It’s Time for School Musicals! School has been in session for a few months which means budding young theatre kids have been hard at work on their school musicals. Starlight’s Blue Star Awards program has been recognizing achievement in high school musical theatre since 2003. All high schools within a 60-mile radius of Starlight are … Continued
Tag: Blue Star Awards
Keep up with the latest from Starlight including details about Broadway shows, new programs, history, and more.
Congratulations to the 2024 Blue Star Award Winners Starlight is pleased to share the 2023-24 Blue Star Awards winners, who were just announced in a red-carpet ceremony at Starlight Theatre Thursday, May 16. Thirty five winners took home the top prizes in 30 categories, and $10,000 in scholarships were awarded to deserving high school students. … Continued
Starlight’s own Blue Star Award winners, Maddox Bane and Georgia Barge, made their Broadway debut at the Minskoff Theatre stage on Monday, June 27, in the 2022 Jimmy Awards. Bane and Barge won the 2021-22 Blue Star Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role and Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role, respectively, earning them … Continued
Each year, thousands of high school students across the Kansas City metro celebrate their accomplishments at the annual Blue Star Awards Ceremony. This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Blue Star Awards, and 49 schools and more than 3,700 metro area students participated. For those that may be unfamiliar, Starlight launched the Blue Star … Continued
Last year’s Blue Star Awards celebrated more than 90 students involved in musical theatre from area high schools in our community, and local Olathe East graduate Justin Cooley took home the award for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role. His win led him to the Jimmy Awards, presented in New York by the Broadway League … Continued
Each year, thousands of high school students across the Kansas City metro wait in anticipation for the announcement of the annual Blue Star Awards nominations. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, Starlight leadership, staff, and board members returned to in-person presentations to reveal this year’s nominations on Thursday, April 28. This year is the … Continued
The 12th annual JIMMY AWARDS® was presented by the Broadway League Foundation virtually on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Competing in this national awards ceremony recognizing the best of high school musical talent were Justin Cooley and Ava Wolesky, Starlight’s Blue Star Awards winners for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role and Outstanding Actress in a … Continued
It’s time for the 2021 Jimmy Awards! This year, two winners from Starlight’s Blue Star Awards will represent the Kansas City region and compete nationally in the 12th annual Jimmy Awards. These exceptional performers are Justin Cooley from Olathe East High School, Starlight’s Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role, and Ava Wolesky from Liberty North … Continued
As a Corporate Charitable Partner, CommunityAmerica Credit Union has generously supported Starlight’s Blue Star Awards Program for the past two years, and countless other charitable organizations. We recently sat down with Kathryn Harvel, Executive Director of the CommunityAmerica Foundation, to discuss their philanthropic approach. How would you describe the values that guide CommunityAmerica Credit … Continued
For our first public, in-person event in over a year, Starlight hosted the 19th Annual Blue Star Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 20th - and what a comeback it was! During the free event, which was made possible through the generous support of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and CommunityAmerica Credit Union, … Continued
Starlight recently welcomed area high school students back into the theatre for the first time since 2019 for the 19th annual Blue Star Awards Ceremony. The much anticipated event was a year of many firsts. Starlight granted more than $10,000 in scholarships - the most ever awarded in the program - and introduced a new … Continued
On this week’s episode, Starlight invites you to the 2021 Blue Star Awards ceremony, the best-selling novel The Vanishing Half and Tony Award-winning play Oslo both head to HBO, and STEPS, a new musical animated comedy goes to Netflix. Blue Star Awards Ceremony
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact schools and students alike, young theatre artists throughout Kansas City prove their adaptability and creativity on and off the stage. On Thursday, April 22, Starlight was proud to reveal the much-anticipated nominations for the 19th annual Blue Star Awards, honoring the hard work of area high school students. … Continued
Thanks to our generous donors and corporate partners, thousands of Kansas City residents are impacted by Starlight’s community engagement programs each year. One of our longest partnerships is with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC), who have helped Starlight advance its mission in many capacities over the past several decades – … Continued
With the new school year well under way, Starlight’s community engagement team is hard at work on the 2020-21 Blue Star Awards. While this year will be very different from years past, Starlight is thrilled to continue to celebrate the success and talent of Kansas City metro high school theatre students. With covid-related changes and … Continued
On this week’s episode, the Black Theatre Coalition is officially formed, Starlight premieres its first-ever virtual Blue Star Awards ceremony, and Netflix plans to adapt a musical podcast to film. Black Theatre Coalition Aims to Create Employment Opportunities for Black Professionals
In it’s first-ever virtual Blue Star Awards ceremony, Starlight announced the winners of the 2019-20 Blue Star Awards on Friday, July 31. The online evening featured a number of guest presenters, interviews with students and teachers, and pre-recorded performances by nominees for Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Lead Role. In another “first,” Starlight debuted … Continued
This year’s first-ever virtual Blue Star Awards ceremony also led to Starlight staff creating the first-ever digital Blue Star Awards ceremony souvenir program. While we put it together—we thought, why not dig up the ceremony programs from years past and post them online? Blue Star Awards student alumni, teachers, parents and more can explore and … Continued
Idris Goodwin Releases 5 Free Plays, Six The Musical at the Drive-In and Blue Star Awards Go Virtual
On this week’s episode, Idris Goodwin releases 5 free plays, Six the musical announces a brand-new production concept, and Starlight’s Blue Star Awards go virtual - in fact, this week we’re bringing you the show from the Blue Star Awards set. Idris Goodwin Offers ‘Free Play’ for Kids to Act Out Anti-Racism
Our final Starlight Senior in the spotlight has been active in theatre at Shawnee Mission South throughout her high school years. She shared her passion for performing and creativity as a member of Starlight’s Blue Star Awards Student Council. ALEXA MORGAN New Graduate, Shawnee Mission South High School Blue Star Awards Student Council, 2019-20 … Continued
For the first time in the program’s 18-year history, the Blue Star Awards ceremony will become a virtual event and premiere live on Starlight’s Facebook page Friday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. Although Starlight had previously postponed the ceremony in hopes of holding an in-person event in July, leadership and staff have since determined that … Continued
In its first-ever virtual announcement, Starlight revealed the nominations for the 18th annual Blue Star Awards in a live broadcast on Facebook Thursday, May 21. Fifty-three of 54 schools were able to stage their 2019-20 Blue Star Awards musicals throughout the past school year, leading to 179 nominations in 23 categories. Hundreds of Blue Star … Continued
On this week’s episode, a Kansas City family defies gravity, Starlight is set to announce the Blue Star Awards nominations, and Hamilton will stream live this summer. 'Everyone deserves a chance to fly': Family puts on sky-high performances of 'Wicked' for neighbors
Although the coronavirus pandemic cut the spring semester short for many high school students, it did not negate the months of hard work spent preparing for and staging their high school musical theatre performances last fall and winter. Starlight will publicly recognize many outstanding Kansas City area students and schools when its community engagement team … Continued
In this week’s installment of Starlight Seniors, we shine the spotlight on a second member of our Blue Star Awards Student Council. Recently sporting purple hair for her lead role in Disney’s Descendants, this senior shines in the theatre department of Leavenworth High School. HALEY BELL Senior, Leavenworth High School Member, Starlight Blue Star Awards Student … Continued
In an effort to keep everyone safe in light of circumstances surrounding COVID-19, Starlight staff and leadership have made the decision to postpone Starlight’s Blue Star Awards Ceremony to Friday, July 31, 2020. Starlight recognizes the need, now more than ever, to celebrate the hard work and dedication that so many metro high school theatre students put into … Continued
Starlight is broadening its Blue Star Awards by adding new, noncompetitive aspects to the program in 2020, the first of which will be presented Monday, Feb. 10. Tony Award® nominated actress Laura Osnes headlines the evening event, “A Conversation with Laura Osnes,” and she’ll be joined by a panel of Kansas City theatre professionals. Presented … Continued
School is back in session, and high school theatre students are already hard at work rehearsing their 2019-20 musicals. Registration closed Sept. 16, for the 2019-20 Blue Star Awards, and Starlight is proud to announce that 53 metro area high schools have applied to participate in this season’s awards program. Now in its 18th year, … Continued
On this week’s episode, Carolee Carmello makes her Hello, Dolly! premiere in Kansas City, Love Actually Parody coming to Off-Broadway, a film version of Merrily We Roll Along is in the works and, Starlight Theatre offers college prep workshops to Blue Star Awards students. See Who’s Joining Carolee Carmello in the New Company of Hello, Dolly! Tour Dolly will be back where she … Continued
On this week’s episode, registration is open for the 2019-20 Blue Star Awards, Forbidden Broadway is back, Broadway stars celebrate Emmy Award nominations, and a Blue Star Alum hits the road in Mean Girls. Forbidden Broadway Will Return to New York This Fall Forbidden Broadway, the long-running musical spoof, returns to New York City this fall to … Continued