Tuesday, June 7 — Meridian High School’s Katie Rice was named the winner of a Cappie award for Comic Actor in a Female Role her performance in the school’s Spring 2022 theatre production of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised)” Monday night at the annual Cappies Gala at the Kennedy Center before a capacity crowd of 2,500 in the Concert Hall. It was the first gala held in three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The play was also one of six nominated for Best Play out of a total of plays and musicals from 48 participating high schools in the D.C. Metro area that were voted on by 308 high school critics. The actors from the play performed a scene from the play before the live audience at the gala.

The Cappies of the National Capital Area held its 22nd annual gala recognizing excellence in high school theatre. The Tony’s-like sell out event held in the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center celebrated hundreds of student nominees.

Eleven schools who were nominated for best play or musical performed. Community dignitaries and Cappies alums presented awards to the finalists in 40 technical and performance categories.

Cappies is a unique collaborative program for journalism and theatre students. Trained student critics review Cappies designated high school shows throughout the year. The best written reviews are published in the local press. At the end of the season, the student critics vote for who of their peers should be recognized for awards. The Cappies critics are ambassadors for high school theatre and spread the word about the value and fun of participating in theatre.