HOWELL At the 20th annual Basie Awards, the drama club at Howell High School had the distinction of taking home three prizes.
The Count Basie Center for the Arts presents the Basie Awards, which honor high school theater talent in Monmouth County.
Throughout the academic year, 52 high school productions were assessed, and over 80 nominees were gathered in a variety of categories. Both the play Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and the musical Spamalot earned Howell High School multiple nominations.
Howell High School’s presentation of Spamalot earned them awards in three different categories:
- Outstanding Mixed Student + Adult Orchestra
- Outstanding Featured Performance In A Male Identified Role (Musical) Cooper Stahl
- Outstanding Supporting Performance In A Female Identified Role (Musical) Bandaid Issacs-Rodriguez
The 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail served as the inspiration for the musical comedy Spamalot. It chronicles the absurd search for the Holy Grail by King Arthur and his eccentric Knights of the Round Table. They come across ludicrous figures like a murderous rabbit, the Knights Who Say Ni!, and the Lady of the Lake.
The program blends sarcasm, slapstick, and British humor with parodies of Broadway musicals. According to Rachel Roberts, the director of the drama club at Howell High School, it ultimately praises foolishness and concludes with the characters finding the grail in a hilariously unexpected way.
Starting in early December and planning performances from the end of February to the beginning of March, the Drama Club puts in a lot of effort to produce a stunning show in just ten weeks.
In Spamalot, Cooper Stahl portrayed two distinct characters that are typically portrayed by a single actor. In addition to playing Prince Herbert, he portrayed Not-Dead-Fred at the start of the act. The Lady of the Lake, the sole female role, was portrayed by Bandaid Isaacs-Rodriguez.
Despite being a comedy, this act was serious business! According to Roberts, the children needed to be taught the subtleties of British humor because it differs greatly from American humor. We also conducted a cast screening because the majority of them hadn’t even seen the film. Typically, we start by learning the music and harmony, followed by choreography and the acting scenes. They put up a lot of effort throughout the process, rehearsing for four to seven hours each day. We treat it like a professional theatrical rehearsal, and because of our high standards, they behave in a very mature manner!
According to Samantha Giustiniani, Vice President, Education and Outreach, Count Basie Center for the Arts, the annual Basie Awards show that Monmouth County’s talent is unmatched year after year. The audience that assembled tonight, together with the administrators, instructors, and students who came to support one another, is a testament to the significance and unifying power of the performing arts for the community. This year’s high school plays were exceptional.
