Big Idea Theatre's THE JUNGLE BOOK Wins Big at 33rd Annual Elly Awards

Tonight marked a joy-filled celebration of excellence by Sacramento's youth performers at the 33rd Annual Elly Awards- Youth Division at the Cosumnes Oaks High School Performing Arts Center in Elk Grove. Named for Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of the Sacramento Bee, the Elly Awards celebrates excellence in Sacramento's local and regional community theater. A grand total of 56 Elly Awards were given to individuals and theaters from across a 10-county region in the Youth Division. Sponsored by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA), this semi-formal event was attended by over 700 active youth community theatre and high school members plus their families and friends. How Sweet It Is was this year's Elly theme and featured a scrumptious candy bar display and goody bags of candy for all attendees and volunteers.

New, this year, was the inclusion of performers from the Overall Production of a Musical in the Education category thus bringing the total number of performing groups from five to nine. Musical numbers included selections from Hairspray, Jr, Urinetown, the musical, Beauty and the Beast, The Who's Tommy, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Little Shop of Horrors, James and the Giant Peach and Seussical, Jr.

The 268 Youth Elly nominations represented 98 productions from 40 different theatres. The final 56 Elly Awards recognized 33 productions and 23 different theatres.

Tonight's exciting awards included a tie in the Overall Production of a Musical in the Young People's category and an amazing six Elly's for Big Idea Theatre, a relative newcomer to the Youth division.

The Young Peoples and Education productions receiving the most Elly Awards were:

The Jungle Book, Big Idea Theatre (6)

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Christian Brothers High School (5)

The Pink Panther Strikes Again, St Mary's High School (3)

Beauty and the Beast, Folsom High School (3)

Urinetown, The Musical, Musical Mayhem Productions (3)

Seussical, Jr, Sutter Street Theatre (3)

Hairspray, Jr, McLaughlin Theatre Company(3)

Elly Awards for Overall Production in individual categories in the Youth Division went to:

Beauty and the Beast - Folsom High School -Education Musical

The Pink Panther Strikes Again - St. Mary's High School - Education Play

TIE - Hairspray, Jr - McLaughlin Theatre Company - Young People's Musical

TIE -Urinetown, The Musical - Musical Mayhem Productions - Young People's Musical

The Jungle Book, Big Idea Theatre - Education - Young People's Play

For the second year, Michelle Raskey of Roseville Theatre Arts Academy received the Elly Award for Original Script for A Tail of Two Pawn Shops.

The Elly Awards program serves community theatres within a 70-mile radius from downtown Sacramento. Thirteen judges volunteered countless hours attending every show

submitted in the category they judged. The categories are Education- Musicals;

Education- Plays; Young People's- Musicals and Young People's- Plays. Awards within

each category are given for: Leading Actor and Actress; Supporting Actor and Actress; Direction; Costume Design; Lighting Design; Set Design; Sound Design, Musical Direction, if applicable; Choreography, if applicable; and Overall Production. In the Young People's division, they are also awards given for: Leading Actor and Actress: Adult and Supporting Actor and Actress; Adult.

SARTA's mission is to promote high quality community theatre in the Sacramento area and neighboring regions. When combined with the opportunity to provide quality entertainment and formal recognition of those in the performing arts, SARTA and the Sacramento community benefit.

In addition to the Elly Awards program, SARTA provides its members with a weekly email update for auditions, casting calls, workshops, events and jobs plus a monthly electronic TheatreLetter featuring current and on-going theatre production listings and upcoming SARTA events. SARTA members also receive discounted ticket prices at participating SARTA member theatres and the annual Elly Award ceremony. Members also receive a complimentary headshot and resume listing on SARTA's Talent Database! For more information about SARTA and how you can support this programming, please visit the website at www.sarta.com. SARTA is a non-profit 501© 3 organization.