Area youth thespians take 14 Elly Awards

Local thespians put Folsom center stage Sunday night, taking 14 different honors in the seventh annual Youth Elly Awards. Folsom's Sutter Street Theatre was a force to be reckoned with once again with 10 awards, while Folsom High School earned four different awards in one single production. Gathering amongst their peers at the Cosumnes Oaks High School Performing Arts Center in Elk Grove, members of leadership, directors and thespians alike from the famed theatre in Historic Folsom gathered at the annual presentation of the awards that are named after the late Eleanor McClatchy. McClatchy was a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of the Sacramento Bee, the Elly Awards celebrates excellence in Sacramento's local and regional community theater. This year, a total of 53 Elly Awards were given to individuals and theaters from across a 10-county region in the Youth Division. Presented by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA), this event saw some 700 active youth community theatre and high school members plus their families and friends. "We are very proud and humbled to receive recognition for doing something we love," said Allen Schmeltz, assistant associate director for Sutter Street Theatre, who received three different honors himself. "As we enter our 14th year, we look forward to continuing to provide top quality live theatre to our audiences. We appreciate the support we have received from the Historic Folsom community. Folsom is a vibrant community, and we are honored to be a part of it." The most recent awards presented to Sutter Street Theatre range from acting honors to lighting and set design. The local non-profit organization is especially proud of being recognized for Best Overall Production of The Secret Garden. The specific awards were as follows: ·&emsp;&emsp;Ana Radwan - Leading Actress Youth Female in The Secret Garden ·&emsp;&emsp;Paul Greisen - Leading Actor Adult Male in The Boy Who Stole The Stars ·&emsp;&emsp;Max Kirlin - Leading Actor Youth Male in The Secret Garden ·&emsp;&emsp;Collin Langdale - Leading Actor Youth Male in Little Women ·&emsp;&emsp;Kerstin Davies - Supporting Actress Adult Female in The Secret Garden ·&emsp;&emsp;Mahee Haswani - Supporting Actress Youth Female - The Secret Garden ·&emsp;&emsp;Allen Schmeltz & Felicia Slechta - Lighting Design - The Secret Garden ·&emsp;&emsp;Allen Schmeltz - Sound Design - The Boy Who Stole The Stars ·&emsp;&emsp;Allen Schmeltz - Direction - The Secret Garden ·&emsp;&emsp;Sutter Street Theatre - Best Overall Production - The Secret Garden This year's Elly theme was The Ellys in Wonderland. The evening opened with a presentation called "Musical Mash-up," which consisted of selections from James and the Giant Peach and RENT: School Edition performed by Musical Mayhem Productions. This was followed by a performance of "My Own Little Room" from Cinderella performed by Sheldon High School. A rollicking selection from "Newsies" performed by Folsom High School completed the first act. Folsom High School was another local recipient of honors this year. The schools drama department earned four Elly awards, including one each for choreography, musical direction, set design and best supporting actor, all of which were for the production of Disney's "Newsies." Folsom High School's individual awards were as follows: ·&emsp;&emsp;Luke Hawkins – Choreography ·&emsp;&emsp;Ginger Ekroth – Musical Direction ·&emsp;&emsp;Michael Mosier – Set Design ·&emsp;&emsp;Dylan Carlson – Best supporting actor The 260 Youth Elly nominations represented 87 productions from 36 participating theatres. The final 53 Elly Awards recognized 18 productions and 13 theatres. For a complete listing of Youth Elly winners, go to sarta.com.