Huntington Captures Four Hunting-Tony Awards
Nancy Fallon is a triple threat. The Huntington High School senior can sing, dance and act. The teenager led her drama club colleagues by winning the Best Actress in a Musical Award at this year’s Hunting-Tony Awards ceremony at the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport.
Besides Ms. Fallon, who won for her sensational performance in The Little Mermaid, Huntington High School also won Best Ensemble and Best Scenery Awards for The Little Mermaid and the Best Technical Production Award for last fall’s Don’t Drink the Water.
“What a great night,” said Michael Schwendemann, a Huntington High School English teacher who also serves as the drama club’s faculty advisor. “The kids were excited and dressed for success.”
The night started off slowly, but it picked up after the Huntington stage crew won a pair of awards. During the course of the evening, Ms. Fallon sang “Part of Your World,” from The Little Mermaid for the crowd of about 400, including Town Council members Mark Cuthbertson and Susan Berland.
“Every year the entire cast looks forward to the event,” Ms. Fallon said. “It gives us a chance to get all dressed up, take lots of pictures and is a reunion of sorts as we have not been all together since the show itself, but this year the excitement level seemed to be higher than for the awards night in the past. Not only was Huntington nominated for eight individual awards for the play and musical, as well as technical and musical awards, this year the ensemble of The Little Mermaid was nominated for Best Ensemble and Best Dance Performance for the first time.”
Huntington High School’s acting elite were on hand at the Engeman Theatre for the festive evening. The event drew drama club stars from across the town. It was modeled after the real Tony Awards. Huntington High School had a substantial cheering section on hand supporting its award nominees.
“We were all overjoyed when Nancy accepted her Best Actress in a Musical Award – our first – but they really went wild when we won Best Ensemble for The Little Mermaid,” Mr. Schwendemann said. “This award is a testament to all the hard work each and every member of the drama club puts forth each and every day in order to make our productions the best they can be. From the smallest part to the biggest, a machine can only work if all its parts are primed and ready to go. This year our ensemble was a well-oiled machine.”
A select group of the town’s performing elite took to the stage during the evening to showcase the talents that have put them at the pinnacle of the craft.
“When I first found out I was going to perform Part of That World again, I was ecstatic,” Ms. Fallon said. “Not only was I nominated for my performance of Ariel, but because the Engeman Theater will always hold a special place in my heart. It was where my love of theater was solidified back when I was in fifth grade and is now where my high school career has ended, bringing me full circle.”
Ms. Fallon wasn’t about to take anything for granted as far as winning an award, especially considering the strong field nominated. “When my category was announced, I had little hopes,” she said. “We hadn’t won anything other than two tech awards all night and I was convinced that the other girls nominated had a better chance than me. They slowly read the names and then the winner; me. I sat in shock for a few seconds as my entire cast gave me a standing ovation. I was honestly so surprised. Being recognized for my performance in front of that many people at a theater I used to call my second home was absolutely incredible and I couldn’t have been happier. Well, I thought I couldn’t have been happier. That was until our cast was named Best Ensemble.”
That final award will always be cherished by this year’s Huntington High School drama club members as well as by Mr. Schwendemann and everyone else associated with the group.
“Everyone was screaming and cheering and just so excited,” said Ms. Fallon about the aftermath of the Best Ensemble announcement. “No one could have anticipated it at all. Brianne Neira even started the acceptance speech with, ‘Well, we didn’t expect this.’ I could not have been prouder of the cast. They really did deserve it; working their butts off every day after school, learning extensive dances and memorizing them all, singing their hearts out and smiling their biggest smiles for the entire show. Although the show wasn’t nominated for Best Musical, none of us seemed to care after that moment. We knew that we were the true winners of the night.”
This has been one of the best years ever for Huntington High School’s drama club program. The fall and spring productions were exceptional as members of the group reached new heights.
“On stage, off stage, backstage, I couldn’t be more proud of our entire team,” Mr. Schwendemann said. “Each and every member is a necessary part of our world.”