Musical theater's rising stars had their night in the spotlight on June 3, when Broadway Dallas hosted its 12th annual High School Musical Theatre Awards.
Broadway veteran Major Attaway hosted the event at the Music Hall at Fair Park, which is modeled after the Tony Awards and features student performances, award presentations — including $60,000 in scholarships — and acceptance speeches from the winners.
The 2023 Outstanding Musical Award went to Guyer High School’s production of Anastasia, and the awards for Outstanding Lead Performer were presented to Fabiola Caraballo Quijada (Hairspray, Tyler Legacy High School) and Corbin Ross (Anastasia, Guyer High School).
UPDATE 6-28-23: Ross was named a top eight finalist out of 93 students at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (the Jimmy Awards) on June 26. He received a $3,000 scholarship.
Previous winners of the HSMTA have found success as professional performers, including Haley Dortch, who is currently starring as Fantine in the national tour of Les Miserables.
A list of all 2023 winners, participating high schools, and their productions can be found at https://broadwaydallas.org/education-community/hsmta/.
“As we always say, the Broadway Dallas High School Musical Theatre Awards is our favorite night of the year and this year’s ceremony was nothing short of spectacular,” says Ken Novice, president and CEO of Broadway Dallas. “We are so proud of these hardworking students and teachers, and it’s our honor to be able to celebrate them on the Music Hall stage. Congratulations to all the 2023 nominees and winners!”
A total of 74 productions from 72 participating high schools were evaluated by a diverse group of highly qualified judges from the North Texas theater community.
Awards were presented in 14 categories and scholarships were awarded to outstanding graduating seniors who were nominated by their teachers and selected by the Broadway Dallas scholarship panel. To date, the Broadway Dallas HSMTA College Scholarship program has awarded more than $500,000 in cash scholarships to deserving students.
In addition, award-winning producer, writer, and founding artistic director for the Bishop Arts Theatre Center, Teresa Coleman Wash, was presented with the 2023 Fullinwider Award in honor of her accomplishments within the North Texas theater community and beyond.
Wash is a National Arts Strategies fellow, having studied at Harvard Business School and is the recipient of several accolades, including the Theater Communications Group’s prestigious Peter Zeisler Memorial Award for Artistic Integrity and Ingenuity in 2019, the Irma P. Hall Theatrical Excellence Medal in 2020, and most recently the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce’s Quest for Success Award.
The Fullinwider Award is named for Leah and Jerry Fullinwider, the founding donors of the Broadway Dallas High School Musical Theater Awards. The award was created to honor the Fullinwiders for their initial gift of $100,000, which helped fund and produce the HSMTA program in 2012.
Photo courtesy of Broadway Dallas
Melissa High School's production of Matilda was nominated for Outstanding Musical.
Rachel Simone Webb hosted the awards ceremony.Photo by Thomas Garza
Towdah Kiima of Rockwall-Heath High School accepts the award for Outstanding Lead Performer.Photo by Thomas Garza