Rochester High School in Pennsylvania has won two coveted Henry Mancini Musical Theater Awards for its recent production of Anne & Gilbert. Hanna Beightley received the award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role for her performance as Anne Shirley.
“I loved every minute of playing the role of Anne,” said Beightley. “Her imagination and appreciation for the world was very inspiring. I also have to say that I loved being a stubborn redhead!”
Rosh Raines, director of the Rochester show, said he had never worked with a student who was so dedicated and hard working. “She never even flinched when she was asked to dye her hair red,” said Raines. “I am so proud of Hanna and the rest of Rochester High School’s cast of Anne & Gilbert.”
Riley Reffner and Samantha Signorelli received the Noteworthy Performance by a Group award for their portrayals of Marilla Cuthbert and Rachel Lynde. Artrell Allen, who co-starred as Gilbert Blythe, was nominated for Best Male in a Lead role.
Established in 1994, the Mancini Awards are a high school competition held in western Pennsylvania sponsored by Geneva College. The awards are named in memory of film composer Henry Mancini, best known for Moon River and The Pink Panther theme. Mancini grew up in Pennsylvania and during his lifetime he received four Academy Awards, twenty Grammy Awards and eight gold records.
“We’re happy for the Rochester cast and school,” said David Malahoff of Anne & Gilbert Inc, the Prince Edward Island company that was the original producer of the show. “They brought PEI to Pennsylvania with great results and I congratulate everyone involved.”
Written by Jeff Hochhauser, Bob Johnston and Nancy White, Anne & Gilbert is based on the sequel novels to Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. It reveals Anne as an independent-minded young woman about to start her first teaching job. Romantic complications unfold when childhood sweetheart Gilbert Blythe proposes marriage.
The PEI production of Anne & Gilbert runs June 14th to September 25th at Harbourfront Theatre, in Summerside. Ticket information is available from the box office at 1-800-708-6505 or www.harbourfrontheatre.com.
