Paper Mill Playhouse Announces 2023 Rising Star Award Nominations

MILLBURN, NJ – As one of the nation’s leading theaters and recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stotts-Executive Director) has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows to Broadway. Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey.  Among the early nominees and winners are Academy Award   winner Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy)and Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Tony nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), Jelani Remy (Lion King, Ain’t Too Proud), Shanice Williams, star of NBC’s The Wiz Live! And Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner (The Book of Mormon).

The 2023 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards presented by Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation ceremony will take place at Paper Mill Playhouse on Tuesday, June 13, at 7:30pm, featuring presenters from both Broadway and beyond. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Paper Mill’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Among the top nominated high schools, Columbia High School (Essex County) has 13 nominations, Delaware Valley Regional High School (Hunterdon County) earned 12 nominations, Haddonfield Memorial High School (Camden County) received 10 nominations, Summit High School (Union County) has 9 nominations, Moorestown High School (Burlington County) earned 8 nominations, and Ridge High School (Essex County) was awarded 7 nominations. These totals do not account for Student Achievement and Auxiliary Award nominations.

“The talent we see in New Jersey High Schools is outstanding. This year was more competitive than ever.” commented Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill Playhouse’s Producing Artistic Director. “A record 115 New Jersey high schools participated in this year’s Rising Star Awards and each of them are doing such excellent work. When a school is nominated for a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star award it is a true testament of the hard work they put into their high school musical. I congratulate them all.”

Past Rising Star nominees and recipients appeared on Broadway in She Loves Me (Laura Benanti), Mrs. Doubtfire (Rob McClure), Aladdin (Josh Dela Cruz, Jonathan Schwartz, Kathryn Allison), Les Misérables (Nikki M. James), Disney’s The Lion King (Jelani Remy), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Julia Knitel), Jersey Boys (Russell Fisher), The Phantom of the Opera (Julia Udine), London’s West End production of The Book of Mormon (Jared Gertner); the Public Theater’s Grounded (Anne Hathaway). Shanice Williams, star of NBC’s The Wiz Live was nominated for a Rising Star Award in 2014.

Paper Mill Director of Education Lisa Cooney explains, “What’s happening in high school musical productions here in New Jersey and around the country is remarkable. Programs like the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards raise the bar and create opportunities for student performers and theater technicians to be recognized for their achievements, while giving them access to thousands of dollars in scholarships and professional training. We consistently hear from top-tier colleges and casting directors that a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award is a significant accolade for an aspiring theater artist.”

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation are modeled after the Tony Awards, and Paper Mill Playhouse’s program serves the entire state of New Jersey, with 115 entered productions from public, private and parochial high schools. Paper Mill Playhouse conceived and created the awards in 1996 to give schools the opportunity to showcase their musical arts programs on a statewide level. The musicals are adjudicated by Paper Mill Playhouse throughout the spring by a group of 70 evaluators, with each school receiving three independent evaluations.  Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical and Leading Actor/Actress nominees perform at the event, and award recipients are presented with an engraved crystal award from Tiffany & Co.

Paper Mill Playhouse also awards $7,000 in scholarships at the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation.  Seven $1,000 cash scholarships are given to outstanding individual students who plan to continue studying theater performance or technical theater in college. Paper Mill Playhouse is pleased to award a prize of $500 to a school receiving the 2023 Educational Impact Award, which acknowledges a school that successfully connects the musical to the district’s curriculum, using the production as a teaching tool for the greater student body and local community.  Through the Rising Star “Theatre for Everyone” Inclusion and Access Award and a partnership with The Cultural Access Network of New Jersey, a project of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Paper Mill Playhouse will present a cash award of $1,000 to a school to recognize excellence in the promotion and practice of creative inclusion of students and adults with disabilities as performers, designers, musicians and production staff. Additionally, this award seeks to recognize and reward a school that takes steps to ensure their performances are accessible to audiences with disabilities.

Lastly, students receiving final nominations in the lead and supporting acting categories receive a scholarship to Paper Mill Playhouse’s competitive Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, a professional training program, which, along with advanced classes in singing, acting and dance, offers the nominees an opportunity to perform in the season finale concert, “New Voices of 2023: We will Rock You” on July 28 & 29 on the main stage at Paper Mill Playhouse.  Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at PaperMill.org or calling the box office at 973-376-4343.

Rising Star Awards – Presented by the Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation are supported by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation. The Hearst Foundations are Paper Mill’s Education & Outreach Partner.

Rising Star scholarships are made possible by Ruth Bedford in memory of Jane Burgio, Walt Santner in honor of Janet Sovey, in memory of late father and husband James K. Mosser and the Douglas Michael Krueger Scholarship Fund Trust.

The Theater for Everyone Inclusion and Access Award is supported by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

The Rising Star Awards are made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards are part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2023 Stages Festival, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; Fund for the New Jersey Blind; New Jersey Manufacturers; and Customers Bank. www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages