Not since 2012 has Amity High School seen a Best Actress nominee win all the marbles and find herself headed to the National High School Musical “Jimmy” Awards in New York City, but on Monday night Grace Lupoli did it!
In 2012, the honoree was Orange resident Alli Kramer, whose effervescent energy lit up the Amity stage in the lead role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical. Eleven years ago, the nominees competed in the Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards at the Palace Theater in Waterbury.
Her mother Ilene recalls the silence as the presenter prepared to announce the name of the best actress winner. The entire Amity contingent held its collective breath. Then the words came, “Alli Kramer, Amity Regional High School.” Screams, shouts and applause shook the walls of the Palace. Ilene said her friends had to help hold her up. “I was so proud of her,” she said. “It’s a feeling I’ll never forget.”
The Prize was, and is, a full Broadway experience of training with professionals and preparing for the Jimmy Awards which includes the best actor and actress winners from across the country.
I sat in on a few of these sessions in 2010 when Amity sent a Best Actor winner for his performance in Les Miserables and the schedule was grueling. • Group choreography • Medley sessions including featured songs from each individual, • Cast dance number • Solo performance • Meeting with a Broadway Performer for insight, etc. I had about 15 minutes between two of these sessions during which I could interview our actor for the Amity Observer — that’s an exhausting schedule.
Two years later it was Alli’s turn. Amity Superintendent John Brady, for whom the auditorium is named, was a huge supporter of the arts. He recognized that Alli would miss her graduation ceremony because she was due to be in New York to begin rehearsals on Amity’s commencement day. He gathered her family and some classmates in the auditorium and gave her a beautiful personal graduation ceremony, calling her name and giving her the opportunity to walk across the stage and officially receive her diploma.
Afterward, an intimate reception took place in the school courtyard, and soon, Alli was on her way to the city.
In addition to the grueling rehearsal schedule, Alli had an unexpected perk, a documentary of the whole experience was being filmed and our girl was given a lot of screen time. Her performance at the show was flawless, but in the end, Elizabeth Romero from Fullerton, CA won the competition. But that was ok, Alli made many new friends, and thoroughly enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Amity Winner #3
Now, it’s 2023, 11 years have passed, the name of the Connecticut High School Musical Awards has changed to the Sondheim Awards and the venue is the Shubert Theater in New Haven instead of the Palace.
The reaction to the Best Actress Award was the same. The silence, the nerves and the elation at hearing the name, “Grace Lupoli, Amity Regional High School.”
In March I had this to say about Grace’s performance:
“Mommy, that’s Belle,” gasps a little girl dressed in a yellow ball gown, “It’s her!”
From the moment Grace Lupoli, “Belle” opened her mouth and began to sing, I agreed with the excited little girl, still hugging her mother’s neck as she gazed adoringly at the real live princess just a few yards away from us. The way she sang, the way she spoke, the way she moved, Grace Lupoli was a Disney Princess — there was no doubt about it. Her voice was so beautiful and clear, and you just believed every word she uttered. I haven’t “ugly cried” at an Amity play since 2010 when Ally Kramer sang “On My Own” in Les Miserables, but Grace Lupoli brought it out in me.
GRACE, This Is Just For YOU
After Grace’s victory on Monday evening, I reached out to Alli Kramer and asked what advice she could offer to our Belle to prepare her for this upcoming whirlwind experience.
Here’s what she said:
