Stuart W. Cramer High School lands seven Blumey nominations
Gaston County Schools has earned seven
nominations in the prestigious Blumey Awards
competition, and four students are finalists for the
Best Actor and Best Actress nominations.
Sponsored by the Blumenthal Performing Arts
Center in Charlotte, the Blumey Awards are the
local high school equivalent of the Tony Awards.
The Blumeys recognize outstanding theatrical
performances among 48 schools in the greater
Charlotte region. The program is highly competitive.
Stuart W. Cramer High School is in the running for
seven awards. The school earned the following
nominations for its spring musical, “You’re A Good
Man, Charlie Brown.”
n Best Set Construction
n Best Costume Creation
n Best Choreography Execution
n Best Ensemble
n Best Overall Direction
n Best Supporting Actor: Alex Manley as
“Schroeder”
n Best Musical (Tier I Schools)
Stuart W. Cramer earned the most
nominations of any school (public, charter,
or private) in Gaston County. The school has
consistently received attention in the Blumey
Awards program for excellence in high school
theater arts.
Additionally, four students are among the
finalists for the Best Actor and Best Actress
nominations. Twenty boys and 20 girls were
chosen to audition for the six Best Actor and
six Best Actress nominations. The finalists
include:
n Jacob Hooks, Stuart W. Cramer High
School, for his role as “Charlie Brown” in “You’re A
Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
n Marissa Garrison, Stuart W. Cramer High School,
for her role as “Sally” in “You’re A Good Man,
Charlie Brown.”
n Grace Miller, Forestview High School, for her role
as “Ado Annie” in “Oklahoma!”
The Blumey Awards will be handed out Sunday,
May 19 during a ceremony at the Belk Theater
in Charlotte. For more information, visit www.
blumenthalarts.org/blumey-awards.
n Landon “Scout” Stamey, Forestview High School,
for his role as “Curly” in “Oklahoma!”
Employees shine on stage during “Big 50” talent show
There was plenty of applause for our school
employees who performed songs and musical
acts during the “Big 50” Employee Talent Show on
Tuesday, April 9 at Stuart W. Cramer High School. “Summertime;” and Marilyn Hinton of Bessemer City Primary,
who performed “Lean on Me.” The Catawba Belles, a quartet
from Catawba Heights Elementary, sang a medley of golden
oldies songs.
The talent show was one of the last events for the
50th anniversary celebration of Gaston County
Schools, which has taken place this school year. It
featured eight employee acts and included special
performances by the “Big 50 Ensemble” and the
Pleasant Ridge Elementary drumline. While other employees performed tunes by well-known
artists, Destiny Stone of Woodhill Elementary played the piano
and sang a song that she wrote titled “I Wrote This Song.”
The song flipped the stereotype and emphasized that it is OK
for boys to show emotion and for girls to be strong.
“GC the Book Bug,” our reading mascot made
a guest appearance, and with the help of the
Pleasant Ridge student drummers and the Stuart
W. Cramer High School cheerleaders, “GC”
collected $520 for the purchase of books for classroom libraries.
The “Big 50 Ensemble,” which wowed the audience in August during our Back-
To-School Convocation, opened the program by singing a medley of “Signed,
Sealed, Delivered,” “We Are the World,” and “Don’t Stop Believing.” The group
closed the show by performing “A Million Dreams” and “Life is a Highway.”
Ensemble members Angelique Burris of Chapel Grove Elementary performed
“At Last” and Heather McKoy of Carr Elementary sang “Over the Rainbow/
Home” before the grand finale by the full ensemble.
Songs from the Broadway musical “Wicked” were performed by two employee
acts. Kate Lavender and Angela Graves of Pleasant Ridge Elementary sang “For
Good,” and Stacie Bell of Holbrook Middle School performed “The Wizard and
I.” All three dressed in costume for their performances, portraying the witches
of Oz.
Other acts included Emily Jarrett of Forestview High School, who performed “Out
Here On My Own;” Tillisha Durham of Hunter Huss High School, who performed
The talent show was one of the special events that have taken
place this year for the school district’s
50th anniversary. Other events were
the Back-To-School Convocation
for employees in August, the “Big
50 Parade” in September, and the
“Gaston County Schools: Our Sports
History and More” exhibit at the
Gaston County Museum in Dallas. The
final event is the invitation-only “Big
50 Anniversary” Reception on May 29
at the Gastonia Conference Center.
During the reception, business and
community partners as well as school
mentors will be recognized.
Eight local businesses/organizations
have served as “Presenting Sponsors”
for the “Big 50 Anniversary.” The
sponsors are American & Efird,
Beam Construction Company, CaroMont Health, City of Gastonia, Gaston County
Education Foundation, GSM Services, Scribbles Software (AIS – Advanced
Imaging Systems), and Wells Fargo.
Parent Teacher Magazine • Mary/June 2019 • 7