Sarasota student wins national award at 2021 Junior Theater Festival

Sarasota Herald-Tribune | July 6, 2021

Marcus Cruz of Spotlight Theatre Productions in Sarasota received the Freddie G. Outstanding Performance by an Individual Award at the 2021 Junior Theater Festival held June 25-27 in Sugar Land, Texas.

Cruz and Spotlight Theatre student Willa Carpenter also were honored as Junior Theater Festival All-Stars.

Spotlight Theatre students presented selections from Roald Dahl’s “James and the Giant Peach” for composer, playwright, and actor Douglas Lyons, Broadway actor Krystina Alabado, and iTheatrics VP and choreography supervisor Steven G. Kennedy.

“I was blown away by the execution and vibrance of [Spotlight Theatre],” Lyons said. “Excellence seems to be their standard.”

The festival brought together 2,228 musical theater enthusiasts to participate; 50 groups performed in person, and an additional seven groups participated online.

“One of my favorite musicals was brought to life by this exceptional [Sarasota] cast,” Kennedy said. “They showed us fun characters, beautiful voices, and outrageous choreography.”

Called a “rousing celebration of theatre” by the New York Times, the Junior Theater Festivals celebrate the international movement of young people and educators creating student-driven musical theater around the globe. 

Spotlight Theatre Productions offers a dynamic educational musical theater program. The organization aims to give children a place to grow as performers and as a people, develop new and lasting friendships, and discover new levels of self-confidence.

For more information, visit spotlightkidsperform.com