Ramapo’s Gold Masque is wrapping up for the year with their annual Gold Masque Awards, their tradition being to honor the seniors and have fun! Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors all perform in duos or small groups and the seniors perform solos. 

Gabby Tanen, a senior here at Ramapo and Gold Masque’s president, hosted the annual Gold Masque awards. Her bright spirit lit up the room, grabbing everyone’s attention and giving everyone a fun night. Our most important awards are the rising star awards given to someone who has shown a great commitment to the club and who has stepped up and made a mark Gold Masque can never forget.

Tanen announced, “First is Rising Star Freshman, this person has really stepped into the Gold Masque family, and we are so glad they are here. They had a rough start at the beginning of the year having to memorize monologues where they spoke to themselves. Then stepped up in the musical with such a positive attitude. Whenever we are around them they always seem to make us smile. Our rising star freshman is Lexi Ulmer.”

Tanen went on to say, “Next, is our Rising Star Sophomore,  this may not be their first performance but it is their first time in Gold Masque. She stepped in this year with the scariest character, yet anytime we weren’t acting she was lighting up the room. She has such a bubbly personality that makes everyone around her happy. Then in the musical, she kept that bubbly attitude and blew us all away with her performances. Our rising star sophomore is Marissa Colangelo.”

The awarding of Rising Star Junior soon followed, with Tanen saying, “[…] although we seniors will be leaving this year we are positive that we are leaving Gold Masque in the best hands possible with this person. They really stepped out of their comfort zone this year and blew us all away. Their talent is comparable to their personality, they are so kind and warm-hearted that everyone in this club feels welcomed in their presence. We are so grateful that Bryan convinced you to join Gold Masque. Our rising star junior is Kayla Kanefke.”

Of course we had a few other fun awards! Nick Hendrickson won “Best Techie.” “Most Likely to Learn Their Lines the Day Before Opening Night” went to Leo Fornasierri. Marissa Colangelo took home “Most Energetic”. “Most Likely to Write Their Own Musical/Play” was awarded to Addi Palmer. “Best Actress” went to Mary Regan, and “Best Male Singer” went to Bryan Fortunato.

The last most important aspect of the night is the performances, with Lexi Ulmer and Alyssa Del Valle singing Easy On Me by Adele, Tyler Breen and Valentina D’Angelo singing Love is an Open Door from Frozen, Leo Fornaseri and Marissa Colangelo singing What I’ve Been Looking For from High School Musical, Sam Ornstein and Addi Palmer singing Ready Set, Not Yet from Beetlejuice: The Musical, Julia Drob and Kayla Kanefke singing In The Bedroom Down The Hall from Dear Evan Hansen, and, to wrap up the duets, Sam Ornstein and Marissa Colangelo singing The Song That Goes Like This from Spamalot! Our star seniors wrapped up the night by giving it there all on their last Gold Masque performance. Constantine Rutigliano gave us an amazing performance by singing Razzle Dazzle from Chicago. Gabby Tanen sang faster than I’ve ever seen with the rapid song Calm from Ordinary Days, and, last but certainly not least, Mary Regan performed a beautiful rendition of Losing My Mind by Liza Minnelli.

Ms. Corrado, Gold Masque Director, says, “Watching these kids grow and perform to their fullest potential is something so special to me. I enjoy every second of it and will really miss our seniors and can’t wait to see what happens next year!”

Gold Masque gives their love to the seniors, wishing them happy trails as they begin getting ready for graduation and college. Gold Masque had a wonderful year and can’t wait to see what comes in the fall!