Desoto County News

Hailey Brown among Orpheum High School Theatre Award winners

Photo: Lead Actress Award recipient Hailey Brown of Northpoint Christian School (center). (Photo credit: Carla McDonald)

On Thursday, May 23, the Orpheum Theatre Group announced the award recipients of the 15th annual Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards.

Students from 50 participating schools across three states gathered on the Orpheum stage to celebrate their peers’ on- and off-stage achievements in musical theatre. The evening was a culmination of a year-long program bringing students from all over the Mid-South together for an intensive week of team building, collaboration, and celebration of musical theatre. This year’s ceremony also included some new elements including members of the Memphis Youth Symphony Program participating in the orchestra pit and the creation of a new award which will annually honor a production for Outstanding Sound Design & Execution.

Award recipients for Lead Actor & Lead Actress – Aden Pettet (Collierville High School) and Hailey Brown (Northpoint Christian School) will represent the Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (The Jimmy Awards®) at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway on Monday, June 24.

The 15th annual Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards are sponsored in part by Coca-Cola Consolidated, Ticketmaster, Andy Dean Production Services, Production One, Sedgwick, and Memphis Dental Corporation.

The Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards is part of The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (the Jimmy Awards®) which includes 51 programs from across the country.

Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, the program invites two nominees from each of these competitions to New York City for a 10-day theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase on Broadway.

The 15th annual Jimmy Awards® will take place on Monday, June 24, at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway – the current home of Disney’s The Lion King.

Photo credit: Carla McDonald