Applause Awards Celebrate High School Musical Theater

On June 5, the Dr. Phillips Center Florida Hospital School of the Arts will recognize achievements in high school musical theater at the annual Applause Awards. This event demonstrates the enthusiasm, dedication and talent of high school musical theater programs and encourages participating schools to grow and continue to improve their programs.

Modeled after the Tony Awards, the Applause Awards will feature winning performances in the Outstanding Lead Performer, Outstanding Supporting Performer, Outstanding Dance Performer and Honorable Mention in Performance categories. Winning high schools in the Outstanding Musical category will also perform numbers from their respective shows, including Lake Nona High School’s “Hairspray” – Cast B, Lake Highland Preparatory School’s “Guys and Dolls” and Trinity Preparatory School’s “The Last Five Years.” Others from Southwest Orlando include Freedom High School’s “Bring It On! The Musical” and Liberty High School’s “Next to Normal.” Throughout the showcase, other students will be recognized for their schools’ performances. The list of winners includes Outstanding Technical Achievement for University High School’s “Little Women” and Outstanding Young Performer for University High School’s Nicholas Juergens for his performance in “The Little Mermaid.”

Throughout the showcase, other Southwest Orlando students will be recognized for their schools’ performances. The list of winners includes “Mary Poppins” from Dr. Phillips High School (DPHS) and “Into the Woods” from West Orange High School (WOHS) for Outstanding Ensemble and Macy Hayes of Windermere Preparatory School for Outstanding Young Performer in “The Wizard of Oz,” among many others.

The Applause Awards will be held at 6 p.m. in the Walt Disney Theater and will honor students from 22 schools in six Central Florida counties.