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McAllen ISD led the way with the most nominations (39) of any school district in the Rio Grande Valley for this year’s Palm Awards.
In addition, McAllen High School had the most nominations of any school in the Valley with 21. McAllen High’s production of The Lion King Jr. led all musicals with 11 nominations.
McAllen High, McAllen Memorial High and Nikki Rowe High have such strong programs that all three will be featured performers at The Palm Awards Ceremony in April.
Valley high schools were given the opportunity to enter one musical production and one play. There were 37 production entries from 12 different school districts. A panel of judges attended each production and developed the nominations which were announced in late February.
This is the third year for this event which was created to celebrate and recognize the great work of students in high school theatre productions.
“It is much like the Tony Awards for professional theatre but geared for high school students,” McAllen ISD Fine Arts Director Jim Egger explained. “Congratulations to all of these very talented McAllen ISD theatre and choir students and their hard-working teachers.”
The Palm Award Ceremony will be at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 26, at the McAllen Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at the McAllen Convention Center box office or through Ticketmaster.
Here is the rundown of the McAllen ISD productions:
Musicals
McAllen High, The Lion King Jr. – 11 nominations
Memorial High, Frozen Jr. – 3 nominations
Rowe High, Into the Woods – 6 nominations
Plays
McAllen High, The Language Archive – 10 nominations
Memorial High, Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon – 4 nominations
Rowe High, Peter and the Starcatcher – 5 nominations.
Below is a list of the nominations for McAllen ISD:
McAllen High Musical The Lion King Jr. (11 nominations)
Best Production of a Musical
Best Leading Actor of a Musical – Diego Rodriguez
Best Supporting Actress of a Musical – Bailey Ousley
Best Supporting Actor of a Musical – Jared Hurtado
Best Ensemble in a Musical
Best Technical Crew of a Musical
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Best Choreography of a Musical
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Memorial High Musical Frozen Jr. (3 nominations)
Best Supporting Actor of a Musical – Gabriel Ramirez
Best Featured Performer of a Musical – Andrea Tamez
Best Choreography of a Musical
Rowe High Musical Into the Woods (6 nominations)
Best Leading Actress of a Musical – Courtney Smith
Best Featured Performer of a Musical – Oscar Humphrey
Best Ensemble of a Musical
Best Technical Crew of a Musical
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
McAllen High Play The Language Archive (10 nominations)
Best Production of a Play
Best Leading Actor of a Play – Jared Hurtado
Best Supporting Actress of a Play – Alexa Ramirez
Best Ensemble of a Play
Best Featured Performer of a Play – Diego Rodriguez
Best Featured Performer of a Play – Grace Kelly
Best Technical Crew of a Play
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Best Costume Design of a Play
Memorial High Play Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon (4 nominations)
Best Leading Actor of a Play – Damian Wight
Best Supporting Actor of a Play – Gabriel Ramirez
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Best Costume Design of a Play
Rowe High Play Peter and the Starcatcher (5 nominations)
Best Leading Actress of a Play – Annabelle Renner
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Best Costume Design of a Play
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Best Sound Design of a Play