On June 11, the cast of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying will take the stage one last time for the Spotlight Awards Showcase at the Orpheum Theatre. The Spotlight judges visited three of the six performances, choosing Benilde-St. Margaret’s as a standout high school along with fifty-five other schools across the state.
HTS received awards for both Outstanding Overall Production and Outstanding Overall Performance, which means both the individual acting and the whole production––including lighting, sound, and scenery––were recognized for their excellence.
As far as individual awards, both leads, senior Ben Zeman and sophomore Lexi Johnson, were awarded Outstanding for their performances as J. Pierrepont Finch and Rosemary Pilkington, respectively. “It was an immense honor to be honored individually, but when we got Overall Outstanding Performance and Production I couldn’t have been happier, the cast put in so much hard work and we all wanted the show to be the best that it could be,” said Johnson.
The supporting actors also got recognized for their efforts. Senior Emma Eldred was presented with an Outstanding award for her portrayal of Hedy LaRue, and seniors Ned Meeker, Brenton Jayasuriya, Anna Landis, juniors Emily Kline and David Nelson, and sophomore Sage Fulco all received Honorable Mentions. “It’s a true honor and a surprise [to receive a Spotlight Award]. When they first posted the awards list, my name wasn’t on it. I wasn’t surprised or even really that disappointed, but then they updated the list saying that I actually did receive an honorable mention. I was ecstatic. This was my first show that I was in where Spotlight reviewed me… I’ve rarely been as excited as I am now, considering that I get to perform on the Orpheum stage,” said Fulco.
In addition, the secretaries were awarded with Outstanding Featured Ensemble for their roles. “We are not doing anything specific [at Spotlight] but we are doing the ‘Secretary is Not a Toy’ number which [features] the [secretaries] as [an ensemble]” said junior Rachel Binish.
