Westfield Students Win Cappies Awards

There was raucous cheering and clapping in the Kennedy Center Sunday night while teen critics, cast and crew members were honored at the 12th annual Cappies Gala.

Students from 60 metropolitan area public and private schools showed up en masse, dressed to the nines, to celebrate high school theatre. More than 350 high school critics voted for this year’s Cappie nominations and awards. students took home multiple awards for their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

“It’s great. It was so much fun coming from last year winning Lead Actor in a Play to Lead Actor in a Musical,” said Westfield’s Kevin Clay. “It shows how great our education is, but I know we don’t need awards to show our love of acting.”

Westfield High awards:

Critic team

Colby Dezelik: Comic Actor in a Musical

Song: “Megamix," Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Returning Critic: Joey Biagini

Sound: Kieran Claffey, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Costumes: Carrie Nye, Katelyn Reimer,  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Ensemble in a Musical: Brothers,  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Lead Actor in a Musical: Kevin Clay, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Choreography: Avery Hobbs and Colby Dezelick, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

's Anthony Ingargiola also won an award for supporting actor in a musical, in the school's spring production of Working.

The Cappies program was established in 1999 by FCPS Theatre Arts resource teacher Judy Bowns and Capitol Steps director Bill Strauss. More than 6,000 students were involved in Cappies 2011, either as critics or cast and crew of reviewed shows. About 20,000 volunteer hours have gone into the program.

Other 2011 Cappies winners:

Rising Critic: Jamie Joeyen-Waldorf,

Graduating Critic: Chris Papas, High

Female Dancer: Allison Perhach, , Oklahoma!

Orchestra: Duke Ellington Orchestra

Male Dancer: Nikko Custodio, , Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Make-up: Khulan Batmunkh, Sonya Dagata, Claire Seaton, Michelly Sorge, ,  Frankenstein 1930

Featured Actress: Julia Meadows, , Dandelion Wine

Props and Effects: Samantha Darr and Karlyn Dunne, , Lord of the Flies

Featured Actor: Michael Brown, Georgetown Prep, Of Mice and Men

Lighting: Coleman Quimby, Walt Whitman High School, Side Show

Stage Crew: Katie Nguyen, Katie Yoon, Josh Carey, South County Secondary School, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Female Vocalist: Abby Coryell,  The Scarlet Pimpernel

Male Vocalist: Sam Waters, , Les Miserables

Sets: Lauren Phillips, Brad Vitale, Chloe Vasquez,, Stage Door

Comic Actor in a Play: B.J. Odom, A, The Mousetrap

Comic Actress in a Musical: Emily Adler,, Little Women, the Musical

Supporting Actress in a Play: Shanna Bess, , Acts of God

Supporting Actor in a Play: Peter Fanone, Georgetown Prep, Of Mice and Men

Supporting Actress in a Musical: Bridget Morrison, St. Albans and National Cathedral School, Hairspray

Creativity: Damian Leverett, Composer, , The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan

Ensemble in a Play: Lenny and George, Georgetown Prep, Of Mice and Men

Lead Actress in a Musical: Anitra McKinney, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Dreamgirls

Lead Actor in a Play: Ty Sheedlo, Dominion High School, Harvey

Lead Actress in a Play: Virginia Tucker, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, Our Town

An earlier version of this article incorrectly state the number of awards for Westfield High. It has been changed to reflect the correct number.