 Totem Pole Awards.
Tickets for the awards ceremony will be on sale through the Majestic Theater beginning Wednesday, May 6th at a cost of $12.00 for adults and $5.00 for students