On Monday, February 8 LA's Next Great Stage Star 2016 Presented by Princess Cruises came to an exciting conclusion on the mainstage of the NoHo Arts Center. After an amazing 90-minute program in which the 20 contestants gave 150% to their uptempo songs from Broadway shows, fifteen contestants were eliminated and the top five finalists selected during the first intermision. It was decided, like last year from the consensus of the judges, to add a sixth contestant. But when judges' votes were tabulated, there emerged a three-way tie between contestants James Padilla, Bethany Baderdeen and Edward Anderson. Each of these three presented a song and Edward Anderson was announced as the sixth finalist. Then each of the six proceeded to perform a second number after which the distinguished panel of 15 judges made the final decision during the second intermission. Musical director par excellence James Lent accompanied at the piano throughout the three hour show.
