Every year across the state of Oklahoma, dozens of high schools put on musicals throughout the course of the school year. The best performers and performances are recognized by the Kelli O’Hara Awards presented by OKC Broadway, and this year multiple students from Plainview High School received nominations from their performance of “Anastasia.”
Plainview nominees include Isabella Gutierrez for Best Actress, Ethan Savage for Best Actor, and Brock Chambers and Chloe Probst for Spotlight Awards. An additional student also received a nomination for Best Actor, but he chose not to accept the nomination and not participate in the awards.
Plainview High School Vocal Music Instructor Diana Carter directed the play and explained how Kelli Awards work.
“When you are choosing a show to perform at your high school, there is a list available through OKC Broadway that shows you all the shows that are eligible for award nominations,” Carter said. “In each of the shows there are multiple roles that qualify for best actor and best actress. Some of the shows will only have two, and some have nine or 10. Anastasia had six, so we had the ability to apply for all the six lead roles.”
She went on to tell how the Spotlight Awards work.
“When the adjudicators attend the show, they identify the actors that really stand out in non-lead roles,” she said. “This could be in supporting roles, minor roles or ensemble roles. It’s really about those performers who had that extra spark and someone who really caught their eye. Two people are nominated and one of these two will be presented a Spotlight Award at the awards ceremony.”
Brock Chambers and Chloe Probst, who received the Spotlight nominations, said they were both surprised to receive recognition. Both participated in a “Swan Lake” dance scene.
“I like to dance any time I can, so it was great to get to sing and dance in this show,” Probst said. “It was great to be recognized.”
As both students are sophomores, they are looking forward to being in the next PHS musical when it comes around again in 2027.
Senior Isabella Guiterrez and junior Ethan Savage, who received nominations for Best Actress and Best Actor, are both veterans of the Brass Ring Center for Performing Arts and their Summer Youth Theatre. Savage explained how doing a school musical is different from doing one for Brass Ring.
“There was a lot less time to put this together,” he said. “With Brass Ring we rehearse for three hours a day for pretty much two months. With this we got one to two hours a day, maybe three if we were really lucky, for less than a month.”
They were both thrilled to receive nominations.
“I’m so excited for this opportunity, and it’s so unexpected because we’ve never applied for the awards,” Guiterrez said. “I’m excited to take advantage of it.”
“I’ve never done a high school play before, so for this to be my first high school play and to receive a Kelli Award nomination for it? I’m over the moon about it,” he said.
Savage said he feels like “Anastasia” was a special show for the cast as a group.
“It’s definitely been one of the most fun plays I’ve ever done as a performer,” he said. “I’m very grateful to have done it with people I really like because things get so much harder if there is tension between performers. Because we’re all friends and have been performing together for so many years in choir, it really gave it the framework we needed to jump in and do what we needed to do.”
The awards ceremony will take place in Oklahoma City on May 30, but Savage and Guiterrez will be travelling up early. All lead actor nominees will be putting on a show during the ceremony and will be learning new songs, choreography and staging for the performance.
The winners of Best Actor and Best Actress will go on to compete in the national competition in New York City later this summer.
Guiterrez, who will be majoring in musical theater at OU this fall, said it’s a great opportunity for her future.
“The Kelly Award Nomination is something that’s going to go on my resume for a long time,” she said.
