Sam Ludwig of James Madison High School received a Cappies award Sunday for his comic acting in his school's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
The seventh annual Cappies gala, honoring the best in high-school theater, was held Sunday night at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Ludwig, 18, a senior, said, "I feel good. I've been nominated before for a Shakespearean role, but I didn't win. So this brings it full circle because this is another Shakespearean role and I did win."
Nominees from 58 schools from throughout the Washington Metropolitan area donned their finest formal attire and cheered for their friends and classmates while eagerly awaiting the announcement of each winner.
AND WHEN the 3 1/2-hour ceremony was done, schools from Loudoun and Arlington counties walked off with the two top awards for the first time in Cappies history. H-B Woodlawn in Arlington won for Best Play with "The Marriage of Bette and Boo," and "Best Musical" honors went to Stone Bridge in Loudoun County for "Seussical."
Corey-Antonio Hawkins of Duke Ellington was Lead Actor in a Play for "The Laramie Project," and Abba Kiser of Chantilly High was Lead Actress in a Play for "Auntie Mame." Lead Actor in a Musical went to Stone Bridge's Mace Sorenson, and Lead Actress in a Musical went to Clifton's Nicole Smith of Seton for "Annie, Get Your Gun."
T.C. Williams in Alexandria won the award for Critics Team for the fourth year in a row. And Burke's Chelsea Cook, named Rising Critic, became the first home-schooled student to ever receive a Cappie.
U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-11th), there to help present the Cappie for Props & Effects, praised the nominees in all the categories. "Each year, the level of performance just keeps getting better and better and better," he said. "Forget the Tonys; this is it, as far as I'm concerned."