Stars of Tomorrow Shine at the 2024 High School Musical Theatre Awards

2024 HSMTA digital program

The stage lights shone brightly as the Collaborative School of the Arts proudly hosted the eighth annual High School Musical Theatre Awards on the MainStage at Proctors Saturday, May 4 in partnership with The Broadway League. Presented by the Daily Gazette and supporting sponsor Peregrine Engineering, the evening was a spectacular celebration of young talent, dedication and passion for the performing arts, with students from 19 local high schools participating.

The show started with a medley of songs from “Gypsy,” “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Sweet Charity” featuring students from all the participating high schools before leading into an introduction from Jean Leonard, president of Proctors Collaborative and Stan Hudy, the digital content producer from The Daily Gazette. Throughout the evening, the Best Musical nominees each performed a piece from their nominated productions.

After intermission, the Best Actress and Best Actor nominees each performed a piece of a song from their production as part of a medley. The winners for Best Actress and Best Actor were announced by last year’s winners Ashley Manocchi and Logan Esposito, respectfully. These winners will travel to New York City in the coming weeks to participate in the Jimmy Awards where they will participate in ten days of workshops, classes and training with Broadway professionals before the production on June 24. Closing the show, featured students from all participating high schools performed “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from “Hairspray.”

“The High School Musical Theatre Awards are not just a way to applaud spectacular performances, but also to recognize the profound impact of the arts in shaping the lives of our young performers, nurturing not only future stars but future leaders,” says Christine Sheehan, director of education for the Collaborative School of the Arts.