The vibrance, talent, and energy of the Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards ceremony are best summed up in the lyrics of the event’s 2019 opening number song: “Come Alive” from “The Greatest Showman.”

“When the world becomes a fantasy
And you’re more than you could ever be
‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open
And you know you can’t go back again
To the world that you were living in
‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open
So, come alive!”

For the first time in three years, high school thespians from various schools across Central Pennsylvania will “come alive” in Hershey to celebrate the talent, success, and accomplishments of their performances. On Sunday, May 22, solos, duets, monologues, and dance numbers will fill the stage, and award presentations will take place in between performances.

Hosted by ABC27’s Dennis Owens, the magical night begins with an opening number performance that incorporates two actors from each Apollo-registered school, regardless of how many nominations each school received. This year’s opening number is “Everybody Rejoice” from “The Wiz.” Sixteen schools participated in this year’s Apollo Awards evaluations for a total of 32 performers. In addition, two alumni – one male and one female – will return as soloists: Shawn Matthews (Central Dauphin East, winner of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical, 2018), and Karly Zimmerman (Lebanon Catholic High School, winner of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical, 2019).

Throughout the night, a total of 15 awards will be handed out for both plays and musicals, including individual awards for featured performers, supporting actors and actresses, and lead actors and actresses. Awards for outstanding play, musical, student orchestra, dance, and playwright will also be handed out, and each participating school will have the opportunity to honor a cast or crew member with a Spirit of the Theatre Award or Achievement Award.

The evening will be interspersed with video clips, alumni messages, and Dennis Owens’ usual charm, charisma, and comedy. But the most entertaining part of the night is the nominee performances. Each nominated lead actor and actress in a play will deliver a monologue from their performance, each nominated lead actor and actress in a musical will sing a brief solo from their show, and each nominated musical will perform a number from their production. Amid the energetic performances, the awards will be presented, typically by Hershey Theatre staff, donors, or past award winners. The program routinely begins with the featured performer and ends with the white whales of the evening: Outstanding Play and Outstanding Musical.

With the release of the 2022 Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards nominations for musicals complete, it’s time to look at some surprising facts, honor a few snubs, and look forward to the awards ceremony by predicting the winners.

TEN FASCINATING FACTS: Welcoming some newcomers, applauding the usual studs, and dropping our jaws at some shocking statistics.

1. Perhaps the most surprising element of the 2022 nominees is the arrival of Greenwood High School, located in Perry County. This is the school’s first year of competition, but they swiftly established themselves as top contenders. Greenwood received eight musical nominations for their production of “Beauty and the Beast,” more than any other school. This includes two nominations in both the Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress categories. Schools with the most nominations tend to do exceptionally well at the awards ceremony, so Greenwood has reasons for high expectations.
2. Encore! Home School Productions is the only independent group at the Apollo’s and the only home school group. They are not affiliated with a school but are rather comprised of numerous home school and cyber school families. However, they have achieved a couple of rather impressive feats. Encore! is the only group to be nominated for Outstanding Musical each of the past five years and the only group to be nominated for Outstanding Dance Number in a Musical each of the past five years. Their run of success began in 2016 and continues in 2022 despite the two-year Apollo Awards absence. They have not yet won for Outstanding Musical, but they have received three Outstanding Dance Number awards. Perhaps this is the year they trap that elusive best musical award.
3. “Into the Woods” is not typically a show that receives a nod for Outstanding Musical. Despite the fact that it’s a popular choice for high school shows, the last time a production of the show was nominated was in 2016. However, Central Dauphin High School is bringing it back into the spotlight this year with their production, and they deserve all the respect in the world for that impressive accomplishment. That being said, Central Dauphin only received just one individual nomination for their performance, and an Outstanding Musical nomination is almost always accompanied by several individual nominations. Central Dauphin is bucking that trend in 2022.
4. Receiving a Hershey Theatre Apollo Award nomination is an achievement to be proud of in and of itself. Receiving two nominations is twice as impressive. But getting nominated twice in one year? That is a monumental achievement indeed! This year, the Apollo Awards features two dual nominees. Adam Heineman (Dauphin County Technical School) was nominated for both Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play, and Emma Riethmiller (Encore! Home School Productions) was nominated for both Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play. Twice the nomination, twice the opportunities to win for these talented young thespians. What an accomplishment.
5. Speaking of the play nominations, the rather unique category of Outstanding Playwright honors students who put in their work offstage. Once again, Bishop McDevitt High School dominated this category. The Apollo Awards honored a total of seven playwrights in this category (five nominees, two honorable mentions), and students at Bishop McDevitt garnered five (three nominations, two honorable mentions). Whoever is teaching playwriting at Bishop McDevitt should get a raise.
6. Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical is a particularly intriguing category this year. Greenwood High School and Encore! Home School Productions (the two groups with the most nominations) each have two nominees in this category. In short, four of five nominees in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical category are from two schools, so there is an 80% chance it will go to one of those schools.
7. Palmyra Area High School has successfully achieved the big trifecta of musical nominations. They garnered nominations in all three group categories: Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Dance Number in a Musical, and Outstanding Student Orchestra. This is a rare feat – only three other schools in the past five years have accomplished it. For Palmyra, this is the second time in that same time span that they have run the group gauntlet; a fact that reflects their impeccable spirit of teamwork and camaraderie.
8. “12 Angry Jurors” was a popular play choice for schools this year. A whopping nine nominations came from a performance of the show, with performances from Camp Hill High School, Lower Dauphin High School, and Milton Hershey School.
9. In 2018, Central Dauphin East High School received eight musical nominations, and in 2019, Elizabethtown Area High School received seven musical nominations. This year, the two schools combined for just three nominations – two for CD East and one for Elizabethtown. This just goes to show how quickly students come and go in high school and how much can change in just a few short years.
10. Lower Dauphin High School is the only school to receive a nomination for both Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Play. Lower Dauphin has not won in either category in the past five years, but this year they have an even better shot at securing one of the two coveted awards.

TOP TEN 2022 HERSHEY THEATRE APOLLO AWARDS SNUBS
These actors and schools could easily havereceived nominations, but sadly, they did not. Art is often subjective, but here we have an opportunity to honor the best of the rest. Safe to say, I believe Camp Hill deserved better.

1. Anything Goes at Camp Hill High School:  Outstanding Musical
2. Elliott Stabler as Moonface Martin in Anything Goes at Camp Hill High School:  Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical
3. Cadence Kanode as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at Lower Dauphin High School:  Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical
4. The Addams Family at Capital Area School for the Arts:  Outstanding Musical
5. Kayleigh Jarkowsky as Katherine Plummer in Newsies at Harrisburg Christian School:  Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
6. Sam Wilkins as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in Anything Goes at Camp Hill High School:  Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical
7. Keli Georges as The Witch in Into the Woods at Elizabethtown Area High School:  Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
8. Blow, Gabriel, Blow in Anything Goes at Camp Hill High School: Outstanding Dance Number in a Musical
9. Rachel Pronesti as Enid Hoopes in Legally Blonde at Central Dauphin East High School: Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical
10. Madelyn Manning as Sandy Cheeks in The SpongeBob Musical at Palmyra Area High School: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical

PREDICTING THE 2022 HERSHEY THEATRE APOLLO AWARD WINNERS FOR MUSICALS
Last but not least, here is who I believe will come out of the ceremony as winners.

Outstanding Featured Performer: Haylee M. as Erma in Anything Goes at Camp Hill High School

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical: Gracie R. as LeFou in Beauty and the Beast at Greenwood High School

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical: Josiah E. as Sebastian in The Little Mermaid at Encore! Home School Productions

Outstanding Student Orchestra: Palmyra Area High School in The SpongeBob Musical

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Elsie S. as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at Camp Hill High School

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Spencer W. as The Beast in Beauty and the Beast at Greenwood High School

Outstanding Dance Number in a Musical: Positoovity in The Little Mermaid at Encore! Home School Productions

Outstanding Musical: Beauty and the Beast at Greenwood High School

For tickets to this year’s ceremony, visit https://www.ticketmaster.com/apollo-awards-hershey-pennsylvania-05-22-2022/event/02005C449C8B4DF8