McAllen Memorial High School

McAllen ISD led the way with the most nominations (39) of any school district in the Rio Grande Valley for this year’s Palm Awards.

In addition, McAllen High School had the most nominations of any school in the Valley with 21. McAllen High’s production of The Lion King Jr. led all musicals with 11 nominations. 

McAllen High, McAllen Memorial High and Nikki Rowe High have such strong programs that all three will be featured performers at The Palm Awards Ceremony in April.

Valley high schools were given the opportunity to enter one musical production and one play. There were 37 production entries from 12 different school districts. A panel of judges attended each production and developed the nominations which were announced in late February.

This is the third year for this event which was created to celebrate and recognize the great work of students in high school theatre productions.

“It is much like the Tony Awards for professional theatre but geared for high school students,” McAllen ISD Fine Arts Director Jim Egger explained. “Congratulations to all of these very talented McAllen ISD theatre and choir students and their hard-working teachers.”

The Palm Award Ceremony will be at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 26, at the McAllen Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at the McAllen Convention Center box office or through Ticketmaster.

In the photo, students from McAllen High perform in a scene from The Lion King Jr. which received 11 nominations from The Palm Awards. From left to right in front are Brendan Lopez, Diego Rodriguez and Aaron Reyes. In back is Brandy Canterbury.

Here is the rundown of the McAllen ISD productions:

Musicals

    McAllen High, The Lion King Jr. – 11 nominations

    Memorial High, Frozen Jr. – 3 nominations

    Rowe High, Into the Woods – 6 nominations

Plays

    McAllen High, The Language Archive – 10 nominations

    Memorial High, Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon – 4 nominations

    Rowe High, Peter and the Starcatcher – 5 nominations. 

Below is a list of the nominations for McAllen ISD:

McAllen High Musical The Lion King Jr. (11 nominations)

    Best Production of a Musical

    Best Leading Actor of a Musical – Diego Rodriguez

    Best Supporting Actress of a Musical – Bailey Ousley

    Best Supporting Actor of a Musical – Jared Hurtado

    Best Ensemble in a Musical

    Best Technical Crew of a Musical

    Best Scenic Design of a Musical

    Best Choreography of a Musical

    Best Sound Design of a Musical

    Best Lighting Design of a Musical

    Best Costume Design of a Musical

 

Memorial High Musical Frozen Jr. (3 nominations)

    Best Supporting Actor of a Musical – Gabriel Ramirez

    Best Featured Performer of a Musical – Andrea Tamez

    Best Choreography of a Musical

 

Rowe High Musical Into the Woods (6 nominations)

    Best Leading Actress of a Musical – Courtney Smith

    Best Featured Performer of a Musical – Oscar Humphrey

    Best Ensemble of a Musical

    Best Technical Crew of a Musical

    Best Scenic Design of a Musical

    Best Lighting Design of a Musical

 

McAllen High Play The Language Archive (10 nominations)

    Best Production of a Play

    Best Leading Actor of a Play – Jared Hurtado

    Best Supporting Actress of a Play – Alexa Ramirez

    Best Ensemble of a Play

    Best Featured Performer of a Play – Diego Rodriguez

    Best Featured Performer of a Play – Grace Kelly

    Best Technical Crew of a Play

    Best Scenic Design of a Play

    Best Lighting Design of a Play

    Best Costume Design of a Play

 

Memorial High Play Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon (4 nominations)

    Best Leading Actor of a Play – Damian Wight

    Best Supporting Actor of a Play – Gabriel Ramirez

    Best Scenic Design of a Play

    Best Costume Design of a Play

 

Rowe High Play Peter and the Starcatcher (5 nominations)

    Best Leading Actress of a Play – Annabelle Renner

    Best Scenic Design of a Play

    Best Costume Design of a Play

    Best Lighting Design of a Play

    Best Sound Design of a Play