Playhouse Square Announces Participating Schools For Fourth Annual Dazzle Awards

What does it take to put on a high school musical? Once the director chooses a show, students audition for parts. Casting is announced and then a flurry of activity begins - rehearsing, building sets, preparing and fitting costumes, setting lights, checking microphones and selling tickets. This happens at high schools across Northeast Ohio as students play their roles on stage, backstage or in the orchestra pit.

For 30 schools, the journey does not end when the curtain closes on their final school performance. Each May, nearly 2000 students from those schools come together for a week of rehearsals in preparation for the Dazzle Awards presented by John and Patricia Chapman, an annual awards ceremony and showcase that celebrates hard work and dedication, recognizes the importance of high school musical theater programs and honors excellence.

The 30 schools representing seven counties participating in the fourth annual Playhouse Square Dazzle Awards are:

Akron School for the Arts at Firestone CLC
Aurora High School
Avon Lake High School
Beachwood High School
Bedford High School
Buckeye High School
Chagrin Falls High School
CMSD All-City Musical
Euclid High School
Hawken Upper School
Highland High School
Hudson High School
Lake Ridge Academy
Lutheran West High School
Magnificat High School
Marion L. Steele High School
Mayfield High School
Nordonia High School
North Royalton High School
Open Door Christian Schools
Orange High School
Padua Franciscan High School
Rocky River High School
Saint Ignatius High School
Saint Joseph Academy
Shaker Heights High School
Solon High School
Thomas W. Harvey High School
Wadsworth High School
Walsh Jesuit High School
Willoughby South High School

Applications for participation were made available to public and private high schools located in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit Counties.

The Playhouse Square Dazzle Awards program presented by Patricia and John Chapman is affiliated with the National High School Musical Theatre Awards ("The Jimmy Awards") presented by The Broadway League Foundation. This regional program offers arts education opportunities throughout the school year and culminates with the Dazzle Awards showcase on May 18, 2019. Awards are presented to outstanding musical theater productions and students in 14 categories, including Best Musical, Best Actor/Actress, Best Student Orchestra, Best Costume Design and Best Scenic Design. Nominations and awards are based on the evaluations of an independent panel of adjudicators.

The winners of the Best Actor and Actress categories represent Cleveland at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in June 2019.

More information is available online at playhousesquare.org/dazzleawards.