Tonight's the night: Watch high school musicals' Metro nominations live

Peter D. Kramer, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
Updated ·2 min read

Tonight's the night. Well, the night before the big night.

Tonight, after a three-year pandemic pause, theater kids and their fans and families will gather to find out who is nominated for the 22nd Metro Awards, honoring high school musicals from the Lower Hudson Valley and Bergen County in New Jersey.

It all takes place at 7:30 p.m., on our livestream, exclusively on lohud.com and northjersey.com, from the stage of Tarrytown Music Hall, the Metros' new venue. There's even talk of special guests joining the livestream, with major announcements.

There will be nominees in 35 categories, everything from lobby display to outstanding overall production. Winners will be announced Monday, June 12, the night after Broadway bestows its Tony Awards. This year, 56 schools are taking part: 25 from Westchester, 23 from Bergen, five from Rockland and three from Putnam.

Pleasantville High School's production of "Bye Bye Birdie" is among the 56 schools taking part in the 2023 Metropolitan High School Theatre Awards. The Metro Awards -- honoring high school musical achievements in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Bergen counties -- return after a three-year pandemic pause with a ceremony at Tarrytown Music Hall on June 12, 2023.

Traditions: Pizza, paninis and #lohudmetros

There are nominations livestream traditions.

Viewing parties: The livestream on lohud.com has inspired viewing parties, with theater kids huddling to watch on the big screen. But everyone at the party also uses their own devices to watch along, to register their support.

The menu: Tradition holds that casts and crew gather around pizza, wings and paninis to find out who'll be nominated. Extra points (and possible livestream shoutouts) are given to those whose feasts are show-specific.

Insta hashtag: To be part of the social media story on nominations night, use #lohudmetros on Instagram. Follow me (@pkramer1) and lohud (@lohud).

Who has hosted the Metros?

The 2023 Metros hosts have yet to be named, but past hosts have included:

  • Ashley Park, before "Mean Girls" and "Emily in Paris";

  • Jason Gotay before "Gossip Girl";

  • Ethan Slater and Danny Skinner, from "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical";

  • Christiani Pitts and Adam Kaplan, stars of Broadway's "A Bronx Tale: The Musical";

  • Adam Chanler-Berat ("Next to Normal," "Amelie") and Kyle Beltran ("In the Heights");

  • Westchester's John Treacy Egan ("The Producers," "The Little Mermaid," "Sister Act").

Who'll announce the nominations?

I'll be joined on the stage at the Music Hall by Metros producers Blake Spence and Jordan Singer. Metros producer emerita Danielle Rudess, of Nyack's Helen Hayes Youth Theatre, will be just off-camera.

Singer, who coordinates after-school theater programs across Westchester for KJK Productions, has been a Metros judge for years, and coordinated the judges this year. Spence teaches at Lyndhurst High School in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and is the artistic director of theater at Madison High School in Morris County.

Reach Peter D. Kramer at pkramer@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: High school musicals Metro Award nominations tonight on lohud livestream