The Wauwatosa West High School Trojan Players are the recipients of a Tommy Award for Outstanding Musical for the 2017 Spring musical Little Shop of Horrors. This is the fourth time in five years the theatre group has been recognized. Past wins include: A Chorus Line (2013), Joseph and The Technicolor Dreamcoat (2014), and The Addams Family (2015).

“I often say that you can’t fake excellence. Part of creating a fantastic production is having a really solid process, with some fun along the way,” said Wauwatosa West Theatre Director Adam Steffan.

The “Outstanding Musical” award recognizes all areas of the production as exceptional. Areas recognized are: direction, production, vocal direction, choreography, orchestral direction, technical direction, scenic design, lighting design, costume design, makeup design, wig design, puppet training, sound design and stage management.

The entire Trojan Players ensemble also chose Senior Gabe Burdette to receive the “Spirit Award”. Tosa West Junior and Little Shop of Horrors lead Cooper Schneider was recognized for his performance as Seymour and won the award for “Outstanding Lead Performance”.

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like a reality. You work really hard to achieve a goal you’ve only dreamed about for the longest time and when you get there the feeling is unreal.” said Junior Cooper Schneider, who played the lead role of Seymour.

The Tommy Awards was created by Tom Wopat, a Wisconsin native and star on the popular 70’s sitcom, The Dukes of Hazzard. Annually, The Tommy Awards recognize a variety of high schools statewide with different nominations and awards for theatre and drama. Judges from around the state review 87 productions at 82 schools or organizations in 23 counties around the state. Three evaluators attended two shows of the Little Shop of Horrors. Wauwatosa West was 1 of 16 schools across the state to be recognized for “outstanding musical.”

The Tommy Awards Celebration will be held at The Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday, June 11st at 6 pm. This sold-out show will feature winners performing musical numbers from the shows they received the award from. A public showing of the awards will air on PBS in the fall.

The fall play will be announced at the Trojans Players banquet on June 8th.
Auditions for the fall play will be on Monday, September 11th, 2017.