HILLSBOROUGH: School’s ‘Beauty and Beast’ nominated for Rising Star awards

Four nomination received, but not a big prize

By Kelly Velocci, Packet Media Group
   Theatergoers who walked through the front doors of Hillsborough High School in March to see the student production of “Beauty and the Beast” were transported into a lantern-lit forest.
   Surrounded by pine trees and logs, hand-painted tarps hung from the walls replicating the village from the 1991 animated film. A sign hung over the auditorium doors reading, “Be Our Guest.”
   The attention to detail is one the reasons the Hillsborough High School theater department was nominated for the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards. The ceremony was held Tuesday, but Hillsborough did not take home any awards.
   ”Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for lobby design, with others for lighting, costuming and the Educational Impact Award. The production also received an honorable mention for “Outstanding Performance by a Chorus.”
   Parent volunteer Carol Kravette said a Rising Star Awards nomination exemplifies the program’s caliber.
   Established in 1996, the awards highlight outstanding high school musical productions in New Jersey. Modeled after the Tony Awards, the Paper Mill PlayHouse in Millburn offers awards in design, performance, direction, choreography, technical production and production excellence.
   As many as 100 schools can enter, but, only 40 titles are awarded. A panel of four evaluators views each production and issues a report to the playhouse.
   In past years, Hillsborough High School has won Rising Star Awards for Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story and Titanic.
   ”We want our guests to feel welcomed when they walk in and a part of the show,” said Ms. Kravette.