Wilson’s fall production of HAIR won four awards at the National Capital Area Cappies Gala on June 11, the highest number of Cappies a Wilson production has ever won. HAIR was nominated for nine Cappies in total: Band, ensemble in a musical, Kellik Dawson for featured actor, Lorin Kayla Holland for female vocalist, Joey Schulman for supporting actress, Zac Nachbar-Seckel for supporting actor, Ben Topa for lead actor in a musical, the title song, “HAIR”, and finally, the production of HAIR for musical. Holland, Nachbar-Seckel, the Tribe ensemble, and the entire cast and crew walked away with awards.
Though most of the HAIR cast was sitting high up in the second tier of the Kennedy Center Opera House, the whole theater could undoubtedly hear the cheers and chants of the cast: “TWO-OH-TWO! TWO-OH-TWO!” Wilson was one of two DC schools nominated for awards. Duke Ellington School of the Arts’ production of The Story walked away with the Play award of the night, along with other individual nominees. This is the first time a DCPS school has ever won for Musical, and it is the first time that two DC schools walked away with the biggest awards of the night. There was an almost overwhelming wave of DC pride in a sea of NOVA and Maryland high-schoolers.
The Cappies organization is a collection of student theater critics who see and vote on school productions around the DMV throughout the year. In May, the critics come together and vote on a series of categories including aspects of tech, directing, and on-stage performance. There is a large gala in June, very similar to the Tony’s, where the awards are announced and presented. The Tribe ensemble performed the song “Hair” on the Kennedy Center stage during the Cappies gala.
In past years, Wilson productions have won a small number of awards including featured actor for Urinetown. Other nominated shows have been Ragtime and Hairspray.
Director Jill Roos was moved by the reactions of the students watching their hard work pay off. “I remember saying ‘Hey guys no matter what happens, we love you,’” Roos said in a text. Though Wilson was nominated for more Cappies than they ever had been in the past, no one wanted to get their hopes up. “Then when we won I shot up from my seat and just looked at you all and I saw the genuine love you all had for one another… looking at you all cry and hug will be the thing I remember,” Roos said. “I have never felt like I was apart of something so important in my life.”
Rising senior and cast member Hannah Wyatt also felt that the work that the cast and crew put into HAIR deserved the recognition it received at the gala. “The fact that this was recognized by cappies multiple times was so meaningful to us because we all knew that it was deserved, and it was a moment that I know we will all remember forever,” Wyatt said in a text. HAIR, a show with a strong message and relevance today, will forever leave an imprint on those involved.
A huge congratulations to the individual nominees, cast, and crew on their big win this past Sunday.•
PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS