Whitman’s winter production of Frankenstein was nominated for 10 Cappie awards May 15, including a nomination for best play, lead actor and several tech awards.

Every year, Whitman Drama selects a show for a Cappies team made up of local students to review.

The Cappies team nominated various aspects of the show, including marketing and publicity (junior Daniel Levine), sound (juniors Alex Allen and Lindsay Worthington and senior Lydia Carroll), lighting (juniors Nikolas Allen and Andrew Elman), set (Whitman Set Crew), make-up (senior Lena Aragon), special effects (senior Brian Clarkson), stage crew (Whitman Stage Crew), Featured Actor (sophomore Nathan Liu), Best Lead Actor (senior Joe Lilek) and Best Play.

“These nominations are recognition for our students and our program,” director Chris Gerken said. “Whether we win or not, the honor of being recognized is important and appreciated.”

With such a tech-heavy show, the nominations were mostly given to those who participated in lights, sound, and other technical aspects, which is unusual for Cappie nominations, said senior Lena Aragon, who served as assistant director.

“Tech got more nominations than any of the actors, which almost never happens. They worked hard and they deserve it,” Aragon said.

Whitman productions typically receive 10 to 14 nominations, higher than most other schools in the area, Gerken said.

Because Frankenstein was nominated for Best Play, the actors will have a chance to perform a specific scene of the play during the awards ceremony in front of the critics at the Kennedy Center.

“It is also important to note that Whitman has been nominated for best play or musical for 5 years in a row now,” Gerken said. “Not many schools get the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center multiple years in a row”

The awards ceremony will be held at the Kennedy Center on June 10, but until then, Lilek looks forward to following in the footsteps of alums that have performed on that same stage.

“I remember watching in awe as Sammy Zeisel and Noah Gavil (’10) performed an epic scene from Amadeus on the Kennedy Center stage and imagined what an experience like that would be like. Now I’ll know firsthand,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to bring back another Cappie to place right next to the ones for Aida and Amadeus.”