Late last month, the inaugural recipients of The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students were announced. The program is a joint initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and Playbill, Inc. with additional support from Disney Theatrical Group.
Angel Rodriguez, a student from Puget Sound Adventist Academy High School in Seattle, Washington was named National Champion; Rodriguez was initially recommended to the program by Seattle NAMT member theatre The 5th Avenue. The two runner-ups were Jake Berglove from Perpich Arts High School, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and Chelsea Mayo from R.L Turner High School in Dallas County, Texas.
Now, Playbill has uploaded videos of all three songs being performed by Broadway talent! Watch the full videos and see what’s in store for the future of musical theatre. Congratulations to all three of these young songwriters–we can’t wait to read your Festival submissions one day!