This year the Hays High musical, “Bye Bye Birdie”, won two Jester Awards, program design and orchestral direction. The cast traveled to Wichita on May 12 to attend the ceremony.

The cast was nominated for nominated for 10 awards and the Hays High productions have consistently been nominated for the past six years. The music director, choral instructor Johnny Matlock, said he was pleased with the nominations and the awards the cast received, which included program design by Alexis Robinson.

“Producing a musical takes a large team because there are so many areas,” Matlock said. “This is the first year to receive we’ve received a program design award and Lexi does so much work on this project, I was glad she was recognized for her work producing an excellent product.

Junior Erin Muirhead, who played Conrad Birdie-obsessed teen Ursula, attended the ceremony and said that while she was disappointed at the lack of awards they received, she was still hopeful for the next production.

“I think we could have done better and I think we all wanted to do better,” Muirhead said. “There’s always next year.”

Matlock said that, just like every other year, he was extremely proud of the cast.

“I am a lucky guy and I work with a talented group each year,” Matlock said. “This year was no exception. Our characters and chorus were top-notch.”

18agonzalez@usd489.com