Blumenthal Performing Arts Announces The 2021 Blumey Awards Best Actor And Best Actress Finalists

Blumenthal Performing Arts has announced the Best Actor and Best Actress finalists in this year's High School Musical Theater Awards, also known as The Blumey Awards, presented by Wells Fargo that will air on PBS Charlotte Tuesday, May 25th at 8pm.

Last week, the 66 Best Actor and Best Actress nominees from this year's 34 participating schools took part in a Blumey Awards Bootcamp, a two-day audition workshop intensive led by industry professionals. The workshop culminated with a second round of auditions for a panel of judges.

A 30-minute Blumey Awards Celebration show, airing on PBS Charlotte May 25th at 8pm, will feature the Best Actor and Best Actress nominees from every participating school, two medley numbers featuring the 6 top scoring finalists in each category and the announcement of the Best Actor and Best Actress winners. The winners will go on to participate in the National High School Musical Theater Awards, also known as The Jimmy Awards (named after famed Broadway producer, James M. Nederlander). That program will be presented virtually on July 15th.

The order of performances, arrangement and orchestration for the ceremony will be led by New York-based professional music composer/conductor, David Dabbon. All rehearsals and performance recordings will be conducted safely and follow local and state guidelines.

This year's finalists for the 2021 Blumey Awards:

Best Actor

Bryson Battle

Hickory Ridge High School

Cameron Meyer

Northwest Cabarrus High School

Daniel Turner

Mooresville High School

Jackson Randall

Central Academy of Technology and Arts

Keyon Pickett, Jr.

Northwest School of the Arts

Lance Lokas

Covenant Day School

Best Actress

Kate McCracken

Charlotte Latin School

Katherine Beason

Providence Day School

Kathleen Moore

Davidson Day School

Molly Neal

South Pointe High School

Rachel Ochoa

East Lincoln High School

Sophie Miller

Northwest School of the Arts

Blumenthal Performing Arts is committed to continuing the celebration of high school musical theater. Despite the fact that many schools in the region were unable to produce a show this year given the impact of the coronavirus, Blumenthal still wanted to provide students the opportunity to perform. To achieve this goal and ensure the safety of all the 300+ original participants, this year's program shifted to an individual audition-based model to allow for significant social distancing and safety protocols in excess of CDC and local recommendations.

"It is essential to keep theater alive in our schools and to give students the chance to express themselves, connect, and excel through the performing arts," said Blumenthal Vice President of Education Andrea Maloney. "The Charlotte region is packed full of exceptionally talented young artists and this year's Blumey Awards program proved that remains true even during a year deeply impacted by a pandemic."

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