Portlaoise CBS have been nominated by the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) for four prestigious awards for their TY School Musical ‘Grease’.
The musical hit the stage in the Dunamase Arts Centre last month, with a six show sell-out run.
They awards categories in which they received nominations are: Best Cohesive Principal Team; Best Overall Show, Best Director
and Adjudicator’s Special Award.
The latter nomination was received ‘for fortitude courage and commitment in the face of the most unfortunate adversity, from the production team, the staff and especially the student cast’.
76 schools took part across the country and six were nominated in each category with the best overall category receiving eight nominations.
The awards will be announced on Wednesday, May 21, at 11am.
Paul Norton, a multi nominated and award winning director and actor for over 30 years, directed the show.
He has not only been a phenomenal director for the show but he has also been an inspiration and is a lifelong friend to both students an staff.
Mairead Carroll, a Portlaoise born champion musician and dancer, was the musical director.
Megan Maher, a Nenagh native, with vast experience in dance choreograph and drama, was the choreographer.
The show was produced by Aimee McFall and Emma Heffernan while the stage production manager was Sarah Williams.
Musical director Carroll said: “The original vision of putting on a musical derived from Paul Cahilane, TY coordinator, and Brian Thompson, vice principal, who have been incredibly supportive throughout the process.
“We are so lucky to have these two powerhouses to push us through every hurdle since the beginning.
“This is our second year with this dream team, after a very successful show last year
“The boys were joined by some of the TY students of Scoil Criost Ri, Portlaoise.
“The CBS are known for their legendary sports culture, so to achieve something so prestigious in the arts area is a massive honour and puts the school on the performance map for years to come.”
The cast for Grease was as follows:
- Adam Reilly as Danny
- Erin O’Dwyer as Sandy
- Dinny Whelan (a crowd favorite and a force to be reckoned with) as Roger and teen angel
- Saoirse O’Sullivan as Bernie
- Tawanna Kazunga as Kenickie
- Kate Oxley as Rizzo
- James Doyle as Sonny
- Akshi Singh as Frenchy
- Sebastian Delno as Doody
- Ceola Cathcart as Jan
- Dan Downey as Vince Fontaine
- Leona Maher as Miss Lynch
- Jorja Coyne as Cha Cha
- Kate Ging as Patty Simcox
- Conor Anderson as Eugene
- Oisin Tynan as Johnny Casino
- Miya Walker as Sally Simpson
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