Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative wins best musical at 2025 NH Theatre Awards

LACONIA — Over 40 Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative members were on hand in Concord on Feb. 1 to attend the New Hampshire Theatre Awards, presented by the New Hampshire Theatre Alliance.  Each year this organization oversees an adjudication process that sends volunteer adjudicators across the state all year long to attend theater productions of participating companies resulting in the equivalent of the NH Tony Awards.

Powerhouse went into the evening with 23 semi-finalists in all community division categories from the two productions it entered into the competition this year, “Tuck Everlasting” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Its production of “Tuck Everlasting” came away with the night’s top prize — outstanding production of a musical in the community division.  “Tuck” was also recognized with outstanding performance by a leading actor (Maci Johnson as Winnie Foster) and outstanding direction (Bryan Halperin).  Other finalists from “Tuck” included Samantha Tutasi’s set design, Tyler Soucy’s sound design, Meg King for choreography, and Caity Hicks’ performance as Mae Tuck.

“Fiddler on the Roof” was one of the two runners up to “Tuck” for outstanding production.  Other finalists included Melissa Shakun’s set design, Joel Iwaskiewicz’s performance as Tevye, Emma Molloy’s performance as Chava, and Olivia Martinson’s performance as Tzeitel.

Another Power Player, Phoebe VanScoy-Giessler, was recognized for outstanding performance in a community play for her role in “WIT” for the Village Players.  Phoebe plays Mrs. Dilber in Powerhouse’s annual “A Christmas Carol” production.

Powerhouse Producer Bryan Halperin said, “while of course it is lovely to be recognized by our peers around the state, the main prize is getting our theatre family together throughout the year to share stories with our Lakes Region community.  The Colonial Theatre is a Lakes Region gem, and we are so lucky to do our part to support it by creating high quality productions on its beautiful stage.”

Powerhouse’s 2025 season gets underway the weekend of Feb. 14-16 with two events at the Colonial Theatre. John Cariani, Tony Award nominee and writer of the hit play “Almost, Maine” will be on hand to see a full scale production of his play “LOVE/SICK,” and a staged reading of his newest play.  

For more information, visit powerhousenh.org or email info@ powerhousenh.org.