Two Davidson County high school students, Lilla Galgoczy-Toler of Nashville School of the Arts and Trenton McCrary of John Overton High School, took home Outstanding Lead Actress and Actor honors at the 2019 Spotlight Awards. The duo will travel to New York to compete nationally in The Jimmy Awards® (JimmyAwards.com) on June 24.

The Nashville High School Musical Theatre Awards, or Spotlight Awards, were created by Mike Fernandez, Dean of Lipscomb University’s George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts, to recognize excellence in local high school theatre. Now, presented in partnership with Tennessee Performing Arts Center, the program evaluated musical productions from 28 Tennessee high schools.

Hosted by American Idol alum Piper Jones in TPAC’s Jackson Hall, the Tony Awards-style ceremony on May 11 recognized individual and ensemble talent in 27 categories after students participated in all-day workshops on the Lipscomb campus.

Additional individual awards went to Madeleine Hall of Christ Presbyterian Academy for Outstanding Female Dancer, Josh Woods of McGavock High School for Outstanding Male Dancer, Georgia Leming of Independence High School for Outstanding Comedic Actress, Sam Anctil of Ravenwood High School for Outstanding Comedic Actor, Lauren Boozer of Chattanooga Christian School for Outstanding Dramatic Actress, Jack Roden of Chattanooga Christian School for Outstanding Dramatic Actor, Lily Soto of Hume-Fogg Academic High School for Outstanding Ensemble Actress, Christian Petersen of Father Ryan High School for Outstanding Ensemble Actor, Ava Locknar of Hume-Fogg Academic High School for Outstanding Female Soloist, Sevon Askew of Central Magnet High School for Outstanding Male Soloist, Kaitlyn Sumner of Franklin High School for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Michael Dinkins of Page High School for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

Mt. Juliet Christian Academy’s Guys and Dolls takes home three school awards, including Outstanding Musical

Mt. Juliet Christian Academy won three school awards including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Costume Design for their production of Guys and Dolls. Hillsboro High School also won three awards for Outstanding Design Concept, Outstanding Hair and Makeup Design and Outstanding Scenic Design for their production of Rock of Ages: High School Edition. Additional honors went to Franklin High School’s Bring It On The Musical (Outstanding Direction), Independence High School’s Bring It On The Musical (Outstanding Ensemble), Christ Presbyterian Academy’s Singin’ in the Rain (Outstanding Lighting Design, Outstanding Technical Elements), John Overton High School’s Bonnie & Clyde (Outstanding Music Direction), Hume-Fogg Academic High School’s Newsies (Outstanding Orchestra) and Siegel High School’s Beauty and the Beast (Outstanding Vocals).

Download full results and photos of the Outstanding Lead Actress/Actor honorees.

The 28 Tennessee high schools participating in the program include (Davidson) Christ Presbyterian Academy, Davidson Academy, Father Ryan High School, Goodpasture High School, Hillsboro High School, Hume-Fogg Academic High School, Lipscomb Academy, McGavock High School, Nashville School of the Arts, John Overton High School; (Hamilton) Chattanooga Christian School; (Knox) Grace Christian Academy; (Maury) Columbia Academy, Mt. Pleasant High School; (Putnam) Monterey High School, Upperman High School; (Rutherford) Central Magnet School, Siegel High School; (Sumner) Hendersonville High School, Station Camp High School; (Williamson) Battle Ground Academy, Brentwood High School, Franklin High School, Independence High School, Page High School, Ravenwood High School; and (Wilson) Lebanon High School, Mt. Juliet Christian Academy.

Lipscomb University’s George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts is the fastest-growing college in the university, with a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees. The mission of the college is to be a Christ-centered, innovative, entrepreneurial arts community committed to rigorous artistic training, creative collaboration and professional growth that seeks to train the next generation of believer artists who seek to uplift, challenge and entertain. For more information, visit cea.lipscomb.edu.

Institutional sponsors for TPAC include Nissan North America and Coca-Cola. TPAC is funded in part by support from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission.