Extra, extra, read all about it! Scrappy young news hawkers send penny-pinching publisher, king of the underworld AND demon-spawning mama straight to Hadestown!

(Or whatever the equivalent of Hadestown is in the world of high-school musical theater.)

The Denver Center’s 12th annual Bobby G Awards were an allegorical playground on Friday night at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. An irresistible showdown of God vs. lower-case gods. But not exactly good vs. evil. More like good kids vs. good kids playing evil.

The fun annual celebration of achievements in Colorado high-school theater considered a field of 53 musicals staged during the 2024-25 school year. Of those, a record eight were different teen takes on the very same title: “Hadestown,” the 2019 Broadway sensation that only became available for schools to stage this past year.

The heavy hitters for the year were Durango High School and perennial power Fossil Ridge High School of Fort Collins, which led all schools with 12 nominations each – Durango for “Hadestown” and Fossil Ridge for “Carrie, the Musical.” That’s the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s famous teen tragedy of a young outcast whose bullies picked the wrong girl to spill pig’s blood on at the prom.

“Carrie” turned out to be the most honored production of the year, with five awards from among the 16 competitive categories. Four different schools won single awards for their productions of “Hadestown.”

But the final award of the night, for outstanding musical, went to Lutheran High School, a Christian school in Parker that puts the teachings of Christ at the center of everything it does.

“This is our first nomination for best overall musical, and it just means the world to us,” director Jillian Lietzau told The Denver Gazette. “The Lord has blessed us so well. We had an amazing cast, an amazing crew, and an amazing production team.

“It’s nice to see that there is recognition for the theater kids in the world, and what a blessing it is for them to have this opportunity to showcase their talents on a bigger stage.”

Nominated Music Director Chris Loesel, also Lutheran’s performing arts director, estimated the school’s contingent at 70 strong on Friday night, including students, staff, parents, administration, and even principal David Ness.

Loesel said the team chose to stage “Newsies,” an adaptation of the Disney musical about the paperboys who took on the powerful Joseph Pulitzer a century ago – and won – as a teachable moment.

“It was fun diving into the story of ‘Newsies’ as a way of better understanding what child workers as a whole went through,” Loesel said. “I think that gave the kids empathy for those who struggle or are underprivileged today, and also a chance to think about, ‘How can we reach out and help them?’”

And yet, 2024-25 was, in every way, the year of “Hadestown.” Five school stagings from Durango to Pueblo amassed 27 Bobby G nominations, including five of the 10 outstanding actor nominees.

What’s the buzz? “Hadestown” is essentially this generation’s “Spring Awakening.” It’s a pop/rock, New Orleans-infused musical that tells an alluring version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Here it is a deeply moving tale of two young people experiencing love for the first time and the capricious overlords who keep it from happening.

Granted, the underworld of Hadestown is not hell, exactly – but it’s fun to think of it that way.

Two tickets to Broadway

With the Bobby G’s, even bigger than the outstanding musical award is the naming of the top two leading performers from among 10 nominees. That’s because those two will advance to represent Colorado at the 16th annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards (also known as “The Jimmy Awards”) in New York.

Winners from 55 regions will soon gather for a week of hardcore training, master classes, auditions and bonding activities before they all take to Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre stage on June 23 to crown the national winners and dole out scholarships.

This year’s Colorado representatives will be Grayson Graham, who played Jack Kelly in Lutheran’s “Newsies,” and Hannah Schnorr, who played the title role in “Carrie” at Fossil Ridge.

Graham, who is just a junior, attended the Bobby G Awards as a spectator with his dad, Ryan, as a freshman two years ago. Now, he’s bound for New York.

“I think this will change what he is planning on doing for college, honestly,” said his mother, Kassie Graham. “Honestly, this whole experience has just lit a fire in him. Now he knows, ‘Hey, ‘I could do this.’”

It’s only been two months since Lutheran staged “Newsies” at the PACE Center, but that’s how fast the Bobby G Awards can change a life. Graham’s parents attended seven of his nine performances. “We couldn’t get enough of it,” said his father.

“This is just an incredible honor,” he added. ”Grayson has worked so hard. We’ve just tried to support him the best we can over the years, and champion him, and just allow him to chase after his dreams.”

A humble Grayson thanked God and his also-nominated castmates, Kayden Deagle, who played Crutchie, and Ivy Howell, who played Katherine Plumber. “I know for a fact I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for everyone involved with this show backing me up through everything,” he said.

But for as happy as Graham was in that moment, he seemed even more elated a few minutes earlier when his director (Lietzau) won for outstanding direction, an announcement that sent both index fingers pointing skyward.

For Schnorr – hearing her name called – well, sort of, amid raucous cheers at the Opera House – was a full-circle moment. She was the only repeat nominee from a year ago, when she played the Baker’s Wife in “Into the Woods.”

In a twist, outstanding leading actor is the only Bobby G award category that is not determined by the dozens of adjudicators who attend high-school musicals throughout the school year and fill out scorecards. That process determines the 10 nominees, but then those 10 students are invited to come to the Denver Center a week in advance of the awards ceremony to create an original medley that they then performed on Friday night.

During that time, they also participate in a mock audition session that is judged, and it is those scores that determine who goes to New York. It’s a pressure-packed part of the process, but an exercise that often bonds these otherwise competing students as friends for life. And Schnorr has now gotten to do that twice.

“It’s completely different this year, because it’s a new group of kids,” said Schnorr, who has been accepted into New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. “It’s a different vibe, but in a good way. It’s all been really, really fun.”

The other nominees (in alphabetical order ) were: Marcus Grattan of Central High School (Grand Junction), Gillian Reynolds of Durango, Noah Oury of Durango, Laya Greenacre of Fossil Ridge, Kayden Deagle of Lutheran, Nathaniel Bicha of Northfield, Maylis Morales Ortega of The Arts Academy at Pueblo County High School and Elliet Johnson, also of Pueblo County. For those scoring at home, that’s two Eurydices, two Hermeses and one Orpheus.

Fossil Ridge director Mikayla Assmus said Schnorr made Carrie White, a character to many indelibly sealed by Sissy Spacek’s 1976 film performance, into her own unique human being.

“I feel like when you see Carrie White, you think she’s a meek, shy, kind of reserved person,” said Assmus. “But Hannah made Carrie more of a typical teenager who talks back to her mom and has her own opinion.”

Assmus has quickly built something of a theater dynasty in Fort Collins, having amassed 22 Bobby G nominations in just the past three years. During those same three years, Fossil Ridge has produced five outstanding actor nominees, a record no other school can touch.

And to think: The year before her three-year roll began was Assmus’ first in teaching – ever.

She was asked what’s in the water at Fossil Ridge.

“I don’t know, but it’s something spicy and good,” she said with a laugh. More seriously, she added: “I think it’s just having kids who care about theater and have fun and just care so much about telling stories. That’s what really matters – especially with ‘Carrie.’ That was a scary one to tackle.

“But I think what worked about our show is that we took it a step further by really integrating social media into the storytelling to show that bullying isn’t something that we can control as much these days. So we had a livestream happening throughout the whole show that projected real video of their friends doing some of the embarrassing, terrible, awful things that kids do to each other. I think that made it more modern and helped tell the story of the lives that these kids are living right now on social media – whether we recognize it or not.”

Schnorr used part of her acceptance speech Friday to emphasize the need for women like her fictional character to have autonomy over their own bodies. Four students from North High School, accepting a new annual community-engagement award, told some hard truths about the real meaning of inclusion and belonging.

One of the fun winning moments from Friday night was when Lily Hasselbach of “Carrie” accepted her supporting actor award, telling all who needed to hear it: “Don’t let anyone dull your diva.” Another was when Durango’s “Hadestown” was honored for outstanding chorus. Two students, breathless from just having performed a song from the show, told the crowd that it was seeing the first national touring production of “Hadestown” at the next-door Buell Theatre back in 2022 that inspired them to get involved with school theater.

But perhaps the best thank you of the night was delivered from an extremely pregnant Bri McCormick to her unborn child. After hearing her name called for her music direction of “Carrie,” McCormick thanked her coming arrival for not arriving before Friday’s ceremony.

2024-25 BOBBY G AWARDS

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL

• “Newsies,” Lutheran High School

LEADING ACTORS

• Grayson Graham, as Jack Kelly, “Newsies,” Lutheran High School

• Hannah Schnorr, as Carrie White, “Carrie: The Musical,: Fossil Ridge High School

DIRECTION

• Jillian Lietzau, “Newsies,” Lutheran High School

MUSICAL DIRECTION

• Bri McCormick, “Carrie: The Musical,” Fossil Ridge High School

SUPPORTING ACTORS

• Daniel Blackburn, as Cookie McGee, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lakewood High School

• Lily Hasselbach, as Miss Gardner, “Carrie: The Musical, Fossil Ridge High School

RISING STAR

• Brielle Pinther, as Eurydice, “Hadestown,” Northfield High School

SCENIC DESIGN

• Morgan Downing, “Mamma Mia!,” Loveland High School

LIGHTING DESIGN

• Corbin Suntych and Jeb Matthews, Hadestown,” Greeley West High School

COSTUME DESIGN

• Caitlyn Riley, Jayce Garcia and Annette Farner, “Beauty and the Beast,” Riverdale Ridge High School

HAIR AND MAKE-UP DESIGN

• Jemma Wayne and Rebecca Spafford, “Carrie: The Musical,” Fossil Ridge High School

STAGE MANAGEMENT

• Jessica Hix, “Beauty & the Beast,” Riverdale Ridge High School

PERFORMANCE BY AN ORCHESTRA

•  “Carrie: The Musical,” Fossil Ridge High School

PERFORMANCE BY A CHORUS

• “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Durango High School

CHOREOGRAPHY

• Alana Mills, Peyton Vialpando & Aubrey Vialpando, “Hadestown,” The Arts Academy at Pueblo County High School

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

• Projections: Conrad Diniz Behn, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lakewood High School

• Spirit of the Bobby Gs Award (for achievement in belonging and community spirit): “Shrek The Musical,” Denver North High School

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