New Jersey’s theater community has long operated as one of the most dynamic and artistically ambitious performing arts ecosystems in the country, but every spring, one event reminds audiences just how deep that talent pipeline truly runs. The announcement of the 2026 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards nominees once again places a statewide spotlight on the remarkable creativity, discipline, collaboration, and theatrical excellence emerging from New Jersey high school stages, orchestra pits, costume shops, rehearsal rooms, and performing arts classrooms.
Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards recognizes the artistry, dedication, and collaboration that bring New Jersey’s high school musical productions to life!
MORE THAN 100 PERFORMANCES Participated IN 2026 ADJUDICATION
This year, 114 New Jersey high schools across 19 counties participated in full adjudication of their productions from February to April, 2026. These performances were attended by a team of 55 passionate and skilled adjudicators specializing in music, dance, design, education, and more. Each production receives in-depth feedback and insights to support the continued development of all theatrical disciplines within the school’s community. Participating educators across the state can use this feedback to continue developing professional skills and pedagogical techniques from year to year.
Learn more about the participating schools and their productions: Participating Schools List and Participating Schools Map
AND THE NOMINEES ARE…
More than 25 adjudicators engaged in a rigorous in-person review process to identify particularly exceptional artists for award nomination. Additional committees reviewed Spotlight Award submissions and scholarship applications. Paper Mill Playhouse Education & Artistic staff abstain from participation in adjudication and voting.
A total of 40 schools across the state received nominations within adjudicated performance categories this year. The nominees were announced on Monday, May 11 on Paper Mill’s YouTube Channel.
Below you will find the full list of nominees for the 2026 Rising Star Awards
Design
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Nominees
- Mary Hill — Ewing High School, In the Heights
- Paul Canada — Gill St. Bernards, Dracula
- Addyson Pineda, Jayla Wright, Anneliese Wilson, and Colette Jackson-Belle — High Tech High School, Catch Me if You Can
- Linda & Blake Spence — Madison High School, Alice by Heart
- Janet van Allen & Christie Hall — Piscataway High School, Urinetown
- Maggie Clark — Shawnee High School, Newsies
Honorable Mentions
- Noemi Merenyi & Angela Leone — Camden Catholic High School, The Addams Family
- Madison Hasset, Violet Harris, and Olivia Huszar — Howell High School, Chicago
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN HAIR AND MAKE-UP DESIGN
Nominees
- Lee Amorrosso — Gill St. Bernards, Dracula
- Julianna Caputo — Piscataway High School, Urinetown
- Nancy Gaidos — North Hunterdon High School, Shrek the Musical
- Bonnie Grube — Ridge High School, Mary Poppins
- Derek Alfano and Derek Bedell — Saint Joseph Regional High School, Pippin
- The Cast of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School — Guys and Dolls
Honorable Mentions
- Sabina Albirt — Northern Valley Regional High School Demarest, Fiddler on the Roof
- Shawanna Whidbee and Leslie Fiorellini — Passaic County Technical Institute, Mean Girls
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN LIGHTING DESIGN
Nominees
- Eric Baker — Cedar Creek High School, 9 to 5
- Clinton B. Ambs — Delaware Valley Regional High School, The SpongeBob Musical
- Brian Sosa & Nelson Lopez — Jose Marti STEM Academy, Side Show
- Cameron Filepas & Daania Fakhar — Madison High School, Alice by Heart
- Alan Van Antwerp — The Pingry School, Cabaret
- Ashley Kok — Saddle River Day School, Footloose
Honorable Mentions
- Chloe Ditloff — Ewing High School, In the Heights
- Shawanna Whidbee & Leslie Fiorellini — Passaic County Technical Institute, Mean Girls
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SCENIC DESIGN
Nominees
- Sarah Nasson — Bridgewater-Raritan High School, Little Shop of Horrors
- Teresa Carr — Delaware Valley Regional High School, The SpongeBob Musical
- Anthony Freitas — Jose Marti STEM Academy, Side Show
- Anthony Freitas — Madison High School, Alice by Heart
- Matt Nickles — Piscataway High School, Urinetown
- Jason M. Stewart — Ridge High School, Mary Poppins
Honorable Mentions
- Mary Boner & Michael Charboneau — Cedar Creek High School, 9 to 5
- McAfee Madden & Kyle Binkley — Ewing High School, In the Heights
Creative
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY
Nominees
- Heather Fleischman — Delaware Valley Regional High School, The SpongeBob Musical
- Noelle Martone — Ewing High School, In the Heights
- Brittany Cohen — Howell High School, Chicago
- Jennifer Ackermann — Passaic County Technical Institute, Mean Girls
- Cecilia Mitchell — Tenafly High School, A Chorus Line
- Denise Kulhan — Wallkill Valley Regional High School, Shrek the Musical
Honorable Mentions
- Melissa Calicchio — Colonia High School, The SpongeBob Musical
- Meghan Stapenski — High Tech High School, Catch Me if You Can
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC DIRECTION
Nominees
- Sarah Jordan — Madison High School, Alice by Heart
- Mary Kenny — OCVTS Grunin Performing Arts, Mamma Mia
- Emily Fencik — Saint Peter’s Preparatory School, Pippin
- Robert Geyer — Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, Guys and Dolls
- Alex Bochino — Summit High School, Big Fish
- Christine Molnar — Wallkill Valley Regional High School, Shrek the Musical
Honorable Mentions
- Andrew Chojnacki — Delaware Valley Regional High School, The SpongeBob Musical
- Susan Connors — Howell High School, Chicago
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION
Nominees
- Angela Leone — Camden Catholic High School, The Addams Family
- Stefanie Grossman — Delaware Valley Regional High School, The SpongeBob Musical
- Alexander Minter — Ewing High School, In the Heights
- Ariane Ryan — Jose Marti STEM Academy, Side Show
- Blake Spence — Madison High School, Alice by Heart
- Melissa Silva — Passaic County Technical Institute, Mean Girls
Honorable Mentions
- Jodi Capeless — Immaculate Heart Academy, High School Musical
- Christine Molnar — Wallkill Valley Regional High School, Shrek the Musical
ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET: JUNE 9, 2026
Now celebrating its 31st year, the Rising Star Awards have evolved far beyond a standard educational arts competition. Modeled after Broadway’s Tony Awards and produced by the Tony Award-winning Paper Mill Playhouse, the program has become one of the nation’s most respected high school musical theater recognition systems and a defining cultural institution within New Jersey’s performing arts landscape. For thousands of students, educators, musicians, choreographers, technicians, directors, designers, and theater families across the state, the Rising Star Awards represent the pinnacle of high school theatrical achievement.
What makes the program especially significant is its scale, professionalism, and statewide impact. During the 2026 adjudication season, an expansive network of 55 theater professionals evaluated productions at 114 high schools spanning 19 New Jersey counties. These adjudicators — specialists in acting, directing, music, choreography, education, lighting, scenic design, costuming, sound, and technical theater — attended spring productions from February through April, providing not only awards consideration but also extensive educational feedback designed to strengthen programs long after the curtain closes.
The result is something uniquely powerful within American arts education: a statewide theatrical ecosystem where students are exposed to professional-caliber evaluation standards while simultaneously participating in one of the country’s most artistically competitive youth theater environments.
In many ways, the Rising Star Awards have become one of the clearest reflections of New Jersey’s identity as a premier arts state.
For decades, New Jersey has maintained an unusually rich theatrical culture fueled by regional playhouses, performing arts centers, conservatories, Broadway proximity, university programs, independent theater companies, and deeply committed school arts departments. That infrastructure has consistently produced professional performers, directors, musicians, playwrights, technicians, and creative leaders who go on to influence the national entertainment industry. The Rising Star Awards sit directly at the center of that pipeline.
The 2026 nominations further reinforce just how advanced the level of high school theater has become throughout the state. Productions now frequently rival professional regional theater in terms of choreography, vocal execution, scenic design, orchestration, lighting sophistication, and overall artistic ambition. The breadth of this year’s nominated productions reflects an astonishing range of storytelling styles and production complexity, spanning emotionally intimate contemporary musicals, large-scale Broadway classics, technically demanding ensemble pieces, and socially resonant modern works.
Among the nominees for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical, six schools emerged as the year’s top contenders for the program’s highest honor: Delaware Valley Regional High School for The SpongeBob Musical, Ewing High School for In the Heights, Jose Marti STEM Academy for Side Show, Madison High School for Alice by Heart, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School for Guys and Dolls, and Wallkill Valley Regional High School for Shrek the Musical.
Taken together, those productions alone reveal the extraordinary artistic diversity currently thriving within New Jersey’s educational theater programs.
Ewing High School’s acclaimed production of In the Heights represents the growing embrace of culturally expansive contemporary musical theater capable of blending Latin music traditions, urban storytelling, dance-intensive choreography, and emotionally layered ensemble work. Madison High School’s Alice by Heart reflects a more abstract and emotionally conceptual theatrical approach, requiring immense technical coordination, atmospheric design, and emotionally nuanced performances. Jose Marti STEM Academy’s Side Show demanded both vocal complexity and psychologically sophisticated character work, while Delaware Valley Regional High School’s The SpongeBob Musical showcased the modern evolution of spectacle-driven family musical theater requiring large-scale technical coordination and physically demanding ensemble energy.
Meanwhile, productions like Guys and Dolls and Shrek the Musical demonstrate how schools continue revitalizing both classic Broadway structures and contemporary family theater through highly ambitious reinterpretations.
Importantly, the Rising Star Awards recognize far more than lead performers alone. One of the program’s greatest strengths remains its comprehensive acknowledgment of the collaborative nature of theater itself. Awards span virtually every discipline involved in production creation, including scenic design, costume design, choreography, music direction, student orchestras, lighting, sound, chorus performance, technical achievement, ensemble acting, and educational impact.
That broader recognition matters profoundly because theater, unlike many arts disciplines, is fundamentally collaborative at every level.
The nomination categories themselves reveal the extraordinary complexity involved in producing modern high school musicals. Scenic designers are constructing elaborate worlds capable of transforming gymnasiums and auditoriums into immersive theatrical environments. Student orchestras are performing sophisticated Broadway orchestrations requiring advanced musical precision. Lighting designers are creating emotionally dynamic visual atmospheres using increasingly professional-grade equipment and programming techniques. Choreographers are staging movement sequences rivaling collegiate and regional productions in both scale and complexity.
The depth of artistry visible throughout the 2026 nominee list reflects how seriously New Jersey schools continue investing in arts education despite broader national pressures facing educational arts funding.
For many students, participation in theater programs provides not only artistic training but also leadership development, emotional confidence, collaboration skills, public speaking ability, technical proficiency, discipline, and community belonging. The Rising Star Awards elevate those contributions publicly, reinforcing the idea that arts education remains an essential component of holistic student development rather than a peripheral extracurricular activity.
The educational impact categories included within the program further reinforce that philosophy. Awards recognizing inclusion, accessibility, educational excellence, and student achievement demonstrate that the Rising Star Awards value theater not only as performance but also as community-building and educational transformation.
The “Theater for Everyone” Inclusion and Access Award nominees — including Jonathan Dayton High School, Moorestown High School, Morristown High School, and New Jersey United Christian Academy — highlight the growing emphasis on ensuring theater participation opportunities remain accessible to broad student populations regardless of background or experience level.
Similarly, the Educational Impact Award acknowledges productions that transcend entertainment alone and create meaningful artistic, social, or educational engagement within their school communities.
The statewide geographic diversity represented throughout the nominee pool also speaks volumes about New Jersey’s unusually strong theatrical infrastructure. Schools from urban districts, suburban communities, regional high schools, technical institutes, magnet academies, private schools, and performing arts programs all appear prominently throughout the nominations. From Monmouth County and Morris County to Passaic, Union, Middlesex, Gloucester, Atlantic, Hunterdon, Bergen, and beyond, high-level theatrical work is happening across nearly every corner of the state.
That statewide reach makes the Rising Star Awards culturally significant far beyond the awards ceremony itself.
For many local communities, high school musicals function as major annual cultural events that unite families, alumni, educators, local businesses, and regional arts supporters. Entire communities rally around productions, creating intergenerational support systems that strengthen local arts culture while introducing younger audiences to live theater traditions.
In a broader entertainment landscape increasingly dominated by streaming media, digital distraction, and fragmented viewing habits, live student theater continues offering something uniquely irreplaceable: collective in-person storytelling created entirely through human performance, technical craftsmanship, and collaborative effort.
The Rising Star Awards gala itself has evolved into one of New Jersey’s premier youth arts events. Scheduled for June 9, 2026 at Paper Mill Playhouse, the professionally produced ceremony combines live performances, award presentations, nominee showcases, and statewide recognition into an evening that mirrors the structure and excitement of Broadway’s Tony Awards while maintaining the emotional energy unique to student achievement.
Nominees in major acting and production categories will perform live selections on the Paper Mill Playhouse stage, giving students the opportunity to showcase their work within one of the region’s most prestigious theatrical institutions. The live-streamed format further expands the event’s visibility statewide, allowing families, schools, alumni, and arts supporters throughout New Jersey to participate in the celebration regardless of physical attendance.
The significance of Paper Mill Playhouse itself cannot be understated within this ecosystem. As one of the country’s most respected regional theaters and a Tony Award-winning institution, Paper Mill has long served as a major artistic anchor within New Jersey’s theater community. Its commitment to educational outreach, emerging talent development, and statewide arts support continues strengthening New Jersey’s national reputation as a serious performing arts state.
Many Rising Star alumni have gone on to successful careers in Broadway productions, television, film, music, choreography, directing, arts administration, and entertainment education. Yet even for students who never pursue professional theater careers, participation in these productions often becomes one of the defining developmental experiences of their lives.
That emotional and educational impact helps explain why the Rising Star Awards continue resonating so deeply after more than three decades.
The 2026 nominees also reflect another important shift occurring within youth theater nationally: the increasing artistic sophistication and emotional intelligence of modern high school productions. Students today are tackling more challenging material, more diverse narratives, more technically complex staging, and more emotionally nuanced performances than perhaps any previous generation of school theater participants.
Productions like Cabaret, Suffs, Side Show, Urinetown, In the Heights, and Alice by Heart require mature thematic understanding, advanced vocal execution, and emotionally layered acting that would have been exceptionally rare at the high school level decades ago.
That evolution speaks not only to student talent but also to the extraordinary educators guiding these programs. Directors, music directors, choreographers, technical mentors, costume supervisors, orchestra leaders, and theater educators throughout New Jersey continue building programs that rival collegiate-level arts environments in both ambition and professionalism.
For Explore New Jersey readers following the state’s cultural landscape, the Rising Star Awards remain one of the clearest reminders that New Jersey’s future artistic leadership is already emerging on high school stages throughout the state.
Long before these students step onto Broadway stages, professional film sets, national tours, recording studios, university conservatories, or major arts institutions, many are already producing work of remarkable sophistication inside school auditoriums across the Garden State.
As the June 9 ceremony approaches, the 2026 Rising Star Awards once again reinforce something that New Jersey theater audiences have understood for generations: some of the most exciting, ambitious, emotionally powerful, and creatively fearless performances happening anywhere in the state are not always occurring under professional marquees alone. They are unfolding inside high school theaters where the next generation of performers, musicians, designers, directors, and storytellers are already shaping the future of American theater in real time.
We are looking forward to honoring the accomplishments of all 2026 Rising Star Awards participants at the awards ceremony at Paper Mill Playhouse on June 9th, 2026 at 7:30pm. This exciting evening will feature performances from a selection of nominees, as well as the announcement of this year’s award winners.
Tickets will be available to the general public for purchase on May 29th. If you are unable to attend in person but would still like to be a part of this special event, stay tuned for livestream details. We hope to see you there!
