In addition to his many accomplishments onstage, Shuler Hensley is also one of the driving forces behind the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Shuler Awards. The 14th edition of the annual awards show was presented Thursday at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre and telecast on GPB.

In 2021-22, 50 high schools across the state enrolled and 46 competed to determine the 17 Shuler Award nominees, with a team of 46 Georgia-based arts professionals evaluating the student productions.

This year marks the introduction of a non-gendered award category. The supporting actress and supporting actor fields are now designated as supporting performer.

Winner of the Best Performance by a Lead Actor category was Tri-Cities High School's Nicholas Alexander Wilkinson I as "Fela!" Wilkinson and the lead actress winner, Georgia Thomas of Greater Atlanta Christian School, will travel to New York in June to compete as the state's representatives in The Jimmy Awards, the national competition of the high school musical theater awards. Photo by Ben Rose.

Credit: www.BenRosePhotography.com

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Credit: www.BenRosePhotography.com

Lambert High School of Suwanee earned the most awards, garnering five for their production of “The SpongeBob Musical,” while Tri-Cities High School of East Point took home three awards for “Fela!”

Here’s a list of Thursday night’s winners:

Overall Production - Lambert High School, Suwanee, for “The SpongeBob Musical”

· Direction - Jade Lambert-Smith, Tri-Cities High School, East Point, for “Fela!”

· Music Direction - Lenae Rose, Morgan County High School, Madison, for “Les Misérables”

· Orchestra - Scott Willis, Heritage High School, Ringgold, for “Matilda”

· Best Performance by a Leading Actress - Georgia Thomas, Greater Atlanta Christian School, Norcross, for “Anastasia”

Georgia Thomas of Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross was named winner of the Best Performance by a Lead Actress category in the 2022 Shuler Awards presented by ArtsBridge Foundation. Here she performs during the awards event in the role of "Anastasia." Photo by Ben Rose.

Credit: www.BenRosePhotography.com

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Credit: www.BenRosePhotography.com

· Best Performance by a Leading Actor - Nicholas Alexander Wilkinson II, Tri-Cities High School, East Point, for “Fela!”

· Best Performance by a Supporting Performer - Lorelei Calder, Decatur High School, Decatur, for “Matilda” and Shyla Rosario, Hiram High School, Hiram, for “Bring It On”

· Best Performance by a Featured Performer - Noah Caplan, Lakeview Academy, Gainesville, for “Something Rotten!”

· Choreography - Jade Lambert-Smith/Briana Bunkley, Tri-Cities High School, East Point, for “Fela!”

· Ensemble - Lambert High School, Suwanee, for “The SpongeBob Musical”

· Costumes - Julianne Lopez, Lambert High School, Suwanee, for “The SpongeBob Musical”

· Lighting Design - Thomas Schnitzer, Lambert High School, Suwanee, for “The SpongeBob Musical”

· Scenic Design - Sim Jones, Milton High School, Milton, for “Anastasia”

· Sound - Brennan Ciccarelli/Sarah Rakoski, St. Pius X Catholic High School, Chamblee, “The Addams Family”

· Technical Execution - Megan Hunter/Carly Ann Lovell/Thomas Schnitzer, Lambert High School, Suwanee, for “The SpongeBob Musical”

· Showstopper - Milton High School, Milton, for “Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart” from “Anastasia”

· Show-Must-Go-On Spotlight Award - Greater Atlanta Christian School, Norcross, for “Stay, I Pray You” from “Anastasia”