The stars were shining brightly inside the Vogelweh Armstrong Club at U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz April 25 for the 2015 Topper Awards where volunteer theater performers from installations across Europe were recognized for their truly stellar performances.
The contributions of those volunteer performers, more than 130 thousand volunteer hours this season, were also recognized with a symbolic check for more than $3 million, which represents the total estimated value of their volunteer efforts to live theater events at U.S. military installations in Europe.
The Topper Awards event was glitzy affair, similar to Broadway's Tony Awards, complete with famous guest presenters like William Shatner, Kristin Chenoweth, Daniel Radcliffe and other celebrities announcing some of the winners of the golden, star-topped statuettes via giant video screens.
Nearly 500 attendees, including about 200 nominees, waited anxiously to hear the names of the winners when they weren't enjoying live performances of numbers from nominated shows that were part of this year's community theater season.
Deciding the winners was no small undertaking with 15 community theater productions at 9 U.S. Army Garrisons and 2 U.S. Air Force Bases in Germany, Italy and Belgium evaluated by judges over several weeks leading up to the awards show.
...and the winners are:
Best Make-up for a Play. Corinne Senkbeil - Ramstein Razz-Ma-Tazz Family Theater
Best Costume Design for a Play. Amy Hopkins - Ramstein Razz-Ma-Tazz Family Theater
Best Lighting Design for a Play. SSgt Prosper Goering and Cindy Krewson - Ramstein Razz-Ma-Tazz Family Theater
Best Sound Design for a Play. Alan Buxkemper - Stuttgart Theatre Center
Best Set Design for a Play. TIE. Dan LaMorte - SHAPE Players and Chris Senkbeil - Ramstein Razz-Ma-Tazz Family Theater
Best Stage Properties & Dressing for a Play. Nate Records - Kaiserslautern KMC Onstage
Best Technical Director of a Play. Chris Senkbeil - Ramstein Razz-Ma-Tazz Family Theater
Best Ensemble for a Play. 12 Angry Men - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play. Steve Knaup - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. Lois Borsay - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Supporting Actor in a Play. Le Mec Mortel - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Supporting Actress in a Play. Audrey Daly - Kaiserslautern KMC Onstage
Best Actor in a Play. TIE. David Hambleton Schwab and Tom Navo - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Actress in a Play. TIE. Lydia Baxter - Garmisch Players Community Theatre and Sarah Rigdon - Grafenwöhr Performing Arts Center
Best Director of a Play. Cheryl Navo - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Play. 12 Angry Men - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Family Show. Shrek Jr. - SHAPE Players Performing Arts School
Best Make-Up for a Musical. Charlotte Geehreng and Carol Parcell - SHAPE Players Performing Arts School
Best Lighting Design for a Musical. Steven Rakestraw - Kaiserslautern KMC Onstage
Best Sound Design for a Musical. Barry Robinson - Vicenza Soldiers' Theatre
Best Set Design for a Musical. Richard Roberts - The Stuttgart Theatre Center
Best Costume Design for a Musical. Dan LaMorte - SHAPE Players Performing Arts School
Best Stage Properties and Dressing for a Musical. Mindy Malenius - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Technical Director for a Musical. Dan Carr - Wiesbaden Amelia Earhart Playhouse
Best Choreography. Heather Ainsworth and Dan LaMorte - SHAPE Players Performing Arts School
Best Orchestra or Musical Accompaniment. Lucky Stiff - Vicenza Soldiers' Theatre
Best Instrumentalist. Alan Buxkemper - The Stuttgart Theatre Center
Best Musical Director. Ciriaco Colella and Aaron Talley - Vicenza Soldiers' Theatre
Best Ensemble or Chorus for a Musical. Working - The Stuttgart Theatre Center
Best Chorus Member. SGT Vance Williamson - Vicenza Soldiers' Theatre
Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. Rebekah Mason - Wiesbaden Amelia Earhart Playhouse
Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. Thomas Murphy - Aviano Community Theater
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. TIED. Giovanna Castellanos - Wiesbaden Amelia Earhart Playhouse and Hannah Schweinfurth - Kaiserslautern KMC Onstage
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. Zach Simmons - SHAPE Players Performing Arts School
Best Actress in a Musical. Annie Jacobs - Vicenza Soldiers' Theatre
Best Actor in a Musical. SSgt Christopher Long - Kaiserslautern KMC Onstage
Best Director of a Musical. Dan LaMorte - SHAPE Players Performing Arts School
Best Musical. Working - The Stuttgart Theatre Center
Best Hair and Wig Design. Grease Jr. - Ansbach Terrace Playhouse
Best Military Performance in a Play. SSgt Joshua Montambeault - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Military Actor in a Musical. LTC Bryan Mitchell - The Stuttgart Theatre Center
Best Military Actress in a Musical. SGT Laura Martin - Vicenza Soldiers' Theatre
Best Debut Performance in a Play. Gurdon Smith - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Debut Performance in a Musical. Jeff Millburg - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Outstanding Female Youth Performance. Elizabeth Lambert - Kaiserslautern KMC Onstage
Outstanding Male Youth Performance. Christopher Craven - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Best Scenic Artistry. Chris Senkbeil, Karin Asselstine and Corinne Senkbeil - Ramstein Razz-Ma-Tazz Family Theater
Best Running Crew. Willie Wonka - Baumholder Hilltop Theater
Judges' Choice Award. Tonya Holloway and Christopher Mazen for Original Music - The Stuttgart Theatre Center
Judges' Choice Award. Pat Wilson and Jerry Brees for Nightmare Dog Heads - Vicenza Soldiers' Theatre
Entertainment Choice award for Entertainment Support. Dr. Robert Schloesser, DFMWR, USAG Wiesbaden
AACT David C. Bryant Award. Victoria Hanrahan, USAG Ansbach Entertainment Director
James T. Martin Entertainment Award. Eric Danzeiser, USAG Rheinland Pfalz Baumholder Hilltop Theater Entertainment Director
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