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An Evening On Broadway At 4th Annual Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards

Two men singing a duet with a chorus of women in the background. Appears to be a scene from the play Les Miserables.
Utah Festival

Over 250 high school students will strut their best stuff  at the 4th Annual Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards at Utah State University. 

Months of preparation will culminate in a spectacular evening on Saturday, May 10 featuring young aspiring actors and actresses from across the state of Utah. The competition is partnering with several programs including the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre to provide winning artists with scholarship, mentorship, and apprenticeship opportunities. 

Vanessa Ballam, the Director of Awards, said the goals for this event are twofold: First, to recognize excellence and second, to expose students to each others’ work.  

“I’m always telling my students that the way that you get better is to produce art yourself, and then witness other incredible art. I feel like this program is able to accomplish both of these goals,” said Ballam.

Numerous awards will be given that night, among them the coveted Best Actor and Best Actress awards. These two winners will have the life-changing opportunity to spend a week in New York City, work with Broadway directors, choreographers, and vocal coaches, and compete for the national title on the Minskoff Theatre stage, the theatre which produces the well-known Broadway musical “The Lion King.” The national winners will receive a full-ride scholarship to attend the musical theatre program at New York University. 

“I feel like the talent we have here, especially in musical theatre, is unmatched in the nation. And perhaps I am biased, but I am always so impressed, profoundly impressed, by the students and their commitment and their skill level. We just want everyone in the state to recognize it as well,” said Ballam.

The show will begin on the evening of May 10 at 7:00 in the Kent Concert Hall at Utah State University.