Benilde-St. Margaret’s is pleased to announce its drama department was recently awarded 11 Outstanding honors from the Hennepin Theatre Trust (HTT) for its spring musical production of “The Addams Family.” Both Jon Schumacher ‘26 as Gomez and Josie Turk ‘24 as Morticia received individual Outstanding Performance in the Leading Role honors.
“The Addams Family,” as presented by the BSM drama department in its 2024 Spring musical.
The production itself received Outstanding awards for Overall Performance, Achievement in Musical Theatre, Overall Technical Production, Run Crew, and Sound Crew.
Additional Outstanding Technical Leadership awards were given to Jae Benham ‘26, Kaitlyn Cape ‘26, Owen Case ‘25, and Percy Rock ‘25 for their work as student directors, sound and light board operators. The 2024 Spring musical production also earned individual performer Honorable Mentions for an Ensemble Performance, Ensemble Acting Performance, and Ensemble Dance Performance.
An Individual Leading Role Honorable Mention was presented to Nadia Ehlert ‘26 for playing Wednesday Addams, and Individual Supporting Role Honorable Mentions were presented to Al Brown ‘25 for playing Fester Addams, and Audrey Taylor ‘24 for her performance of Alice.
Turk was also a Triple Threat finalist, placing in the Top 24 in the state, with Audrey Taylor ’24 and Betsy Brill ’24 also being named Triple Threat semi-finalists, placing in the Top 50 for their involvement with the production of ‘The Addams Family.’
“It means a lot to have so many students recognized for their hard work,” said Jake Mahler ’03, artistic director for the BSM drama department. “Successful theater is a collaboration of so many moving parts: the tech team, the production team, the actors, the musicians all share a common goal and need to hold each other up when things inevitably go wrong. This group did an incredible job coming together to create a piece that hit on all fronts.”
Over the years, BSM has committed to providing student artists with a setting to showcase their talents with material and productions that allow them to shine. This is the twelfth show in since 2011 to receive an outstanding rating from the HTT. There was no production in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mahler notes, “We have a solid group of students who have a passion for theater and have been able to cultivate that through performance opportunities at BSM and elsewhere. The fact that HTT has recognized their work is a testament to the fact that our students can match up with the best of the best across the state.”
The students will participate in this year’s HTT Spotlight Showcase along with 50 other schools from across Minnesota. The performance on Monday, June 10 begins at 7:30 p.m. and will take place at the State Theater in Minneapolis.
