Madison Scores 11 Rising Star Nominations For Spring Musical

MADISON, NJ - The Madison High School spring production of the musical "Bright Star" has scored 11 Paper Mill Playhouse 2019 Rising Star nominations.

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards are modeled after the Tony Awards, and Paper Mill Playhouse's program serves the entire state of New Jersey, with a full 100 entered productions from public, private and parochial high schools. Paper Mill Playhouse conceived and created the awards in 1996 to give schools the opportunity to showcase their musical arts programs on a statewide level, organizers said. The musicals are adjudicated by Paper Mill Playhouse throughout the spring by a group of 70 evaluators, with each school receiving four independent evaluations. Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical and Leading Actor/Actress nominees perform at the event, and award recipients are presented with an engraved crystal award from Tiffany & Co.

In Madison, their 'Bright Star' was inspired by a real event and features the Grammy-nominated score by Steven Martin and Edie Brickell. Broadway's Bright Star tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and 40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost.

Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives.

Madison's production of the piece earned the following final nominations:

• OUTSTANDING OVERALL PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
• OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Jaron Cole as "Jimmy Ray Dobbs"
• OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Alex Mroczko as "Margo Crawford"
• OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ENSEMBLE MEMBER: Anna McCarthy as "Mama Murphy"
• OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ORCHESTRA
• OUTSTANDING LIGHTING ACHIEVEMENT: Jen Fok, Tyler McKinnon
• OUTSTANDING SCENIC ACHIEVEMENT: Anthony Freitas
• STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Erin Quinn, Assistant to the Directors
• THE EDUCATIONAL IMPACT AWARD
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A TEACHER OR OUTSIDE DIRECTOR: Blake Spence
• RISING STAR "THEATRE FOR EVERYONE" INCLUSION AND ACCESS AWARD

They also received acknowledgement via honorable mention:

• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC DIRECTION: Dan Malloy, Russ Batsch
• OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Abigail Daniels as "Alice Murphy"

Paper Mill Playhouse also awards $5,000 in scholarships at the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by the Investors Foundation. Five $1,000 cash scholarships are given to outstanding individual students who plan to continue studying theater performance or theater education in college. Paper Mill Playhouse is pleased to award a prize of $500 to a school receiving the 2019 Educational Impact Award, which acknowledges a school that successfully connects the musical to the district's curriculum, using the production as a teaching tool for the greater student body and local community.

Through the Rising Star "Theatre for Everyone" Inclusion and Access Award and a partnership with The Cultural Access Network of New Jersey, a project of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Paper Mill Playhouse will present a cash award of $1,000 to a school to recognize excellence in the promotion and practice of creative inclusion of students and adults with disabilities as performers, designers, musicians and production staff. Additionally, this award seeks to recognize and reward a school that takes steps to ensure their performances are accessible to audiences with disabilities.

Lastly, students receiving final nominations in the lead and supporting acting categories receive a scholarship to Paper Mill Playhouse's competitive Summer Musical Theatre Conservatory, a professional training program, which, along with advanced classes in singing, acting and dance, offers the nominees an opportunity to perform in the season finale concert, "New Voices of 2019: Learn Your Lessons Well" on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 on the main stage at Paper Mill Playhouse.

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