Seniors AJ Johnson and Olivia Robertson were both nominated for Broadway Bound after their performance in the musical Hadestown: Teen Edition Nov. 14-17. Broadway Bound awards excellence in high school musicals by nominating a male and female actor from each region.  As they advance they have the opportunity to win a cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City representing Central Arkansas at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards, on June 23rd.

Johnson played Hermes,the narrator of the story and a father figure of the main character. Johnson has been in theater for five years. Johnson hopes that this opportunity allows him to be noticed on the professional stage as well as create connections.  

“I have made it into the next stage of the competition and if you keep winning and winning and go further and further you will eventually get to be on Broadway which is really cool,” Johnson said.

Robertson played Eurydice; the main character. To help her portray the character better, Robertson had to think about what the character would do and how she acts with the rest of the cast.

“After learning the actual storyline and music, it was mainly focusing on my character’s goals and values and playing off of the rest of the cast’s take on their respective characters” Robertson said.

Robertson is new to theatre. Being nominated in the Broadway Bound competition will help Robertson to work with other performers from other schools.

Adjudicators from Broadway Bound of Central Arkansas came and watched Bryant’s production of Hadestown: Teen Edition. While watching, they left comments on characters and showed lots of  interest in Johnson and Robertson and how well they  in the show. 

“The best part of the musical was Hermes’ performance after Eurydice went back to Hadestown. The fact that they could sing so softly, but have the emotion and hold the attention of an entire audience was powerful,” the adjudicator stated in written comments. “Overall your company was able to tell a tale with emotion and heart. You all should be very proud of your performance.”