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COURTESY BRAD GODA
DHT’s spring production of “All Shook Up,” a musical built around songs popularized by Elvis Presley, took the most awards of any show at this year’s Po‘okela Awards with nine wins overall.
Diamond Head Theatre was the big winner with 25 awards across 13 categories as the Hawaii State Theatre Council held its 2017 Po‘okela Awards ceremony Monday at the Ko‘olau Golf Club in Kaneohe.
Manoa Valley Theatre was second with 18 awards in 14 categories. The University of Hawaii-Manoa theater program was third with 17 awards in 14 categories. The Actors’ Group had 16 awards in seven categories.
Chaminade University, the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival, Kumu Kahua Theatre, Leeward Community College, Paliku Theatre and PlayBuilders of Hawai‘i Theater Company also received awards for excellence.
DHT’s spring production of “All Shook Up,” a musical built around songs popularized by Elvis Presley, took the most awards of any show, with nine. Paliku’s historical drama, “1776: The Musical” and Chaminade’s staging of “Into the Woods” tied for second with seven awards each.
The “Pokies” allow up to six honorees in each category.
Four people received awards in two categories: Donovan Oakleaf was honored in the leading male in a play and featured male in a play categories for his work in “Antigone” and “Twelfth Night,” respectively, at UH. Miles Phillips was recognized for his portrayal of Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” at DHT and a second for directing “1776: The Musical.” Megan Boggs received awards for her performance in the title role of DHT’s summer musical “The Little Mermaid” and as a featured female in “All Shook Up.”
Gary E. Morris was recognized for acting in “1776: The Musical” and for directing “Into the Woods.”
Below is the complete list of winners provided by the Hawaii State Theatre Council:
2017 PO‘OKELA AWARDS
(CHM = Chaminade University; DHT = Diamond Head Theatre; HSF = Hawaii Shakespeare Festival; KKT = Kumu Kahua Theatre; LWT = Leeward Community College; MVT = Manoa Valley Theatre; PKU = Paliku Theatre; PLB = The PlayBuilders of Hawai‘i Theater Company; TAG = The Actors’ Group; UHM = University of Hawaii-Manoa)
Overall Play
>> “Antigone” (UHM)
>> “Black F——t” (KKT)
>> “The Fox on the Fairway” (DHT)
>> “Yellowman” (TAG)
>> “Disgraced” (TAG)
>> “Smile, You’re Under Surveillance” (UHM)
Overall Musical
>> “Into the Woods” (CHM)
>> “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” (DHT)
>> “Rock of Ages” (MVT)
>> “1776: The Musical” (PKU)
>> “All Shook Up” (DHT)
Leading Male in a Play
>> Troy Apostol, “Disgraced” (TAG)
>> Curtis Duncan, “Yellowman” (TAG)
>> Donovan Oakleaf, “Antigone” (UHM)
>> Peter Togawa, “The Velocity of Autumn” (TAG)
>> Paul T. Mitri, “The Elephant Man” (MVT)
Leading Female in a Play
>> Anna Hamaguchi, “Antigone” (UHM)
>> Lauren Murata, “Wait Until Dark” (MVT)
>> Wendy Pearson, “Yellowman” (TAG)
>> Cindy Ramirez, “Water by the Spoonful” (TAG)
>> Jo Pruden, “The Velocity of Autumn” (TAG)
Featured Male in a Play
>> Noah Faumuina, “Disgraced” (TAG)
>> Donovan Oakleaf, “Twelfth Night” (UHM)
>> Thomas Smith, “Water by the Spoonful” (TAG)
>> Dylan Lee, “Antigone” (UHM)
>> James C. Roberts, “Water by the Spoonful” (TAG)
Featured Female in a Play
>> Malia Wessel, “Twelfth Night” (UHM)
>> Ann Brandman, “Coyotes” (TAG)
>> Jodie Kiyokawa, “Wait Until Dark” (MVT)
>> Christine Umipeg-Apilado, “Water by the Spoonful” (TAG)
>> Emily Hoadley, “Twelfth Night” (UHM)
Leading Male in a Musical
>> Drew Niles, “Evita” (DHT)
>> Miles Phillips, “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” (DHT)
>> Gary E. Morris, “1776: The Musical” (PKU)
>> Jeremy Hurr, “The Little Mermaid” (DHT)
Leading Female in a Musical
>> Callie Doan, “It Shoulda Been You” (MVT)
>> Kate Sarff, “1776: The Musical” (PKU)
>> Megan Boggs, “The Little Mermaid” (DHT)
>> Shari Lynn, “It Shoulda Been You” (MVT)
Featured Male in a Musical
>> Christopher Obenchain, “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” (DHT)
>> Mathais Maas, “The Little Mermaid” (DHT)
>> Matthew Peterson, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
>> Kyle McNamara, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
>> LeGrand Lawrence, “Billy Elliot” (DHT)
>> Laurence Paxton, “1776: The Musical” (PKU)
Featured Female in a Musical
>> Suzanne Green, “It Shoulda Been You” (MVT)
>> Megan Boggs, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
>> Natalie Borsky, “Evita” (DHT)
>> Aiko Schick, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
>> Buffy Lelea‘e Kahalepuna-Wong, “Happily Eva Afta” (MVT)
>> Blythe Kelsey, “The Little Mermaid” (DHT)
Overall Non-Traditional Production
>> “Power & Folly” (UHM)
>> “Dragonfly” (PLB)
Ensemble Performance in a Play
>> “Black F——t” (KKT)
>> “iHula” (KKT)
>> “Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat” (LWT)
>> “Smile, You’re Under Surveillance!” (UHM)
>> “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (HSF)
Ensemble Performance in a Musical
>> “Into the Woods” (CHM)
Ensemble Performance in a Non-Traditional Production
>> “Power & Folly” (UHM)
>> “Dragonfly” (PLB)
Director of a Play
>> Mark Branner, “Antigone” (UHM)
>> Derrick Brown, “Yellowman” (TAG)
>> Taurie Kinoshita, “Black F——t” (KKT)
>> Alex Munro and Paul T. Mitri, “The Elephant Man” (MVT)
>> Ron Heller, “Disgraced” (TAG)
Director of a Musical
>> Gary E. Morris, “Into the Woods” (CHM)
>> Hannah Schauer Galli, “Rock of Ages” (MVT)
>> Miles Phillips, “1776: The Musical” (PKU)
>> Malindi Fickle, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
Director of a Non-Traditional Production
>> Julie Iezzi, “Power & Folly” (UHM)
>> William Hao, “Dragonfly” (PLB)
Musical Director
>> Matthew Tadashi Mazzella, “Happily Eva Afta” (MVT)
>> Keith Griffin, “Rock of Ages” (MVT)
>> Kip Welborn, “It Shoulda Been You” (MVT)
>> Ike Webster, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
Movement/Dance Choreographer
>> John Rampage and Caryn Yee, “Billy Elliot” (DHT)
>> Katherine L. Jones, “Rock of Ages’” (MVT)
>> John Rampage, “Evita” (DHT)
>> Christine Yasunaga, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
Costume Design
>> Rose Wolfe, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (HSF)
>> Karen G. Wolfe, “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” (DHT)
>> Ann Foster, “1776: The Musical” (PKU)
>> James Corry, “Happily Eva Afta” (MVT)
Sound Design & Engineering
>> Barett Hoover, “UchinaAloha” (KKT)
>> Chad McComas, “Wait Until Dark” (MVT)
>> Cameron Olson, “All Shook Up” (DHT)
>> Daniel Yoo, “Into the Woods” (CHM)
Set Design
>> BullDog, “UchinaAloha” (KKT)
>> Michelle Bisbee, “Into the Woods” (CHM)
Lighting Design
>> Brian Shevelenko, “Twelfth Night” (UHM)
>> Cora Yamagata, “The Witch of Edmonton” (HSF)
>> Christine Sutrov, “Into the Woods” (CHM)
Hair, Make-Up and Wig Design
>> Michelle Umipeg, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (HSF)
>> Lisa Ponce De Leon, “Rock of Ages” (MVT)
>> Lisa Ponce De Leon, “1776: The Musical” (PKU)
>> Grace Capellas, “Into the Woods” (CHM)
Hawaii Resident Playwright’s Original Work
>> Cast of “Smile, You’re Under Surveillance” (UHM)
>> Eric Anderson, “Coyotes” (TAG)
>> Ryan Okinaka, “iHula” (KKT)
>> Lee A. Tonouchi, “UchinaAloha” (KKT)
>> Kiana Rivera, Courtney Takabayashi and Kirstyn Trombetta, “Plantation Plays” (LWT)
>> Terri Madden, Apu Tufano, Lala Kilolu and Michelle Martin, “Dragonfly” (PLB)
Guest Artist (Non-Resident)
>> Andrew Sakaguchi (director/choreographer), “The Little Mermaid” (DHT)
>> Akira and Doji Shigeyama (Kyogen master teachers), “Power & Folly” (UHM)
Adjudicators’ Special Awards
>> Patrick Oiya (original live performance), “Antigone” (UHM)
>> Rosyln Catracchia (music and lyrics), “Happily Eva Afta” (MVT)
>> David James Bachler (dance performance), “Billy Elliot” (DHT)
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