Nominees have been announced for the 2023 Basie Awards, the annual celebration of Monmouth County high school theatre presented by Bank of America, taking place on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank.

Now in its 18^th year, the Basie Awards program is modeled after the TONY™ Awards and evaluates musical and drama productions in high schools throughout Monmouth County. A rubric is used to assess performance in 25+ categories, recognizing excellence in everything from acting and directing to set and costume design, choreography, lighting, and orchestra.

“Every year, our team of evaluators go out to participating schools and are blown away at the level of talent and excellence on high school stages throughout Monmouth County,” said Samantha Giustiniani, Senior Director of Education and Outreach, Count Basie Center for the Arts. “That trend continued this year, and we’re looking forward to celebrating all the nominees, their families and educators on May 24.”

“Every year we look forward to the Basie Awards program which recognizes the wide range of talented high school students in Monmouth County,” said Alberto Garofalo, president, Bank of America New Jersey. “Our ongoing partnership with the Basie Center is important to us, and like them, we strive to foster creativity in the communities we serve.”

This year, 20 plays and 22 musical performances were evaluated by the BASIE AWARDS nomination committee.

Freehold Regional schools received nominations in the following categories:

DRAMAS & COMEDIES

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN IN A PLAY
Alex Dohan (Freehold Township High School, The Gods Of Comedy)

OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY – FEMALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Ria Karam (Colts Neck High School, Don’t Tell Mother)

OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY – MALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Philip Glen (Freehold Township High School, The Gods Of Comedy)
Connor Ormsby (Freehold Township High School, The Gods Of Comedy)
Andrew Parisi (Freehold Township High School, The Gods Of Comedy)
Joshua Ricatti (Colts Neck High School, Don’t Tell Mother)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY – MALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Noah Zalika (Freehold Township High School, The Gods Of Comedy)

OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY – FEMALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Anastasiya Vasilenko (Colts Neck High School, Don’t Tell Mother)

OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A DRAMA – FEMALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Delaney Byrne (Howell High School, A Murder Is Announced)
Victoria Dillon (Howell High School, A Murder Is Announced)
Giada Garcia (Howell High School, A Murder Is Announced)

OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A DRAMA – MALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Elliot Maher (Howell High School, A Murder Is Announced)
Theodore Vaysberg (Howell High School, A Murder Is Announced)

OUTSTANDING COMPANY IN A COMEDY
Colts Neck High School, Don’t Tell Mother
Freehold Township High School, The Gods Of Comedy

OUTSTANDING COMPANY IN A DRAMA
Howell High School, A Murder Is Announced

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Kimberly Richardson & Givanna Robbins (Freehold Township High School, The Gods Of Comedy) 

MUSICALS

CAROLE MALIK AWARD OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN IN A MUSICAL
Jacquie Revier & Beck Nisenboym (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN IN A MUSICAL
John Cholowinski (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING SMALL MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Eric Gross (Freehold High School, Little Shop Of Horrors
Jose Maunez (Manalapan High School, Little Shop Of Horrors)

OUTSTANDING ALL-STUDENT ORCHESTRA
Emma Fretz (Colts Neck High School, Grease)
Edward Gattsek (Freehold Township High School, Mean Girls)
Anthony Limaldi (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL DIRECTION
Joseph Cantaffa & Cassandra Shields (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ENSEMBLE GROUP
The Urchins (Freehold High School, Little Shop Of Horrors)

OUTSTANDING CHORUS IN A MUSICAL
Howell High School, Matilda

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
Brittany Cohen (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL – FEMALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Juliana Magarelli (Colts Neck High School, Grease)
Alyssa Pray (Howell High School, Matilda)
Sophia Rivera (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL – MALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Connor Naspo (Howell High School, Matilda)
Cooper Stahl (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL – FEMALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Shain Stanley (Freehold Township High School, Mean Girls)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL – MALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Kei Mallano (Howell High School, Matilda)
Saverio Renda (Colts Neck High School, Grease)

OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL – FEMALE-IDENTIFIED ROLE
Caitlyn Picone (Howell High School, Matilda)
Julia Senna (Howell High School, Matilda)
Mia Suarez (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Rachel Ciani (Howell High School, Matilda)

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
Howell High School, Matilda