WFAA To Broadcast DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards on July 28th!

Posted on July 23rd, 2012

WFAA-TV TO BROADCAST DALLAS SUMMER MUSICALS HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATER AWARDS SPECIAL ON JULY 28

1-Hour Local Program Features Performances From Among the
30 Participating North Texas High School Theater Arts Programs

Thursday, July 19, 2012…Dallas, Texas…The judges made their decisions, and the results are in! Now it is time to relive an evening of awards from some of Texas’ most talented theater arts students.

On May 5, the Music Hall at Fair Park hosted a star-studded extravaganza for actors, actresses, costume designers, staging, crew and orchestra members, and others from the many high schools competing for scholarships and top honors in the inaugural Dallas Summer Musicals’ High School Musical Theater Awards. For the talented Texas high school theater students that participated, as well as their teachers, friends and families, it was an evening they may never forget.

Structured in similar fashion to Broadway’s famed Tony Awards, show business veterans and community celebrities came together to spotlight the achievements of high school students and their school’s musical theatre programs. WFAA cameras were there to capture the evening, and spotlight performances from many of the nominated high schools.

On Saturday, July 28, at 2 p.m. WFAA will broadcast a 1-hour special hosted by News 8 anchor Shon Gables who served as the evening’s emcee. The program also features appearances by community supporters and guest presenters including former Olympic gymnast and stage legend, Cathy Rigby.

“The high school performers and support personnel who work on these productions are dedicated and talented, and deserve tremendous recognition for their work,” said Mike Devlin, president and general manager of WFAA.

“We are pleased to provide this opportunity to share their creative efforts with the community in the form of a local television special,” said Devlin, who served as one of the evening’s awards presenters.

Throughout the year, three judges visited each school and judged the performers in 15 categories.  Each school’s performance was evaluated by a panel of judges who are all working professionals in the areas of entertainment, arts and theatre education, arts administration, talent management and production design. The accounting firm of Grant-Thornton tabulated ballots. The top scoring schools in each category were nominated as finalists.

“This television broadcast will be an opportunity for everyone across our community to relive and share the excitement that students and adults alike experienced at the Music Hall on awards night,” said Tracy Jordan, executive director of the Dallas Summer Musicals’ High School Musical Theatre Awards. “There’s no doubt that many of these extraordinarily talented student performers accepting awards on the DSM stage today will be our stars of tomorrow!”

The WFAA broadcast spotlights songs from musicals including some of Broadway’s best-loved productions such as “Hairspray,” “Anything Goes,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Crazy for You,” “Cinderella,” “The 25th Annual PutnamCountySpelling Bee” and more, all performed by North Texas high school theater arts students from Aledo to Waxahachie and other schools in-between.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0hrOW79sJs]

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WFAA is part of Belo Corp. (BLC), one of the nation’s largest pure-play, publicly-traded television companies, that owns and operates 20 television stations (nine in the top 25 markets) and their associated Web sites.  Belo stations, which include affiliations with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and the CW, reach more than 14 percent of U.S. television households in 15 highly-attractive markets.  Belo stations rank first or second in nearly all of their local markets.  Additional information is available at www.belo.com or by contacting Dave Muscari, WFAA vice president/product development at 214-977-6490.