Organ Mountain student among two New Mexico theater award winners headed to Broadway

From Staff Reports
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Matthew E. Taylor, a senior from Organ Mountain High School, was selected as Best Actor at the 2022 Enchantment Awards held May 7, 2022 for musical theatre students from across the state.
Matthew E. Taylor, a senior from Organ Mountain High School, was selected as Best Actor at the 2022 Enchantment Awards held May 7, 2022 for musical theatre students from across the state.

LAS CRUCES - Two high school students were chosen for top honors in the 2022 Enchantment Awards ceremony — a musical theatre showcase for students from around New Mexico — held in Albuquerque May 7.

Brooke Caperton, a junior from Albuquerque Academy, and Matthew E. Taylor, a senior from Organ Mountain High School, were selected as best actress and best actor, respectively, through a live judging process. According to a news release, 20 students sang two different selections for judges in Popejoy Hall. Caperton and Taylor earned the highest scores from the judges.

Caperton earned her spot as a finalist for her award playing the part of Lucy Grant in Albuquerque Academy’s production of "Bright Star." Taylor got to the Enchantment Awards after earning high marks for his performance as Mike in "A Chorus Line Teen Edition."

In addition, Aiden Gilbert from Rio Rancho High School and Yolanda Mann from Mayfield High School were awarded best supporting actor and best supporting actress honors, respectively, for their work in their high school musicals. Gilbert played Chef Louis in Rio Rancho's April production of Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" while Mann played Bruce in Mayfield’s February production of "Matilda, Jr."

Brooke Caperton, a junior from Albuquerque Academy, was selected as Best Actress at the 2022 Enchantment Awards held May 7, 2022 for musical theatre students from across the state.
Brooke Caperton, a junior from Albuquerque Academy, was selected as Best Actress at the 2022 Enchantment Awards held May 7, 2022 for musical theatre students from across the state.

Public Academy for Performing Arts won the award for best production, honoring its work on "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," staged in April. Laurie Thomas earned the best direction award for Albuquerque Academy’s "Bright Star." Centennial High School took home best ensemble honors for its production of "The Wizard of Oz."

The cast and crew of Organ Mountain’s "Rock of Ages High School Edition" earned the spotlight award recognizing extraordinary work behind the scenes.

Judges were Patti Cohenour, Frances Lee McCain and Alaina Warren Zachary, all former or current New Mexicans with Broadway and other credits, including in film, on television and on international stages.

The Enchantment Awards serves as a regional awards program for the National High School Musical Theater Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards, produced by the Broadway League, producers of the Tony Awards.

Caperton and Taylor will now go to New York to participate in the week-long Jimmy Awards program, rehearsing a show and working with Broadway professionals to learn the crafts required to work professionally in musical theatre. All that work culminates in a performance on the stage of the Nederlander Theater at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 27. The two New Mexico students will perform with 90 of their peers from across the country.

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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Organ Mountain student among two New Mexico theater award winners headed to Broadway