Washington State High Schools Glam it Up at The 16th Annual 5th Avenue Awards: Honoring High School Musical Theater

It was the most anticipated night of the year by high school theater programs across the state of Washington: The 16th Annual 5th Avenue Awards Honoring High School Musical Theater, proudly sponsored by Wells Fargo with additional support from Alaska Airlines. Presented at The 5th Avenue Theatre, nearly 2,000 teenagers, many in costumes representing their schools' musical theater productions, cheered for their peers as they performed musical excerpts and accepted awards honoring top student achievements in musical theater. The acclaimed event, directed this year by Kat Ramsburg, handed out awards in 21 categories ranging from Outstanding Overall Musical Production to Outstanding Lobby Display.

"It is always such a treat to witness students from across the state being recognized for all their hard work during The 5th Avenue Awards," said Stephanie Wall, Wells Fargo community relations manager for the Pacific Northwest. "Wells Fargo chooses to support The 5th Avenue Theatre year after year because we believe in this wonderful organization and we believe in these amazingly talented young people. We thank and applaud all the parents, teachers, mentors, and community members who rally together to support our youth." The 5th Avenue Theatre is grateful to Wells Fargo for their long-standing partnership as title sponsor of this program over the past 14 years.

A grand total of 20 high schools received awards across 21 categories among the recipients of The 16th Annual 5th Avenue Awards. Tahoma High School took home top honors at the end of the night with the award for Outstanding Overall Musical Production for their hit production of Tarzan The Stage Musical. In a testament to the high quality work being done in schools all across Washington State, no school swept the ceremony, with two schools taking home two awards each, including Kamiak High School (Monty Python's Spamalot, School Edition) and Tahoma High School (Tarzan The Stage Musical).

Walla Walla High School student Cassie Dixon received the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress for her performance as Ella Peterson in Bells are Ringing. Hanford High School student Jake Isom received the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor for his performance as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in Curtains. These talented teens will travel to the National High School Musical Theater Awards (Jimmy Awards) in New York City at the end of June. The 5th Avenue Theatre sincerely thanks Alaska Airlines, whose support makes it possible to send the recipients of the Leading Actor and Leading Actress awards to New York.

Wenatchee High School took home the award for Outstanding Direction (The Wedding Singer), Monroe High School received the award for Outstanding Music Direction (Guys and Dolls), and Kamiak High School brought home the award for Outstanding Choreography (Monty Python's Spamalot, School Edition).

This year, the Special Honor for Outstanding Educator was given to Kristin Glaeser of Walla Walla High School. The Special Honor for Outstanding Parent Support was given to Meadowdale High School.

The program, which Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry created in 2003, has grown in size and scope from 24 productions and 3,100 students to 119 productions at 95 schools with more than 10,000 students participating this year. For the 2017/18 high school theater season, 165 nominations and 169 honorable mentions were given in various categories. Each year, schools from across Washington State submit their musicals for consideration by The 5th Avenue Awards Committee. Local theater professionals are selected by The 5th as evaluators to travel to cities as far away as Spokane, Lynden, Sequim and Vancouver, seeking the best actors, actresses, directors and designers to represent their schools in this hotly anticipated annual event.

Over the years, many schools have reported back to The 5th Avenue Theatre that their involvement in this awards program has significantly helped their individual efforts to secure funding, improve curriculum and increase student participation.

The 5th Avenue Theatre would like to thank Wells Fargo for their generous support throughout the last 14 years. In 2017, Wells Fargo invested $3.6 million in hundreds of nonprofits and schools across Washington. In addition, Washington team members personally donated $808,000 and volunteered 36,000 hours of community service. Wells Fargo has 3,500 team members in Washington who serve customers through a network of 220 banking, mortgage and investment offices, and 246 ATMs, in 80 communities across the state. See how we are caring for our Washington communities.

The 5th Avenue Theatre would also like to thank Alaska Airlines, whose support makes it possible to send the recipients of the "Outstanding Actor" and "Outstanding Actress" awards to New York to participate in the National High School Musical Theater Awards. Alaska Airlines, together with its regional partners, flies 40 million customers a year to 118 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica. With Alaska and Alaska Global Partners, customers can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900 destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines recently received the J.D. Power award for customer satisfaction for the 10th consecutive year. In 2017, the airline donated $15 million to nonprofits and community organizations.

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The Recipients of The 16th Annual 5th Avenue Awards

Outstanding Overall Musical
Tahoma High School, Tarzan The Stage Musical

Outstanding Direction
Wenatchee High School, The Wedding Singer

Outstanding Music Direction
Monroe High School, Guys and Dolls

Outstanding Choreography
Kamiak High School, Monty Python's Spamalot, School Edition

Outstanding Orchestra
Timberline High School, Xanadu

Outstanding Scenic Design
Camas High School, Little Shop of Horrors

Outstanding Lighting Design
Sumner High School, The Wizard of Oz

Outstanding Costume Design
Kamiak High School, Monty Python's Spamalot, School Edition

Outstanding Hair and Makeup Design
Bellarmine Preparatory School, A Christmas Story The Musical

Outstanding Stage Crew
Tahoma High School, Tarzan The Stage Musical

Outstanding Lobby Display
Ferndale High School, Fiddler on the Roof

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Cassie Dixon as Ella Peterson, Walla Walla High School, Bells Are Ringing

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Jake Isom as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, Hanford High School, Curtains

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Jaidyn Lam as Bobbi/Gabby, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, City of Angels

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Tristan Nelson as Sir Dennis Galahad, Enumclaw High School, Monty Python's Spamalot, School Edition

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Featured Ensemble Role
Cassidy Spencer as Bridget, Clarkston High School, Bring It On: The Musical

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Featured Ensemble Role
Thane Boersma as Earthworm, Lynden Christian School, Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach

Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Non-Singing Role
Payton Ives as Shoe, Blaine High School, Shoe

Outstanding Performance by a Chorus
Prairie High School, Pippin

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Group - TIE
The Nuns, Lake Stevens High School, Sister Act
The Nuns, Lincoln High School, Sister Act

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Decatur High School, Assassins

Special Honors: Educational Impact
Capital High School, Seussical
Cashmere High School, Hello, Dolly!
Mercer Island High School, 9 to 5
Peninsula High School, Seussical
Stadium High School, Guys and Dolls
Sunnyside High School, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins

Special Honors: Student Achievement
AC Davis High School - Delaney Lust
Blaine High School - Tia Mitchell
Cashmere High School - Kaylee Wise
Decatur High School - Klara Woodruff
Gig Harbor High School - Bri Roppolo
Glacier Peak High School - Erik Ortiz
Hockinson High School - Isaac Goin
Hoquiam High School - Chaela Watkins
Juanita High School - Sarah Baker
Kentridge High School - McKenna Minister
Klahowya Secondary School - Sarah Slane
Meadowdale High School - Kateara Utley
Mercer Island High School - Sophie Kelly-Hedrick
The Overlake School - Kate McConnell
Peninsula High School - Sydneyrose Gillis
Rogers High School - Morgan Holady
Stadium High School - Ethan Gebauer
Wenatchee High School - Natalee Aalgaard
West Valley High School - Matthew Blanchard
Yelm High School - Matthew Tolar

Special Honor: Outstanding Educators
Kristin Glaeser, Walla Walla High School

Special Honor: Outstanding Parent Support
Meadowdale High School

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The 5th Avenue Theatre is one of America's leading musical theater companies. We enrich the community we love with the art form we love-giving the Pacific Northwest a front-row seat to original powerhouse productions that go on to light up marquees and audiences all the way to Broadway. From the page to the stage, we bring passion and epic scale to every musical we create. With big talent. Bigger-than-life productions. And did we mention dazzle? As a nonprofit theatre company and our region's largest performing arts employer, we spread the joy of great musicals with people of all ages across our region and state. Each year, we reach 75,000 young people through our nationally acclaimed education programs. Programs designed to develop new musicals ensure that the next generation of great musicals will be there to tell the stories that captivate tomorrow's audiences. On the national stage, we are a leading voice for the power of this American art form to lift the human spirit.

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