Wantagh High School's Katriana Koppe and Frank Sinatra School of the Arts' Mateo Lizcano are the winners of the 2021 Roger Rees Awards for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively. Both will move on to compete nationally at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards, set to be held online July 15. Watch a video spotlighting Koppe and Lizcano above.
Winners were selected by a panel of Broadway professionals including Caley Beretta, Frank DiLella, Jason Grossman, T. Oliver Reid, Merri Sugarman, and Ebony Vine.
Koppe was recognized for her performance in the title role of her school's production of Cinderella, while Lizcano was recognized for his performance in Songs for a New World. Both will also receive a full tuition waiver to Marymount Manhattan College's musical theatre pre-college summer intensive.
Recognized as Up and Coming Actress and Actor were General Douglas MacArthur High School's Cassidy Baltazar, for her role as Anna in Frozen JR.; and Farmingdale High School's Aidan Kelly, who played the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
Along with recognizing student performances in school productions, this year's awards introduced a new initiative to recognize students who demonstrate excellence in solo performance, selected by a panel of Broadway professionals including Erin Burris, Danny Loftus George, Stephanie Klapper, Shereen Pimentel, Jullian Saccente, and Merri Sugarman.
The New Faces 2021 Excellence in Solo Performance winners were Sam Baum (Riverdale Country Day School), Sarah Biernacki (Huntington High School), Kylie Butler (West Babylon High School), Colin Dowd (Holy Trinity Diocesan High School), Jacqueline Evangelista (James I. O'Neil High School), Gabriella Felice (North Babylon High School), Elijah Frechtman (LaGuardia High School), Olivia Jones (Holy Trinity Diocesan High School), Kamila Kudela (Hunter College High School), Ryan Lewis (West Babylon High School), Sophia Maiello (St. Joseph Hill Academy High School), Majella Maltempi (Pearl River High School), Lauren Marchand (Jericho High School), Emma Markey (Xaverian High School), Mallory Morton (Bay Shore Senior High School), Victoria O'Shea (Willington C. Mepham High School), Evan Ozer (LaGuardia High School), Claudia Paolucci (Holy Trinity Diocesan High School), Andrea Rodriguez (LaGuardia High School), James Rossomangno (West Babylon High School), Sabina Sadiq (Hunter College High School), Ashley Schlusselberg (Great Neck North High School), Amanda Swickle (Jericho High School), and Maverick Williams (Great Neck North High School). Butler, Felice, Frechtman, Jones, Kudela, Maltempi, Marchand, Markey, O'Shea, Paolucci, and Rodriguez were additionally selected to receive private coaching, opportunities for professional auditions, and scholarships from Norwalk Conservatory for the Arts, Rider University, Broadway Plus, and other educational institutions.
The third annual PLAYBILLder Award for Marketing, presented by Playbill in recognition of comprehensive and engaging marketing plans utilizing a Broadway-quality program created with PLAYBILLder, was won by Wantagh High School for their work on their production of Cinderella, including a marketing plan and program designed by graduating senior Lauren Merting. Kimberly Davis is director of Wantagh Theatre and is being awarded this honor for the second consecutive year.
The inaugural Harmony Helper Mosaic Award for Group Performance Excellence went to Great Neck North High Choir from Great Neck North High School, under the leadership of director Dr. Pamela Levy.
The Roger Rees Awards are presented by the Broadway Education Alliance with support from Disney Theatricals and Camp Broadway LLC, with additional support from industry leaders Rick Elice, Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Tim Federle, Stacey Mindich Productions, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Broadway Direct, and others.
For more information, visit RogerReesAwards.com.