Winners announced for 2018 High School Musical Theatre Awards at Proctors

SCHENECTADY—Today, winners were announced for the second annual High School Musical Theatre Awards at Proctors.

Proctors CEO Philip Morris and Times Union Senior Writer Steve Barnes presided over an entertainment-filled Saturday evening ceremony, which featured representatives from 23 participating schools (up from 16 in 2017). The program, presented by the Times Union, and adjudicated by a team assembled by the School of the Performing Arts at Proctors, “focuses much-needed attention on the meaningful work being done on and off the stage by dedicated teachers and students within their high school theatre departments,” said Morris.

South Glens Falls High School’s Brandon Sarti and Albany High School’s Annabelle Duffy took home top honors as Best Actor and Best Actress and, accompanied by Proctors Creative Workforce Manager Grace Janiszewski, will head to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards® in New York, June 25.

The Jimmys®, as the national awards are called, are presented by The Broadway League Foundation, and named for theatre impresario James Nederlander. They are, according to the League’s website, “a national celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performance, and elevating the importance of theatre arts education in schools.”

The 2018 High School Musical Theatre Awards at Proctors winners are:

• Best Technical Execution: Albany High School— “Hairspray”
• Best Set Construction: Hudson Falls High School— “Into the Woods”
• Best Student Orchestra: Bethlehem Central High School— “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”
• Best Choreography Execution: Albany High School— “Hairspray”
• Best Ensemble/Chorus: Voorheesville High School— “Tarzan”
• Best Supporting Actress: Fallon Zell as Terk in “Tarzan” at Voorheesville High School
• Best Supporting Actor: Jackson VerDerwerken as Jean-Michael in “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Schoharie High School
• Best Actress: Annabelle Duffy as Tracey Turnblad in “Hairspray” at Albany High School
• Best Actor: Brandon Sarti as Sam Wheat in “Ghost the Musical” at South Glens Falls High School
• Best Musical Tier A: Albany High School— “Hairspray”
• Best Musical Tier B: Hudson Falls High School— “Into the Woods”
• Best Musical Tier C: Columbia High School-East Greenbush— “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”

The High School Musical Theatre Awards at Proctors are presented by The Times Union
and sub-sponsored by Cool Insuring Agency.