ARLINGTON – Arlington High School has received 10 nominations – more than any other in the state – from the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle for awards for its spring musical, “Pippin.”

The awards ceremony will be June 6 at McCaw Hall. The cast and musicians will have another opportunity to perform one of the songs from the show prior to the award winners being announced.

Drama teacher Scott Moberly was nominated for Outstanding Director, and choir teacher Jeff Swanson led the way to the Outstanding Overall Musical nomination.

Five students also were nominated.

Josh Basher, who played Pippin, was nominated for Outstanding Actor Leading Role.

“Winning this award would be really special to show that you don’t have to attend a large or rich school district to compete in the theatre world. With hard work, dedication, perfecting your craft and staying after school, you can compete and do well no matter where you go to school,” Basher said.

Moberly said he looks forward to seeing what Basher can do as he studies music and drama at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

Rob Neeleman was named for Outstanding Supporting Role Actor, impressive since it was the first time he had ever sang before an audience.

“Winning this award is really humbling and it would be very cool to win because of how many people worked so hard in our cast and our crew. Every person had a part in this show and to win awards for what we’ve done would be pretty amazing,” he said.

Three others are honorable mentions: Outstanding Actress Andrea Ramirez, Outstanding Supporting Role Actress Channing Hudson and Outstanding Actress Featured Ensemble Role Emily Hawks.

Other nominations are for: Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Scene Design, Outstanding Lighting Design, Outstanding Costume Design, Outstanding Stage Crew, Outstanding Lobby Design (Honorable Mention) and Outstanding Performance By A Chorus. Moberly pointed out that the behind-the-scenes nominations really were a team effort, led by art teacher Emily Palmiter, with the stage crew collaborating with performers.