Capital Region Students Take Center Stage at 10th Annual High School Musical Theatre Awards

SCHENECTADY (May 16) — The Collaborative School of the Arts presented its 10th annual High School Musical Theatre Awards at Proctors at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16. Sponsored by Gazette Media Group, the ceremony celebrated 25 local schools and their excellence in orchestra, choreography, backstage, ensemble, performers, and overall musical productions.

The evening opened with a high-energy medley of songs from Broadway favorites “Hamilton,” “MJ The Musical,” “The Outsiders,” and “& Juliet,” featuring students from all participating high schools. The performance led into the introduction of host Apollo Levine, currently appearing in Broadway’s “MJ The Musical.” Throughout the ceremony, nominees for Best Musical performed selections from their respective productions.

For Best Musical Tier A, Mohonasen High School performed “Seize the Day” from “Newsies,” Queensbury High School presented “When You’re an Addams” from “The Addams Family Musical: School Edition,” and Shenendehowa High School performed “Prologue” from “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.” In Tier B, Saratoga Springs High School performed “King of New York” from Disney’s “Newsies,” South Glens Falls High School presented “Voulez Vous” from “Mamma Mia!,” and Voorheesville High School performed “Livin’ It Up on Top” from “Hadestown: Teen Edition.” Tier C performances included Amsterdam High School’s “Meet the Plastics” from “Mean Girls School Version,” Hadley-Luzerne High School’s “Finale (Footloose)” from “Footloose,” and Warrensburg Jr./Sr. High School’s “Way Down Hadestown” from “Hadestown: Teen Edition.”

The ceremony also featured a medley performance by nominees for Outstanding Lead Performer, showcasing highlights from their respective productions. During intermission, judges deliberated to select the two winners of the Outstanding Lead Performer awards. Prior to the announcement, Levine presented special honors, including Rising Star, Dance Excellence, and the Spirit of Theatre Award, which is nominated by participating student representatives.

The two Outstanding Lead Performer winners, Lily Sinnott from Shenendehowa High School and Max Mittler from Saratoga Springs High School, will travel to New York City in June to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 22, joining students from across the country. The trip is sponsored by M/E Engineering.

The evening concluded with a full-cast performance featuring students from all participating schools, who came together on stage to perform selections from “A Chorus Line,” bringing the celebration of student talent and collaboration to a memorable close.

The High School Musical Theatre Awards continue to highlight the depth of talent, dedication, and creativity within the Capital Region’s student arts community, providing young performers and technicians with a platform to be recognized, inspired, and connected through the power of live theatre.

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BACKSTAGE EXCELLENCE
Mohonasen High School — Disney’s “Newsies”

OUTSTANDING STUDENT ORCHESTRA
Albany High School — “Mean Girls High School Version”

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY EXECUTION
Shenendehowa High School — “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
Queensbury High School — “The Addams Family Musical: School Edition”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
Cohoes High School “Big Fish”
Whitehall Central School “42nd Steet”

DANCE EXCELLENCE
Felicia Nyemah in Schenectady High School’s “Once Upon a Mattress”

RISING STAR
Angel Rodriguez as Race in Mohonasen High School’s “Newsies”

SPIRIT OF THEATRE
Adrina Mabee in Schalmont High School’s “Mamma Mia!”

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL — TIER A
Mohanasen High School — Disney’s “Newsies”

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL — TIER B
Voorheesville High School — “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL — TIER C
Amsterdam High School — “Mean Girls High School Version”

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMER
Henry Mack as Orin Scrivello D.D.S in Ticonderoga High School’s “Little Shop of Horrors”

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERRFORMER
Haley Hammer as Les in Saratoga Springs High School’s Disney’s “Newsies”

OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMER
Lily Sinnott as Natasha in Shenendehowa High School’s “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812″

OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMER
Max Mittler as Jack Kelly in Saratoga Springs High School’s Disney’s “Newsies”