"A little bit ago, I went through an abusive relationship with my mother, and that didn't turn out so well," Gabi Karl tells the Denver Post.
"But it was around that time that the theater at school really took me under its wing.
And I was able to have a family with them."
Karl, a student at ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., was honored Friday at the 10th annual Bobby G Awards in Denver, where she won the award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role for her portrayal of a mean girl in the school's production of Mean Girls.
"Gabi is a super-kind person who's also super-talented," her teacher says.
"But what makes her special is she is unique," she adds.
"She perseveres....
She's gone through a lot, and she has made it out on the other side."
Karl will now go on to represent Colorado at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards on June 24 at the Minskoff Theatre, home of Disney's Broadway production of The Lion King.
Caleb Kezeor won the award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role for playing Quasimodo in Woodland Park High School's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Read the Entire Article
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