Ridge High School's 'Newsies' Takes Home 7 Awards

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The Ridge Drama Club ended the year on a high note as they recently won seven awards at The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards.

The club was nominated for 10 awards for their musical production of Newsies and received seven awards including:

• Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical
• Outstanding Performance by a Featured Ensemble Member: Jaidyn Reilly
• Outstanding Performance by an Orchestra
• Outstanding Performance by a Chorus
• James K Mosser Memorial Rising Star Awards Scholarship for Performance: Libby Schmitt
• Outstanding Educator Awards: Tim Lynch
• Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and Staging: Rachel Miranda & Jennifer Digiuseppe

"The talent we see in New Jersey High Schools is outstanding. This year was more competitive than ever," said 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 in to their high school musical. I congratulate them all."

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.

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