DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards To Recognize Top Talent From North Texas

More than 300 area high school students will perform on the main stage of the Music Hall at Fair Park on Thursday, May 9 as part of the 2019 Dallas Summer Musicals High School Musical Theatre Awards (HSMTA). Winners will be named in 18 categories that recognize artistic and educational achievements of North Texas students and their high school programs.

The winners in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories will have the opportunity to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City.

Broadway veteran Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, a graduate of Plano West Senior High School, will also perform and receive the 2019 DSM HSMTA Fullinwider Award, which each year honors a Broadway professional from North Texas who has impacted the community and the theatre industry. Herdlicka grew up attending DSM Broadway presentations at the Music Hall.

The Leah & Jerome M. Fullinwider Award is named for Leah and Jerry Fullinwider, the founding donors of DSM's High School Musical Theater Awards. The award was created in 2016 to honor the Fullinwiders for their initial gift of $100,000, which helped fund and produce DSM HSMTA and College Scholarship program in 2012.

"Being honored with the Fullinwider Award means a great deal to me, as Dallas Summer Musicals holds a very special place in my life," Herdlicka said. "The Music Hall at Fair Park was where I saw my very first show, Cats, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, who, 25 years later, would be the director of my first Broadway show, A Little Night Music. While growing up in Dallas, my family took me see around 160 productions presented by DSM. Some of my favorites were Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly!, Eartha Kitt in Cinderella (featuring the most amazing orchestrations and arrangements by my friend, Andrew Lippa), Parade, Ragtime, and the Deaf West production of Big River, starring Michael McElroy - which I saw four times. I can't thank this organization enough for providing me a lifelong education in the theatre and for recognizing my achievements in my career thus far."

Patterned after Broadway's Tony Awards, the DSM HSMTA celebrate the power of the arts and its ability to significantly improve all areas of education. DSM HSMTA is the second largest program of its kind in the country.

The DSM HSMTA ceremony will take place Thursday, May 9, at the Music Hall at Fair Park. The evening will kick off with a red-carpet event at 5:30 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

Single tickets for the DSM HSMTA, ranging from $20 to $99 (pricing subject to change), are now on sale at DallasSummerMusicals.org or by phone at 1 (800) 745-3000. They can also be purchased in person at the Music Hall at Fair Park Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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