A host of area schools will be headed to Norfolk to the 2019 NSAA Play Production Championships after taking first place in their respective districts. All state championship plays are held at the Johnny Carson Theatre in Norfolk, Nebraska.
The championship performances for classes D1 and D2 will be held Wednesday, December 11; classes C1 and C2 will be held Thursday, December 12; and classes A and B will be held Friday, December 13.
The Loup City play production team was able to edge out Howells-Dodge in the C2-3 district by two points and earn a spot in Norfolk after performing “Copacabana.” With a score of 178, Loup City was just two points away from earning a perfect score.
According to the NSAA, Loup City has now qualified for the state championships for the 19th time and the seventh in a row. They will now look to earn their first state title in school history after finishing in second place the past two years. They will perform at 5:15 PM on Thursday, December 12.
Burwell also participated in the same district and took third place with 169 points as they performed “Digging Up The Boys.”
In the D1-5 district, the Callaway High School play production team took first place with a score of 176 points as they performed “Fighting Demons.” Only four points away from a perfect score, they were the only team in the district to score in the 170s.
Now with their 17th appearance at state, qualifying seven times in the past ten years, the team will try and win the school’s first play production state title, according to the NSAA. Callaway’s highest placing was runner-up, most recently in 2014. Callaway will have the honor of the first performance which will be at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, December 11.
Anselmo-Merna’s performance of “Attention Detention” earned 153 points as they took home sixth place in the D1-5 district.
The D2-5 district was filled with local schools, but Arnold was able to take first place with 176 points as they performed “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” McPherson County and “Lady Pirates of the Caribbean” was close behind with 171 points and earned a first-place vote from one judge, but could not close the gap as they took home second place.
According to the NSAA, Arnold will appear at state for only the eighth time in school history, having last qualified in 2009. Their highest finish was in 2001 earning the runner-up trophy in class D1. They will perform on Wednesday, December 11 at 4:30 PM.
Also in the D2-5 district, Stapleton performed “If Only” and headed home with a third-place finish, scoring 164 points. Thedford placed fourth with 161 points and Sargent placed sixth with 159 points.
Hyannis will be back to the state championships after taking first in the D2-6 district with the play “Whispers.” Scoring 172 points they were able to beat out three teams that were only 4 points behind. Appearing for the 21st time, Hyannis is familiar with the state championships having won titles in 2013, 2014, and 2016, according to the NSAA. Hyannis will perform on Wednesday, December 11 at 3 PM
Mullen also performed in the D2-6 district, placing sixth.
Other area schools that competed but did not qualify for the state championships include Broken Bow, Cozad, and Gothenburg in the B-5 district, Arcadia and Litchfield in the D2-3 district, and Ansley and Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (SEM) in the D1-4 district.
Gothenburg performed “Epic Proportions” and scored 171 points which earned them a second place finish. Cozad scored 169 points and was awarded fourth place, while Broken Bow scored 160 points and ended their season with a sixth place finish.
Arcadia and the play “Two Fronts” took second place with a score of 174 while Litchfield placed seventh with 148 points. Ansley finished off their season with a fourth place finish with 163 points while SEM ended the year in eighth place with 142 points.
