(RED BANK – NOV 21) Fall high school theater productions have started throughout Monmouth County, and that can mean just one thing:

The 15^th Annual Basie Awards can’t be too far behind.

This year’s Basie Awards program and ceremony, presented by Bank of America, is slated for May 20, 2020. Tickets for the perennially sold-out celebration will go on sale in the spring.

The BASIE AWARDS began in 2005 as a way to honor and recognize high school-level actors, actresses and productions in the Monmouth County area. Basie Center evaluators began visiting high school productions last weekend, taking in and tabulating performances to see which performers and programs will be recognized at the Basie Awards.

“We’re excited that 2020 will mark the 15^th year of the Basie Awards program,” said Yvonne Lamb Scudiery, Vice President / Education, Count Basie Center for the Arts. “We are continuously amazed at the quality and hard work that goes into our region’s high school productions, and with support from Bank of America and high school productions throughout Monmouth County, we know that this year’s event will be bigger and better than ever”

Monmouth County schools vying for recognition in Basie Awards drama categories include:

• Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft (“Arsenic And Old Lace”)
• Collier High School, Marlboro (“Moon Over Buffalo”)
• Communications High School, Wall (“Almost, Maine”)
• Colts Neck High School, Colts Neck (“DNA”)
• Freehold Borough High School, Freehold (“The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood”)
• Freehold Township High School, Freehold, “Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll And Hyde Story”)
• Howell High School, Howell (“Love/Sick”)
• Long Branch High School, Long Branch (“The Rose Garden Affair”)
• Manalapan High School, Manalapan (“Noises Off”)
• Marlboro High School, Marlboro (“Brighton Beach Memoirs”)*
• Matawan Regional High School, Matawan (“Lend Me A Tenor”)
• Mater Dei Prep, Middletown (“The Three Musketeers”)
• Middletown North High School, Middletown (“Our Town”)
• Middletown South High School, Middletown (“U-A Play”)
• Monmouth Regional High School, Tinton Falls (“Almost, Maine”)
• Neptune High School, Neptune (“Ghosts In The Machine”)
• Ranney School, Tinton Falls (“Metamorphoses”)
• Raritan High School, Hazlet (“Cheaper By The Dozen”)
• Red Bank Regional High School, Red Bank (“Moby Dick Rehearsed”)
• Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (“The Hunchback Of Notre Dame”)
• Trinity Hall, Tinton Falls (“Blue Stockings”)

 *Marlboro High School will produce two dramas this school year.

 Eligible school productions for spring will be announced in January.

At least four Basie Awards evaluators visit qualifying productions during their runs, scoring individual and ensemble acting performances and technical design. For spring musicals, vocal abilities, orchestras and choreography are also assessed.

Nominees for all Basie Awards categories will be announced in early May.

 

ABOUT THE COUNT BASIE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

The Count Basie Center for the Arts is New Jersey’s premier center for the cultural arts, dedicated to fostering powerful, inclusive artistic experiences and creative exchange of ideas. The Basie mission is to inspire, educate and entertain through its distinct and engaging cultural and artistic offerings that reflect the diversity of the region.  As a nonprofit organization, the Basie is committed to enriching the community’s quality of life by generating opportunities for participation in the arts, partnering with schools, collaborating with other mission-based organizations and driving regional economic prosperity. The Basie Center has hosted an array of world-class artists, including Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band, Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend, Crosby Stills & Nash, Tony Bennett, Sophia Loren and Ringo Starr. Count Basie Center programming is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

For more information, visit www.thebasie.org.