The 17th Annual Cappies Gala honoring high school theater was held Sunday, June 12 at The Kennedy Center. Winning the top prizes for the Best Musical was Woodrow Wilson High School in the District for "Hair;" and winning Best Play was Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the District for "The Story."
Ariel Shenkman of Arlington’s H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program won the Supporting Actress in a Play Award for "The Children's Hour."
This year's Masters of Ceremony were Judy Bowns, Janie Strauss and Ed Monk, who is retiring from Chantilly High School this year.
This year's show included 57 public and private high schools in Fairfax County, Arlington, Fauquier, Loudoun, Montgomery, and Prince William counties, and the Cities of Falls Church, Alexandria, and Washington, D.C. The Cappies season extended from late October to early May.
The Cappies program was launched in the summer of 1999 by Judy Bowns, the Theatre Arts resource teacher with FCPS, and the late Bill Strauss (director, Capitol Steps), in cooperation with area theater teachers, for the purpose of celebrating and bringing public acclaim to high school theater.