Two Florida Students Named State Finalists For Prestigious Award

ORLANDO, FL, March 19, 2014 (Press-News.org) Two West Orange High School Thespians, Staci Stout and Nathaneal Hicks, have been named state finalists for the National High School Musical Theatre Award for 2014. The Florida competition is sponsored by the Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa where they name one boy and one girl as Florida�EUR s "Broadway Star of the Future" who will represent the state at the final competition in New York City in July.

Straz Center has announced the four finalists for Florida and two of them are from West Orange High School in Orange County. Local audiences had the opportunity to see Stout and Hicks in the production of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN as Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. The show was adjudicated by judges who were observing productions across the state and looking for students that would represent Florida in this national competition. The WOHS production was chosen as one of the top high school shows for this school year and will be featured at the 2014 Florida State Thespian Festival in Tampa in March where the winners will be announced.

The National High School Musical Theatre Award is a celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performance. The program aims to connect promising young performers to the professional industry. The national finalists will spend one week in New York City and experience private coaching, master classes and rehearsals with theatre professionals. Their week long journey concludes with a panel of industry experts selecting two exceptional students as the national winners. These students will receive scholarships to attend NYU�EUR s Tisch School of the Arts, New Studio on Broadway and a cash prize sponsored by the Nederlander Foundation of $10,000.

Local audiences will be able to enjoy the legendary music of Irving Berlin in this award winning production of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN during four encore performances to be held before the show is taken on the road to perform at Morsani Hall at Straz Center. The production will run Thursday March 20, Friday March 21 and Saturday March 22 at 7:30pm and Sunday March 23 at 2:30pm in the auditorium at West Orange High School located at 1625 South Beulah Road in Winter Garden FL. Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for children five and younger and $15 for reserved seating.

Thursday�EUR s opening night will also include a private reception with the cast after the show complete with food and drinks. Tickets for the reception are $10 over the normal ticket price.

For more information or to make a reservation call the box office at 407-905-2400 ext. 6162282.

For more information or to schedule interviews, contact: Ken Rush, Director of Theatre, West Orange High School 407-905-2400 ext 6162282 or info@westorangehighschooltheatre.com