Village Christian Theatre Arts has a decorated history of jaw-dropping performances, and the program recently added more hardware to the collection for its stunning production of “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Highlighting nine total nominations for the show, Hawkins Meek earned John Raitt Awards for Youth’s Best Comedian award as Cosmo Brown, while Jason de Moura received special “Above and Beyond” recognition at the May 28 ceremony at the San Gabriel Playhouse.

“Once again, our students shined bright on stage at the JRAY awards ceremony this year,” said Director of Fine Arts Natalie Taylor. “We put together a dynamic five-minute medley of some of our best show-stopping moments from ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ and the cast executed it perfectly. The audience’s uproar at the end was deafening. It is amazing to me how our school can compete and win against schools with a pool of students 3-4 times our size. We have a very special Theatre Arts Department, and the talent in our students is inspiring.”

Additional JRAY nominations went to:

• Jason de Moura, Comedian (Roscoe Dexter)
• Hawkins Meek, Male Dancer
• Sabrina del Rey, Lead Actor in a Comedic Role (Kathy Seldon)
• Brook Lord, Comedienne (Lina Lamont)
• Willow Todd, Female Dancer
• Mary Ann Hermansen, Choreographer
• Natalie Taylor/Sara Das/David Das, Music Directors
• Taylor Bertman, Student Stage Manager

Last year, VCS took home six JRAYs for “Newsies” at the organization’s first award ceremony since 2019.

“The JRAY mission is to promote and support high school education by recognizing musical theater excellence in all performance and technical production categories, and to provide outstanding students with unique opportunities and professional exposure through the granting of awards and educational scholarships,” according to its official website.

Photo credit: Asher Hansow