Starry statuettes were evenly distributed during Sunday night’s ninth annual Cappies Gala, honoring the best and the brightest in high-school theater.

St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes in Alexandria and H-B Woodlawn in Arlington each won four Cappies during the three-hour ceremony at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Westfield, Robinson and West Potomac each won three.

The Best Play award went to Woodlawn for "As Bees In Honey Drown," and Best Musical went to Walt Whitman for "Aida." Chantilly’s Eddie Monk won the Cappie for Lead Actor in a Play for "The Andersonville Trial," and Natalie Walker of St. Stephen’s won the Lead Actress in a Play Cappie for "Metamorphoses."

James Madison’s Trey Ervine won Lead Actor in a Musical for "Fiddler on the Roof," and Andrea Carroll of Whitman won Lead Actress in a Musical for "Aida." The Best Song award went to West Potomac’s "Luck Be a Lady" from "Guys and Dolls."

This Cappies Gala was dedicated to the program’s co-founder, Bill Strauss, who died of cancer in December at age 60. A published author and playwright, himself, his vision — along with that of co-founder Judy Bowns — was to celebrate students of theater and journalism via the Cappies, or Critics and Awards Program.

Strauss was honored with a special tribute during Sunday’s gala, and his wife, Janie — a member of the Fairfax County School Board — was presented with an award called, "The Show Must Go On."