OPRF Student Wins Musical Theater Award

By Ted Schnell, St. Charles Patch

Two suburban high school students have been singled out by Broadway in Chicago as the two award recipients from the second annual Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards, according to chicago.broadwayworld.com.

Oak Park-River Forest High School student John Clay III of Oak Park and St. Charles North High School student Taylor Marie Sherry of St. Charles were among 24 young actors and actresses who participated in the awards program at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place in Chicago on Monday, April 29, 2013, chicago.broadwayworld.com announced on its website Thursday.

Sherry and Clay will represent the state of Illinois at The Jimmy Awards in New York on July 1, 2013, the website states.

According to the website, Anything Goes National Tour cast member Sean McKnight coached Sherry and Clay and the other 22 finalists on the song Anything Goes during the awards program. The students then performed at the final awards ceremony. The finalists auditioned for a team of top theater professionals in Chicago, and each received tickets to see Anything Goes at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

“I am so looking forward to spending my first time in New York learning from the best in the business,” Sherry told chicago.broadwayworld.com. “This is a dream come true.”

“I am ecstatic to have been given such a wonderful opportunity, Clay told chicago.broadwayworld.com. “To be able to participate in The Jimmy's is a huge honor and keeps me motivated to continue to pour my soul into this risky business.”

According to the website, the two will represent the state of Illinois during an all-expense paid trip to the National High School Musical Theater Awards, on Broadway in New York on Monday, July 1, 2013. There, the students will perform at the Minskoff Theatre, where a panel of judges judge the best performance of one male and one female student. The program includes a weeklong theater intensive (June 26 through July 2).

Related

News:

• Illinois High School Musical Theater Award Winners Announced

Websites:

• Broadway in Chicago
• The Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards
• National High School Musical Theater Awards