Every year, the Philadelphia Independence Awards at Temple University highlight the best high school theater productions throughout the region, in categories ranging from lighting and tech to actors and songs. The event consists of the awards and speeches, along with performances by many of the schools.
Last year, Haverford scored sixteen nominations and won five awards for its production of the musical Something Rotten! The awards included Best Supporting Actor for Sixth Former Thomas Pendergast, Best Supporting Actress, Best Vocalist, Best Song for Notre Dame senior Grace Morley, and Best Dance Ensemble. This year, the department earned fourteen nominations for its March production of Les Misérables. These nominations included Best Lighting, Best Costumes, Best Ensemble, Best Musical, and more. In a night of awards and performances, they scored four awards. Morley once again won Best Song for her performance of “On My Own,” along with Best Vocalist. Sixth Former Harvey Pennington also picked up Best Male Vocalist. Along with this, director Mr. Darren Hengst, won Theater Educator of the Year.
Morley was thrilled to be able to win awards again this year, especially in her last year on the Centennial Hall stage.
“Really, it was an absolute honor. Out of all of the shows that I’ve had the opportunity of doing, Les Mis is the one that I was most proud of, both in terms of the work that I had put into it and the hard work and dedication of every single person in the cast and crew,” Morley said. “So, being able to see all of those people at The Independence Awards again was so amazing.”
Morley also got to perform her rendition of “On My Own,” a ballad that comes at the top of the second act. This meant a lot to her.
“For Best Song specifically, ‘On My Own’ and the role of Eponine have always been so special to me, as they have been performed by many of my idols,” Morley said. “So, winning Best Song meant so much to a sixth-grade me who looked up to the women who played this role. It was also an honor to represent Haverford at the awards with the song (hopefully well), and to perform in the opening number alongside Harvey Pennington.”
Mr. Hengst was flattered to win the Theater Educator of the Year award.
“It was really surprising to win the award because of the amount of people that were nominated. It was overwhelming because the award is decided based on the information provided by our respective communities, so it was very touching that the feedback provided was so great that I was able to win the award,” Mr. Darren Hengst said. “It was humbling, amazing and overwhelming, but I feel like it was also a testament to the work that we all did together on Les Mis together, so it was beautiful.”
“I really liked the spirit that our group brought to the event, and it definitely made me happy knowing we left with some awards under our belt.”
Luke Ganley ’25
Students were excited to see Mr. Hengst take home such an important award.
“It was so well deserved. Mr. Hengst put so much time and effort into the show and worked with us to make sure we looked good and enjoyed ourselves,” Fifth Former Chase Nelson said.
Students thoroughly enjoyed this year’s awards ceremony.
“It was really fun to meet up with the cast again, some of whom I haven’t seen in months,” Fourth Former Luke Ganley said. “I really liked the spirit that our group brought to the event, and it definitely made me happy knowing we left with some awards under our belt.”
