Finalists Announced for DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards

Revealed! Dallas Summer Musicals 1st High School Musical Theatre Awards Finalists

Winners will be announced and finalists will perform at the red carpet extravaganza on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at The Music Hall at Fair Park

(Dallas, TX – April 9, 2012) Michael A. Jenkins, President and Managing Director, Dallas Summer Musicals and Tracy Jordan, Director of Dallas Summer Musicals High School Musical Theatre Awards program (DSM HSMTA) presented by Comerica Bank, today announced the awards finalists in a special appearance on WFAA-TV’s DAYBREAK. See attached listings for details.

Based on Broadway’s Tony® Awards, the DSM High School Musical Awards are designed to recognize and reward excellence in the production of high school musical theatre. If you love theatre, you do not want to miss this show!

Slated for Saturday, May 5th at The Music Hall at Fair Park, top nominated schools will perform a number from their show, nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress will be showcased and the winners will be announced at the red carpet extravaganza as show biz professionals and celebrities come together to celebrate and spotlight excellence in area high school musical productions. Bring your cameras! The celebration begins at 6:00 p.m. with paparazzi at the red carpet reception. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.

One of the award presentations will be made, in person, by Cathy Rigby, a former Olympic champion, who visits Dallas again when she stars in PETER PAN, running July 10 – 22 as part of DSM’s regular season at The Music Hall.

“This will be an exciting night, not only for DSM, but for the performers and their families,” Jordan said. “Thirty high schools participated in our first-ever musical theatre awards program. It was a diverse list of high schools from as far away as Granbury, McKinney, Corsicana and all across the Metroplex. The musicals were a wonderful mix from classic, like Red Oak High School’s Singin’ in the Rain, and dramatic, like Denton High Schools’ Jekyll & Hyde to Highland Park High School’s Once Upon a Mattress, a comedy.”

Jenkins, who has been involved in the production side of musicals for over 50 years and travels the world scouting shows for DSM’s seasons, said, “I was overwhelmed with pride when I saw the level of talent in performance and production in our high school musicals. We are thrilled to bring this program to Dallas. It has been in research and development for the past four years. We believe it will encourage participation in the musical arts not only in the high schools, but throughout our community. All of this would not be possible without the generosity of the DSM High School Musical Awards founding donors, Leah and Jerry Fullinwider and presenting sponsor, Comerica Bank. I’d also like to thank our chairs, Gail and Bill Plummer and DSM HSMTA media sponsors, WFAA-TV Channel 8 and The Dallas Morning News.”

A visionary leader in Dallas’ entertainment community, Michael’s resumé includes six (6) Tony® Awards, two (2) Drama Desk Awards® , a Dallas Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum Award, and 38 nominations for both him and DSM.

Tracy continued, “Due to the kind generosity of the many sponsors and underwriters, DSM will be awarding eight (8) $3,000 cash scholarships to outstanding participating students of the DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards.

Winners of the Best Performance by an Actor and Actress will receive an all-expense paid trip for five days to New York City to represent their school in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (the Jimmy Nederlander Award) for the chance to win prizes and scholarships, which vary by year.

The process: Three judges visited each school and judged performers in 15 categories: Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Musical Direction, Best Choreography, Best Orchestra, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting, Best Ensemble, Best Crew, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Featured Performer.

Ballots were submitted to the accounting firm of Grant-Thornton and the finalists determined.

Tickets are priced from $20 to $50. Visit the web site at: http://dallassummermusicals.org/HSMAwards.shtm or Ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or at The Box Office, 5959 Royal Lane, #542 in the Preston/Royal Shopping Center or call (214) 691-7200 for more information.

For more details about the Dallas program, visit the website at http://dallassummermusicals.org/HSMAwards.shtm . Updates. photos and comments are posted continuously on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DSM-High-School-Musical-Theatre-Awards Link to the national program website here: http://www.nhsmta.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions

About Dallas Summer Musicals

Dallas Summer Musicals (DSM) is the preeminent nonprofit presenter of Broadway theatre in North Texas. DSM produces, presents and promotes excellence in live musical theatre with year-round performances for diverse audiences of all ages, impacting the lives of children and families through community outreach and education and enriching the cultural landscape of Dallas/Fort Worth, North Texas and the Southwest Region. Dallas Summer Musicals season sponsors are American Airlines, The Dallas Morning News, Metro PCS, WFAA Channel 8, and Texas Instruments. Visit the website at www.dallassummermusicals.org ###