June 8, 2019
Raytown High School Theatre students received two Cappies awards for their work on performances over the 2018-2019 school year.
Kaleb Clemmons earned the award for Supporting Actor in a Musical for his role as Jim in Big River, and Kylie Butler and Jack McClung received the award for Hair and Makeup Design for Steel Magnolias.
At the Cappies gala held on May 25 at Oak Grove High School, Joshua McCarroll and Kaleb Clemmons performed an excerpt of “Muddy Water” from the musical Big River in the opening medley.
The Cappies organization is a national program that trains high school theatre and journalism students to see, critique, and write reviews about high school theatre. The goal is to give high school theatre programs feedback and celebrate the arts community.
In addition to earning two Cappies awards, students also had the opportunity to perform at the annual Blue Star awards gala on May 23 at Startlight Theatre. The cast of Big River performed the song “Free at Last” at the gala. Joshua McCarroll and Kaleb Clemmons, both nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor, also performed at the gala. The show Big River was nominated for a total of six Blue Star awards.
Starlight Theatre’s annual Blue Star Awards recognize achievement and excellence in musical theatre among Kansas City area high school students. This is the first time Raytown High School has received more than three nominations.
The director of the Raytown High School theatre program is Katie Kolster. The Raytown High School vocal music program is under the direction of Alex Kolster and Brenda Yeates.
