By: Najla Alexander
Hi there, RLS Media friends and family. Najla here! I had the honor of attending a unique awards nomination right here in Carteret, where I saw young, bright performers honored for their hard work!
Carteret officials announced that the URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center is pleased to announce the nominations and honorable mentions for the 2024 Carteret PAC Central Jersey Marquee Awards, Honoring Excellence in Middlesex and Somerset Counties High School Musical Theatre.
The Marquee Awards took place on Wednesday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m., at the new Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center.
The Carteret PAC Central Jersey Marquee Awards celebrates and encourages talent and achievement in musical theater in high schools throughout Middlesex and Somerset Counties in NJ.
The program aims to recognize students participating in a range of roles on and off stage, where various categories were awarded at the ceremony.
The nominees were selected by a panel of expert judges who traveled to central New Jersey to review spring high school musicals.
The atmosphere was nothing less than what you imagine when thinking of an award ceremony celebrating the talents of young depicted performers, a show-stopping host, and nominated schools with foot-tapping performances on the CPAC stage!
The event highlighted numbers from the nominated shows and awarded the performers, directors, choreographers, orchestras, and designers who have expressed excellence during the 2024 musical season.
The evening was hosted by Broadway actor Jelani Remy, an American Broadway star who rocketed to fame playing Simba in Disney’s The Lion King.
The New Jersey native spent a three-year-long run in the smash-hit Broadway musical on the Great White Way, cementing his status as one of the most popular young actors on Broadway, according to officials.
Officials said his numerous other theater credits include the roles of Chad in Disney’s High School Musical, Jack in The Apple Boys, and Eddie Kendricks in The Temptations in Ain’t Too Proud.
Hailing from Cedar Grove, New Jersey, Remy grew up in a Caribbean family and loved Soca and reggae music, playing the piano and the drums, officials stated.
Remy thought he would become a music teacher but was soon tempted by the world of musical theater and toured the US in High School Musical and High School Musical 2 for five years before he made his Broadway debut in The Lion King in the role of Simba, officials say.
Officials said that in 2018, he made his Off-Broadway debut in Smokey Joe’s Café before taking over the role of Eddie Kendricks in Ain’t Too Proud, previously played by Tony nominee Jeremy Pope.
In August 2020, it was announced that Remy would join Julian Decker, many more Broadway performers and BFA Musical Theater Students to perform on Instagram LIVE for BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER, standing in solidarity and supporting the Black Trans Community, officials say.
According to officials, he is starring in Back to the Future: The Musical as Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry but took a break to celebrate such young talent that night!
"We are delighted to recognize these exceptional students and schools in Central Jersey for their outstanding achievements," said the Honorable Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman.
"We congratulate them on their well-deserved nominations and honorable mentions.”
BEST OVERALL PRODUCTION
Winner: Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Nominees
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Highland Park High School- Footloose
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Winner: Highland Park High School- Footloose- Kai Stevens as “Ren McCormick”
Nominees
Bernards High School- Joseph … Dreamcoat- Nate DeNicola as “Joseph”
Colonia High School- Into the Woods- Jesus Roco III as “The Baker”
Edison High School- Legally Blonde- Vincent Pecorella as “Emmett Forrest”
Highland Park High School- Footloose- Kai Stevens as “Ren McCormick”
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten- Brandon Javier as "Nick Bottom"
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten- Benjamin Malone as "Shakespeare"
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man- Camryn Burniston as “Harold Hill”
Honorable Mentions
Dunellen High School- Grease School Edition- Dalan Hopper as “Danny Zuko”
East Brunswick High School- Lightning Thief- Shlok Pathak as “Percy Jackson”
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd- Julien Catalon as "Sweeney Todd"
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Winner: Manville High School- Mamma Mia!- Juliana Bucciero as "Sophie Sheridan "
Nominees
Colonia High School- Into the Woods- Alyssa Cifelli as “Cinderella”
Edison High School- Legally Blond- Amy Boslet as “Elle Woods”
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!- Juliana Bucciero as "Sophie Sheridan "
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!- Cami Galvez as "Donna Sheridan "
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls… Ashley Hamilton as “Regina George”
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!- Jordyn Sutton as “Sophie Sheridan”
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd… Sophia Holness as "Nellie Lovett"
Honorable Mentions
Dunellen High School- Grease School Edition- Maria Stein as “Sandy Dumbrowski”
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!- Cory Lucid as “Donna Sheridan”
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls… Savannah Posen as “Regina George”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Highland Park High School- Footloose- Mac Jones as “Reverend Shaw Moore”
Nominees
Bernards High School- Joseph… Dreamcoat- Brendan Lobo as the “Soloist, Those Canaan Days”
Colonia High School- Into the Woods- Tristan Picou as “Jack”
Highland Park High School- Footloose- Mac Jones as “Reverend Shaw Moore”
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten- Piotr Kowalczyk as "Nigel Bottom"
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!- Clement Lacroix as “Harry Bright”
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd… Riley Stevens as "Tobias Ragg"
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd… Aaron Crowell as "Anthony"
Honorable Mentions
Bernards High School- Joseph… Dreamcoat- Joe Sorge as “Soloist, Benjamin Calypso”
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!- Rian Sanders as "Sam"
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls… Kai Salgado-Cowan as “Damian Hubbard”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten- Samantha Soybel as "Bea"
Nominees
Edison High School- Legally Blonde- Kara Labadessa as “Vivienne Kensington”
Highland Park High School- Footloose- Georgina Sanches as “Willard Hewett”
Highland Park High School- Footloose- Aurora Gibney-Krashen as “Vi Moore”
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten- Samantha Soybel as "Bea"
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls… Valery 'Val' Paulino as “Karen Smith”
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!- Vi Potluri as “Tanya Cresham-Leigh”
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd… Marisa Santiago as "Johanna"
Honorable Mentions
Edison High School- Legally Blonde- Suzette Stephen as “Brooke Wyndham”
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten- Mia Hausser as "Portia"
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!- Niara Beckwith as “Rosie Mulligan”
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls… Savanah Rosario as “Janis Sarkisian”
BEST ENSEMBLE MEMBER
Winner: Highland Park High School- Footloose- Maria Levina as “Ethel McCormack”
Nominees
Dunellen High School- Grease School Edition- Jenica-Liezel Reyes as “Jan”
Edison High School- Legally Blonde- Sanjana Ramesh as “Pilar”
Highland Park High School- Footloose- Maria Levina as “Ethel McCormack”
Highland Park High School- Footloose- Violet Pyatt as “Rusty”
Highland Park High School- Footloose-Juliana Cordero-Dent as “Wendy Jo”
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten- Charlee McLaughlin as "Minstrel"
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls… Jacob Hall as “Kevin Gnapoor”
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls… Tabitha Devlin as “Ms. Norbury”
Honorable Mentions
Highland Park High School- Footloose- Julia Stevens as “Urleen”
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls… Elinet Brito as "Mrs. George"
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls… Abigail Jones as “Ms. Norbury”
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd… Mateo Oloriz as "Adolfo Pirelli”
BEST PRODUCTION NUMBER
Winner: Piscataway High School- Mean Girls… "Where Do You Belong?
Nominees
Carteret High School- Sister Act "Raise Your Voice"
Highland Park High School- Footloose “Footloose”
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten "A Musical"
Manville High School- Mamma Mia! "Dancing Queen" [Finale]
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man “76 Trombones”
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls… "Where Do You Belong?
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls… “Where Do You Belong?”
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd… “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”
Honorable Mentions
Colonia High School- Into the Woods “Act I Finale: Ever After”
Edison High School- Legally Blonde “What You Want”
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia! “Voulez Vous”
BEST CHORUS
Winner: Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Nominees
Colonia High School- Into the Woods
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Highland Park High School- Footloose
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
Perth Amboy High School Mean Girls High School Version
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!
BEST MUSIC DIRECTION
Winner: Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Highland Park High School- Footloose
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Colonia High School- Into the Woods
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
BEST STUDENT ORCHESTRA
Winner: Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Nominees
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Carteret High School- Sister Act
Colonia High School- Into the Woods
East Brunswick High School- The Lightning Thief
Highland Park High School- Footloose
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
BEST LIGHTING
Winner: Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Nominees
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Carteret High School- Sister Act
East Brunswick High School- Lightning Thief
Highland Park High School- Footloose
BEST SCENERY
Winner: Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Nominees
Dunellen High School- Grease School Edition
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
BEST COSTUMES
Winner: Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Nominees
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Winner: Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Nominees
Dunellen High School- Grease School Edition
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Colonia High School- Into the Woods
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
BEST STUDENT-LED CATEGORY
Winner #1: Carteret High School- Sister Act Anaya Diaz, Student Stage Manager
Winner #2: Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls PAHS Costume Crew
Winner #3: John P Stevens High School- A Chorus Line: Teen Edition Venya Raghavan, Student Choreographer
Winner #4: Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia Chardae Hinton, Student Stage Manager
Pic
Nominees
Carteret High School- Sister Act Anaya Diaz, Student Stage Manager
Dunellen High School- Grease Matteo Morales, Student Lighting Designer
Edison High School- Legally Blonde Benjamin Tackach, Student Lighting Designer and Sound Technician
Edison High School- Legally Blonde Divine Nene, Student choreographer
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten Hannah Faryniak, Student Art Manager
Hillsborough High School-Something Rotten Madi Hidalgo, Student Dance Captain
Hillsborough High School-Something Rotten Nadia Siwiec, Student Light Designer
Hillsborough High School-Something Rotten Ashley Ringel, Student Film Editor
John P Stevens High School- A Chorus Line: Teen Edition Om Patel, Student Light Designer
John P Stevens High School- A Chorus Line: Teen Edition Saachi Doshi, Student Stage Manager
John P Stevens High School- A Chorus Line: Teen Edition Venya Raghavan, Student Choreographer
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man Alexandra Nardone, Student Choreographer
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man Olivia Cruz, Student Director
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls Anamika Bachoo, Social Media
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls PAHS Costume Crew
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls PAHS Stage Crew
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls Jaison Labung, Mya Ware, Julia Costa, and Faith Patrick, Dance Assistants
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls Scenic Artist Crew, Scenic Artists
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls Sophia Verzi, Student Vocal Director
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls Shiloh Roache, Adrian Pelszinksi, Azrael Mark, and Anjali Narine, Student Stage Managers
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia! Audrey Qian, Student Stage Manager
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia Chardae Hinton, Student Stage Manager
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia Zachary Evans, Student Stage Manager
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd McKayla Taggart, Wardrobe - Dresser
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Winner: Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Nominees
Highland Park High School- Footloose
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
Perth Amboy High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
BEST DIRECTION
Winner: Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Nominees
Edison High School- Legally Blonde
Highland Park High School- Footloose
Hillsborough High School- Something Rotten
Manville High School- Mamma Mia!
Piscataway High School- Mean Girls High School Version
Rutgers Preparatory School- Mamma Mia!
Woodbridge High School- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honorable Mentions
Bernards High School- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Old Bridge High School- The Music Man
Spotswood High School- Mean Girls High School Version
It was such a sight to see the smiles on the faces of the students responsible for such passionate work with something they love doing!
I found myself singing along to my favorite musicals, and let me say I have never been more impressed by a high school performance of Mean Girls: High School Version, not to mention Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
All of the students gave outstanding performances representing their high schools while supporting one another.
It’s important to support your local high school theater productions because they ensure our youth have a place to express their individuality and be creative in a world where everything is not always going to be alright one hundred percent of the time.
These are the times when we can forget about the outside world for a little bit and have our time filled with laughter, joy, and even sorrow of a character pouring their heart out on stage.
Congratulations to the night's winners and to all the nominations and honorable mentions! Keep up the fantastic work!