MADISON, NJ — Madison High School’s production of Alice by Heart earned multiple nominations in the 2026 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards, including a nomination for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical.
Paper Mill Playhouse announced the nominees for the 31st annual Rising Star Awards on May 11. The program recognizes excellence in New Jersey high school musical theater and is often described as the state’s version of the Tony Awards for high school productions. This year, 114 high schools from 19 counties were adjudicated by a team of 55 evaluators.
Madison High School received nominations across several major production categories for Alice by Heart. Linda and Blake Spence were nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design, Cameron Filepas and Daania Fakhar were nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design, Anthony Freitas was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design, Sarah Jordan was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Blake Spence was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Direction.
The school was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Student Orchestra and Outstanding Performance by a Chorus. Madison was one of six schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical, alongside Delaware Valley Regional High School, Ewing High School, Jose Marti STEM Academy, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School and Wallkill Valley Regional High School.
The Rising Star Awards ceremony will take place Tuesday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn and will be professionally livestreamed. Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical and nominees in the leading performance categories are scheduled to perform live during the ceremony.