Winners of 2016 Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors Announced

A panel of nationally recognized judges, include casting director Michael Donovan; producer, director and choreographer Andy Ferrara; and actress Wendy Rosoff, announced the 2016 winners of The Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors held at San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, May 23. Sponsored by Children's Musical Theater San Jose and Broadway San Jose, a Nederlander Presentation, this yearly regional awards competition recognizes outstanding achievement in high school musical theatre in the greater California region.

This year's nominated schools included:
Archbishop Mitty High School - San Jose, CA
Coalinga High School - Coalinga, CA
Franklin High School - Elk Grove, CA
Frontier High School - Bakersfield, CA
The Harker School - San Jose, CA
Marin School for the Arts - Novato, CA
St. Francis High School - Mountain View, CA
San Mateo High School - San Mateo, CA
Valley Christian High School - San Jose, CA

This year's winners are:
OVERALL PRODUCTION:
Into the Woods - Franklin High School, Elk Grove, CA

FAN FAVORITE:
Little Women - Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, CA

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR:
Frank Demma as Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady - Marin School for the Arts, Novato, CA

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS:
Samantha Gorjanc as Jo March in Little Women - Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, CA

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Chayce Perlis as Dennis in All Shook Up - Frontier High School, Bakersfield, CA

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Sophia Rodriguez as Madame De La Boucher in Beauty and the Beast - Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, CA

Frank Demma (Outstanding Lead Actor) and Samantha Gorjanc (Outstanding Lead Actress) will now join regional winners from around the nation at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) - also known as the Jimmy Awards - in New York City, where they will perform on Monday, June 27 on Broadway's Minskoff Theatre stage before industry experts and compete for scholarship opportunities to New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. During this one-of-a-kind event, a panel of judges will choose two students for the coveted awards of 'Best Performance by an Actor' and 'Best Performance by an Actress.'

The 2016 National High School Musical Theatre Awards will debut new formatting for the program in order to accommodate more regional awards programs and provide opportunities for more students to experience Broadway and New York City. This year there will be 64 students representing 32 programs, compared to last year's 52 students representing 26 programs. The program will now take place over ten days.

The students will audition before a panel of judges early in the week, singing two prepared songs and participating in a dance call. Based on the audition results, the students will then be split into two tracks: The Medley Group and The Production Group, leading up to when all students will perform together in the opening and closing numbers on the Minskoff stage on Monday, June 27. The groups will continue to work together throughout the week and receive the same amount of coaching.

Photo by Curtis Finger

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