Written by Rob Kennedy - submitted by Sarah Shepherd

Hartford - The Amity Theater Department was presented with four awards at the Connecticut High School Theater Awards held on Monday May 24th at Bushnell Theater in Hartford. Amity’s production of Les Miserables had been nominated in thirteen categories, the second most by any school.

The Amity winners included junior Kimberly Simon of Woodbridge who won for her portrayal of the bawdy and devilish Madame Thenardier. Kim was the very first winner of the night and was overwhelmed by the experience. At the podium she thanked the cast and crew and her family for their support.

Two Amity faculty members were honored for their efforts as well. Chris Hickerson won in the Best Achievement in Musical Direction category and Phil Dolan was given the award for the Best Orchestra. Dolan and his student orchestra was hard at work at the awards gala. Dolan conducted for all three of Amity’s performances and John Chang, Emma Platoff, Nick Platoff, Eric Jiang and Sarah Gans were the only students invited to join nine professional musicians on the Bushnell stage. When asked about the awards gala Dolan gushed about his students, “What a unbelievable experience for them! Congrats to the orchestra, cast, crew and directors Rob and Andrea Kennedy”.

One of the final awards of the night went to senior John Jorge of Orange. John was awarded the trophy for Best Performance by an Actor over some very tough competition including his cast mate Ken Adair and the 2009 Connecticut and National High School Music Theater Award winner Stephen Mark of Ridgefield. During the gala John sang a stirring rendition of the song “Bring Him Home” which brought the Bushnell crowd, including the competing high schools, to their feet. An emotional Jorge was visibly moved by the win and made sure to thank his directors Rob and Andrea Kennedy and his father who he called his “inspiration”.

John will now move on to compete in the second-annual National High School Musical Theater Awards which will be held on Monday, June 28, 2010 at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. Activities will commence on Wednesday, June 23 with rehearsals, master classes, private coaching and interviews with theater professionals leading up to the live awards show where the Jimmy™ Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress will be presented. Both overall male and female winners are eligible for four-year scholarship assistance to attend the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama, contingent upon acceptance into the program. In addition, The Nederlander Organization will present both winners with a check for $10,000 to help these talented students pursue their dream.