Little Theatre Salutes Its Best Of The Best

Few members of the audience sat for long Saturday at Highlands Little Theatre during the 23rd annual Zenon Award presentations.

Most who watched from seats in the intimate theater also took turns on stage as presenters, award recipients or performers. It was the ultimate in audience participation.

Snippets from more than two dozen HLT productions, along with several current and past Broadway productions, kept the crowd clapping and voicing their approval.

Members of the community theater group saluted the best performances and work by theater volunteers for the 2007-08 season by awarding Zenons in 19 categories.

Backstage was a busy place as audience members regularly traded evening gowns and bow ties for stage costumes.

The rowdy crowd sang along with many of those on stage during performances of songs from past HLT shows. Almost everyone watching knew the upcoming punch lines from old HLT favorites prior to their delivery.

Tammie Pollard collected the Lucite pyramid hardware Zenon as director of Best Show the Year, AIDA.

"Sometimes I just think there's magic," said Pollard. "If we give you joy, if we give you happiness, if we give you a thrill, that's all we wanted to do."

Virginia Leach won the Zenon for Best Actress in a Leading role in AIDA, while Christopher Hayes won a Zenon for Best Actor in a Leading Role, as Radames in AIDA.

Hayes is a HLT mainstay and acts on stage regularly.

"It's thrilling when the season ticket holders and patrons vote and when you know you worked hard for a role and they liked it enough to honor you," said Hayes.

Season ticket subscribers have a say in who wins more than half of the Zenons awarded.

Show directors nominate cast volunteers and production crew teams, while the board of directors nominates for five awards.

Pete Pollard, HLT president, said after the show that by asking the fans to vote was popular.

Season ticket holders become a part of the theater and obtain ownership, noted Pollard. He compared the audience participation to public's role in the People's Choice Awards

Since the inaugural Zenon Award ceremony Oct. 4, 1986, Pollard cited several reasons to continue with the Zenon tradition.

"It was not only a marketing tool to engage the season ticket holders, but it has become a motivator for us, the practitioners, to do the best we possibly can," said Pete Pollard. "Although it creates competition, it's positive competition and there is a pretty good spread. Every show receives something."

The awards were named after theater benefactors Zenon and Marilyn Hansen. When the couple moved to Sebring in 1980, the fledgling six-year-old theater was struggling, with no permanent home.

Patty Young directed Saturday's show and award ceremony. She talked afterward about staging current and past Broadway shows in Sebring, often before the rights become available to HLT.

"People get tired of the same old things," said Young. "A part of community theater is to introduce people to Broadway.

"We're looking to doing new and fresh (productions) when the rights get released. Not only the patrons, but the actors get excited. Many go out and get the soundtrack to learn more about the show."

For three shows this weekend, Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2:30 p.m., the public is invited to watch those same performances that Zenon showgoers saw during A Night on Broadway.

New and past Broadway shows will be featured, with more than just a peek into the future HLT shows, along with several Sebring favorites.

Award for Best Show of the Year, AIDA; Best Director, Tammie Pollard, AIDA; Actress in a Leading Role, Virginia Leach as Aida in AIDA; Actor in a Leading Role, Christopher Hayes, as Radames in AIDA; stage manager, Danny Wilson, Seussical. Kelly Pelham was awarded the Best Actress in a Supporting Role, as Amneris in AIDA.

Other winners included: Outstanding Artistic Production (2 awards) Jenny Rowe, choreographer, Seussical and AIDA, Tracy Shuknecht and Nelly Ford, music directors, Seussical; Best Producer, Rhonda Nelson, Seussical; Best Cameo or Chorus Role, Art Harriman as The Police Sergeant, The Pirates of Penzance.

More Zenon winners: Board Service Awards (2 awarded) Gloria Coffey of the scholarship committee, Fourth of July fundraiser, Glad Hatters and Anthony's Lounge and Glenn Fowler, chair of the nominating committee, chair of the props committee; The Jane Lou Buck Significant Achievement Award, Bob and Gwen Givens.

More Zenon recipients: Board Service Awards (2) Lindsay Lynch as the play selection committee chair and Tracy Carrero, of Anthony's Lounge; Best Actor in a supporting role, Josh McGhee as Mereb, AIDA; actress in a supporting role, Kelly Pelham as Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical; set design, Tammie and Pete Pollard for AIDA; Outstanding Newcomer for the Season, Molly Widolff as Amazing Maisie, Seussical.

Awarded best for 2007-08 season: Best Costuming, Kris Schmidt and Bea Walsh, Seussical; Light Design, Stan Epling, Seussical; Technical Production(2) Lindsay Lynch, assistant director, Dearly Departed and Tom Walsh, master ship builder, The Pirates of Penzance and Sound Design, Jennifer Westergom, of And Then There Were None, Seussical and the Pirates of Penzance.

Call 863-382-2525 or go to www.highlandslittletheatre.org for tickets and information.