Spring 2012 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program Honorees Announced by Hennepin Theatre Trust

MINNEAPOLIS—Hennepin Theatre Trust announced today the spring 2012 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program honorees from among 56 Minnesota high schools, the most ever participating in the SpotLight Program. Now in its seventh successful year, SpotLight is the Trust’s flagship educational initiative that honors, supports and advocates for Minnesota high school musical theatre students and programs. This year, a record number of schools, including 13 new SpotLight schools and nine from greater Minnesota, are presenting musicals made possible by the collaboration of nearly 5,000 students. These musicals are annually seen by an estimated 107,000 audience members.

SPRING HONOREES—The new honorees from high schools who presented musicals in spring 2012 are from: Andover, Anoka, Benilde-St. Margaret’s (St. Louis Park), Blaine, Blake (Minneapolis), Breck (Minneapolis), Chanhassen, Columbia Heights, Concordia Academy (Roseville), Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul), DeLaSalle (Minneapolis), Hill-Murray (Maplewood), Jefferson (Alexandria), Lakeville South, Main Street School of Performing Arts (Hopkins), Minnetonka, Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis), Monticello, Park (Cottage Grove), Richfield, Rogers, Southwest (Minneapolis), St. Francis, St. Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts, Tartan (Oakdale), Thomas Jefferson (Bloomington) and Washburn (Minneapolis). Additional honors to schools presenting musicals in fall 2011 were announced in December. A list of participating schools is included at the end of this press release, the spring 2012 honorees by school are attached and a comprehensive list of fall and spring honors is available online at HennepinTheatreTrust.org/spotlight.

SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE—Monday, June 11, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre is the SpotLight Showcase, the annual culminating event in the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program. This professionally produced gala evening invites the public to join in celebrating dynamic student performances as students and schools are honored. This year’s Showcase will feature a student medley of songs from the Trust’s 2012/13 Broadway Season and a special performance from Broadway vocalist and SpotLight spokesperson Linda Eder. The names of two students to represent Minnesota at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York will also be announced. Tickets, available for only $15, are on sale now in person at the State Theatre Box Office, by calling 1.800.982.2787 and through HennepinTheatreTrust.org. VIP ticket packages including additional restaurant tours, programming and gift offers are also available online.

Hennepin Theatre Trust, whose work includes arts-inspired community cultural development, established the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program in 2005 after recognizing that none existed in Minnesota to honor excellence in high school musical theatre. The program, still the only one of its kind in the state, includes the opportunity to work with musical theatre educators who offer training and critical feedback through on-site and remote video school workshops. Evaluators assess each production and nominate honorees. Categories include Outstanding Performance in leading, supporting and featured roles, Outstanding Performance by a chorus, dance ensemble and student orchestra, Outstanding Overall performance of a musical and Outstanding Overall Production of a musical. Awards are also given for technical achievement including stage management, sound and hair/makeup and for community engagement initiatives built around that school’s musical. Shows are not compared or ranked against each other, so categories may have multiple honorees. Schools annually apply to participate.

School Participants in the 2011-12 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program:
Andover High School: Annie Get Your Gun
Anoka High School: The Pirates of Penzance
Bemidji High School: White Christmas
Benilde-St. Margaret’s (St. Louis Park): How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Blaine High School: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The Blake School (Minneapolis): Grease
Breck School (Minneapolis): My Fair Lady
Cambridge-Isanti High School: Grease
Centennial High School (Circle Pines): Little Shop of Horrors
Central High School (Saint Paul): Bye Bye Birdie
Chanhassen High School: Curtains
Chaska High School: Once Upon a Mattress
Chisago Lakes High School: Hello, Dolly!
Columbia Heights High School: Guys and Dolls
Concordia Academy (Roseville): Godspell
Cretin-Derham Hall (Saint Paul): Sweet Charity
DeLaSalle High School (Minneapolis): Into the Woods
Eagan High School: A Christmas Carol Musical
East Ridge High School (Woodbury): The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Eastview High School (Apple Valley): Beauty and the Beast
Edina High School: Urinetown
FAIR Downtown School (Minneapolis): Into the Woods
Forest Lake High School: Guys and Dolls
Fridley Senior High School: Footloose
Glencoe-Silver Lake High School: Seussical
Hill-Murray School (Maplewood): Bye Bye Birdie
Irondale High School (New Brighton): How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Jefferson Senior High School (Alexandria): Little Shop of Horrors
Lakeville North High School: The Secret Garden
Lakeville South High School: The Wizard of Oz
Main Street School of Performing Arts (Hopkins): The Producers
Maple Grove Senior High School: The Drowsy Chaperone
Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis): Honk!
Minnetonka High School: Legally Blonde
Monticello High School: Singin’ in the Rain
Moorhead High School: Children of Eden
Mound Westonka High School: The Drowsy Chaperone
New Life Academy (Woodbury): Beauty and the Beast
Norwood Young America High School: Little Shop of Horrors
Park High School (Cottage Grove): Blood Brothers
Richfield Senior High School: Little Shop of Horrors
Rogers High School: Little Shop of Horrors
Roseville Area High School: Urinetown
Shakopee High School: Grease
Southwest High School (Minneapolis): Hairspray
South St. Paul Secondary School: Fiddler on the Roof
St. Francis High School: Curtains
St. Louis Park High School: Little Shop of Horrors
Saint Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts: Caroline, or Change
Tartan Senior High School (Oakdale): Once on This Island
Thomas Jefferson High School (Bloomington): All Shook Up
Totino-Grace High School (Fridley): Anything Goes
Washburn High School (Minneapolis): Fame
Wayzata High School: Brigadoon
White Bear Lake Area High School: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Winona Senior High School: The Secret Garden

Educators who wish to participate in the 2012-13 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program should contact Melissa Koch, Director of Education and Community Engagement, at 612.455.9530 or at melissa.koch@hennepintheatretrust.org. The application deadline will be in October 2012. SpotLight is made possible by private donations and corporate contributions. If you wish to support this program, additional information about it and scholarship opportunities is available at HennepinTheatreTrust.org/SpotLight.

TICKET INFORMATION
The SpotLight Showcase will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 11, 2012 at Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Orpheum Theatre (910 Hennepin Avenue, Mpls., 55403). Individual tickets, available for only $15, are on sale now. Additional charges may apply. VIP ticket packages, including additional restaurant tours, programming and gift offers, are also available online at HennepinTheatreTrust.org. Tickets can be purchased in person at the State Theatre Box Office (805 Hennepin Avenue, Mpls., 55402), by calling 1.800.982.2787 and through HennepinTheatreTrust.org. All prices include applicable facility fees.

HENNEPIN THEATRE TRUST, non-profit owner of the historic Orpheum, State, Pantages and the newly developed New Century Theatres, is dedicated to enriching the vibrant cultural atmosphere of the Twin Cities. We present a rich array of live performances, create inspiring arts education experiences and advance a thriving cultural destination in downtown Minneapolis. Our programs include Broadway touring productions, the Broadway Confidential series, our SpotLight Musical Theatre Program for high schools, the Critical View student reviewer program, our free ticket Access Program and Kids’ Night and leading the planning for the cultural corridor that will extend from the Walker Art Center to the Mississippi Riverfront.

This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.