by Nicolas Pacelli

WOW!

One of my personal favorite nights of the year in Austin is back and better than ever! Each spring, dozens of high school theatre programs, local artists, visiting celebrities, and more, all join together to celebrate the incredible talent of high school theatre artists in the greater Austin area. This year, the show left its long-standing home at Austin’s Long Center for a bigger and better show at Bass Concert Hall, celebrating a record-breaking FORTY participating schools and its 15th anniversary.

The Heller Awards are brought to life each year by the
fabulous local non-profit educational organization, Impact Arts, helmed by Iconic Austin Director and Creative, Ginger Morris. This new location brings not only more seats to fill and sparkles to
see, but also marks a new collaboration with Texas Performing Arts, who brings iconic events to Austin each year, including Broadway in Austin.

The Heller Awards for Young Artists celebrate
the year-round achievements and opportunities of over 20,000 students and educators by not only praising their talents, but providing them with educational support through training
programs, scholarships, performance opportunities, and more. As you can imagine, a room of nearly 3,000 high school thespians and their biggest supporters can get pretty rowdy, and the energy and positivity never left the room the entire night.

Out With (some) of the Old, and In With the New
The HAYA’s new collaboration with Texas Performing Arts (TPA) has certainly brought many changes to the evenings run of show, but these small adjustments feel fresh and overdue, rather than
disappointing. Perhaps the biggest change is the shift to a new host! After four fun years, Austin’s Donelvan Thigpen and Jessica O’Brien have stepped down as hosts of the show, but not to fret, they have not left the night completely.

Fresh off his run as Simba in The Lion King on Broadway and sharing the stage with Lin Manuel Miranda in Hamilton, Round Rock’s Vincent Jamal Hooper takes over the mantle as host, and what a great choice he was! Hooper’s charisma on the stage was absolutely effortless, and his vast experience in the performing space made his comments and comedic bits feel both authentic and audacious.

The run time of the show has also been cut down a good bit, but the new two and a half hour show feels far more celebratory than the previous near four hour runtime. This cut in runtime is best
attributed to the minimization of the awards presenters, which have always taken time to introduce themselves, their representation, and maybe crack a joke or two. This year, the focus
is all on the students, and the show is much better for it. Thigpen and O’Brien return as the only two presenters, who cut straight to the chase and let the audience erupt in applause as soon as
possible. Don’t worry, the show still has its iconic lengthy character medleys and select ensemble numbers, but has just cut out some of the fluff to make the night as fresh and fun as possible.

Kicks, and Turns, and Lifts, Oh My!
The Impact Arts Select Ensemble, a curated group of the area’s best triple threat students, once again shines as they open and close the show, with other support throughout. The iconic moments we all know and love, such as the “twenty high kicks” of the opening
number and the non-stop lifts and flips, are back this year, but this year’s choreography feels even more elevated on top of that. This year’s ensemble features an incredible number of show-stopping moments, primarily from individual standout dancers. Westwood’s Elliott Richards and ZACH Academy’s Reilly Favacho are two of this year’s SE dance captains, and their talents leap off of the program and onto the stage. Richards’ iconic turns have become a
hallmark of the show across his time in SE, but this year there are more than ever, and the audience was consequently louder than ever for them. Favacho, in addition to taking home a trophy, brings his A-game with stellar performance faces and a true rock and roll quality. His ferocity as a performer particularly shines in the Act I Finale Medley New Beginnings, where the whole ensemble takes the stage with iconic rock hits from musicals such as We Will Rock You, Seasons of Love, and Tommy!

Best Production(s) Galore!
One of the most special parts of each years show is that the eight schools nominated for Best Production, the night’s top award, each get to show off part of their show to the crowd, proving to all of us that their nominations are more than deserved. All of the nominees this year were fabulous, but there were a few standouts that cannot go without mention. Vista Ridge High School performed “Fascinating Rhythm” from Nice Work If You Can Get It, and while the choreography might not have been as complex as some of the other schools’ the direction and character acting filled any of those cracks. The number was filled with frantic and hilarious vignettes from all of the show’s principals as the 1920’s ensemble filled the stage behind them.

Both Rouse High School and Cedar Ridge High School were nominated for their productions of Newsies, and you can absolutely see why that show was a good choice for them both. The
choreography and raw grit from both of these ensembles was absolutely outstanding, and vocal standouts from the main quartet certainly rounded out these numbers very well. However, the
clear standout of the night was Best Production WINNER Weiss High School and the company of Alice By Heart, performing “The Key Is.” There was such a connectivity and comradery
between every cast member on the stage, which laid a beautiful foundation for the soaring vocals, clever choreography, and full force of raw emotion. In the titular role of Alice, two-time
HAYA nominee and newly Jimmy Award nominated, London Mays absolutely brought the house down. Her Alice is delicate but lively, innocent but knowing, and so incredibly heartbreaking. Not to mention, every word melted out of her mouth and filled the ears of each and every audience member with pure bliss. She is a talent to watch, as she returns to the stage once again next year.

Performance Standouts
To no one’s surprise, each and every performer on the stage was filled with enough talent and energy to head their own broadway show, but there were a handful of moments and thespians that rose above the rest. The iconic supporting medley from Gypsy returns once again, this year with several standouts. Vista Ridge’s Jack Stratton as Cookie McGee and Rouse’s Kevin Mitschke as Crutchie both were comedic standouts, injecting their fabulous physical comedy into the numbers ensemble. Dripping Springs’ Blaine Lovett as Jack and Weiss’ Raegan Gonzales as Queen of Hearts on the other hand, used their glass-shattering vocals and emotional inflection to break the hearts (and the ceiling) of the crowd in their
moments to shine. However, no one brought as much power and presence to the medley as Nyla George as Duchess Estonia from Vista Ridge High School. George ended up taking home
the award for Supporting Actress, and no one was more deserving. Her few moments in the medley really stole the show, between her boisterous physicalization, operatic vocals, and unbelievable facial expressions.

While the supporting nominees owned the first half of the show, Act II was dominated by the two super-sized lead medleys, with so many performances to remember. The male medley
was dominated by its final performance from Rouse’s Isaiah Barafwala as Jack Kelly, who’s broadway-level vocals and earnest characterization earned him the second Jimmy Award
nomination of the night alongside London Mays. The spotlight was harder to steal in the female medley, with each performer leading the audience to question who would take home the gold.

Gateway Prep’s Aivree Zamora’s blistering and full-force portrayal of Eurydice earned her the trophy, proving that the “Road to Hell” has some benefits to reap as well. Tom Glenn’s Clair
Elam reminded the audience that iconic performances don’t always need to come from iconic characters, showcasing her crystal-clear belt and complex acting chops as Ellie from Freaky
Friday. Perhaps the most unexpected standout from the group was Austin High School’s Mary Unberhagen’s Mama Rose. You would think that a role so catered to Broadway veterans and
seasoned performers might not translate well onto the high-school stage, but Unberhagen’s weathered performance and unrelenting vocal variation proved that she is far more than a “high
school performer.”

Higher and Higher Each and Every Year
As the show’s returning finale “higher” concluded and the confetti settled on the floor of Bass Concert Hall, emotions were high, but the energy was even higher. The HAYA’s are more
than just a competition, but rather a celebration of the talent and opportunity that lay in the hands of the next generation of stars. The participation of nearly 20,000 students and
educators, and counting, reflects the fact that theatre education is still on the rise, and is still fostering better artists and better people for the real world. Just this year, three former HAYA
nominees performed in Broadway Shows visiting Austin, and that number is sure to rise in the years to come. The Heller Awards were once again an irreplaceably special evening in Austin that will continue to light up the city for years to come!