Nominees Announced for Kansas City's 16th Annual Blue Star Awards

High school theatre students and instructors across metropolitan Kansas City and in neighboring communities received their nominations yesterday for the 16th Annual Blue Star Awards from Starlight Theatre. Starlight leaders, staff and board members personally delivered 132 nominations to 30 area high schools. On Thursday night, May 17, winners of the 2018 Blue Star Awards will be announced and receive their honors in a public ceremony on Starlight's Cohen Community Stage.

Starlight's Blue Star Awards, modeled after Broadway's Tony Awards®, marks its 16th anniversary with the 2017-18 school year and annually recognizes achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre. This year, a record 54 high schools producing 59 musicals participated. While the majority of schools are in the metropolitan area, some schools are in surrounding communities, including St. Joseph and Excelsior Springs, Mo., and Leavenworth and Lansing, Kan.

The culmination of the program each year is the annual Blue Star Awards Ceremony at Starlight. This year's awards ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 17. The ceremony is free and open to the public. Parking is $5 per vehicle.

At the 2018 Blue Star Awards Ceremony, Kansas City's arts community leaders will bestow awards in 22 categories, including Outstanding Overall Production, Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Lead Role, Outstanding Orchestra and Outstanding Ensemble. In addition, several categories recognize artistic contributions and technical excellence in staging a high school musical, including Outstanding Scenic Design and Construction, Outstanding Costume Design and Construction, Outstanding Lighting Design, and Outstanding Hair and Makeup Design.

"In its16th year, the Blue Star Awards continue to celebrate some of the most talented and driven young people in the Kansas City area and surrounding communities," said Rich Baker, Starlight president and CEO. "More than 5,000 hardworking students and teachers participate annually, and Starlight Theatre is proud to recognize their achievement. We encourage them to continue to cultivate their talent and passion for live arts for years to come."

A panel of three adjudicators attended the musical productions of each participating school during the fall 2017 and/or spring 2018 semesters. These judges provided critiques of both performance and technical categories to Starlight's Education and Outreach Department. Additionally, their comments were compiled and shared with each school's theatre teacher and students; in all, more than 1,000 pages of commentary were sent to the 54 participating schools. The Blue Star Awards Nomination Committee, made up of select adjudicators, met for a total of 64 hours to deliberate and select final nominees and award winners.

Several nominated schools and students will perform on Starlight's stage at the May 17 awards ceremony. Performances will include a number from each of the six schools and musicals nominated for Outstanding Overall Production, as well as musical medleys performed by the 12 nominees for Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Lead Role.

A final highlight of the annual Blue Star Awards Ceremony is the awarding of Rising Star Scholarships to two high school seniors. The $2,500 college scholarships are presented to one male and one female senior who have contributed the most to his or her high school theatre department and demonstrated exceptional theatrical achievement.

Starlight Theatre is the largest and oldest performing arts organization in Kansas City and the second-largest outdoor producing theatre in the country. Opened as a theater in 1950 and as a not-for-profit organization in 1951, Starlight presents and produces Broadway musicals and concerts. It also offers extensive community outreach and educational programming, including classes, scholarships and Starlight's Blue Star Awards, one of the largest high school musical theatre award programs in the nation.

Located on 16 acres in Swope Park, Starlight's venue includes rehearsal halls, gift store, club area for dining, concessions, gardens, fountains and a 10-story, climate-controlled stage. For more information, visit www.kcstarlight.com.

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