Bellarmine Theatre Arts has received four nominations in a variety of categories from the Rita Moreno Awards, sponsored by Broadway San Jose and Children’s Musical Theater San Jose. This awards competition recognizes outstanding achievement in high school musical theater north of Santa Barbara.
Bellarmine’s nominations are as follows:
- Overall Production: Little Shop of Horrors (Menken cast)
- Lead Actor: Kavan Bhatia ’25 (Seymour, Little Shop, Ashman cast)
- Supporting Performer: Rose Madsen ‘24 (Voice of Audrey II, Little Shop, Ashman cast)
- Supporting Performer: Zander Provenzano ’23 (George, The Wedding Singer)
According to The Rita Moreno Awards, the competition received 36 school productions submissions this year. Out of the 263 performers evaluated for their individual performance, 45 performers received an average score of 9 or above. The Lead Actor and Actress winners go on to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) – also known as the Jimmy™ Awards – in New York City, where they’ll perform on a Broadway stage before industry experts and compete for scholarship opportunities.
“We are so proud of our casts, crews, musicians, design teams, and you for your support!” indicated Russ Marcel, teacher, artistic director, and director of Bellarmine Theatre Arts in his notification to faculty and staff about the honor.
The awards ceremony will take place May 8 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, and will feature performances from nominated students, including a 7-minute medley from Bellarmine’s production of Little Shop of Horrors and a solo performance by Kavan Bhatia ’25.
Tickets, details, and a full list of nominees are available at: https://linktr.ee/ritamorenoawards
Congratulations to the student performers, crews, and faculty members involved in Bellarmine Theatre Arts, including Russ Marcel, Jeremy Lum, Peter Canavese, Gregg Carlson, Pauline Locsin-Kanter, Gina Adams, Diane Wyant, Sam Cisneros, Tiffani Lewis-Lockhart, Michael Foley, Katie McKinley, Kathleen O’Brien, Adianna Paul, and Marc McGee.