West Bloomfield High Senior Wins Chance at National Musical Theatre Competition

West Bloomfield High School senior Brian Baylor emerged from a field of 28 teen performers to win the second annual Ovation Awards, held at East Lansing’s Wharton Center on May 19. 

The award celebrates outstanding achievement and individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performances for both a male and female lead in a high school musical theatre production. It also honors the teacher’s and the school’s commitment to excellence in performing arts education.

Baylor received $1,000 and a full scholarship to Take It From The Top, Wharton Center’s Summer Broadway Intensive workshop offered in Grand Rapids, Traverse City and East Lansing. He will also head to New York to compete in the National High School Musical Theater Awards on July 1.

At the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway, student winners from across the U.S. will perform songs exclusively from the musical theater canon in the quest to win the coveted Jimmy™ awards, named for legendary Broadway producer/theater owner James M. Nederlander. In preparation for their “Broadway debut,” students will rehearse and perfect ensemble numbers, as well as solo and medley mash-ups that feature the role that earned them top honors at their regional awards competitions. Along the way they will brush elbows with Broadway actors, college recruiters and casting agents, see a Broadway show, and much more.

The Ovation Awards partnership includes Wharton Center for Performing Arts, Broadway in Detroit and Broadway Grand Rapids. Learn more about the national program at NHSMTA.com.