Warren County schools earn wins at 2026 Freddy Awards for high school musical theater excellence
WARREN COUNTY, N.J. — Several Warren County high schools earned top honors during the 2026 Freddy Awards, which recognize excellence in high school musical theater productions and performances across eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.
The annual awards ceremony, broadcast Thursday night on WFMZ-TV Channel 69, celebrated achievements in acting, music, choreography, technical production and stage performance.
Among the local winners, Phillipsburg High School earned the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Daniel Thompson’s portrayal of Olaf in “Disney’s Frozen.”
Warren Hills Regional High School received the Outstanding Small Ensemble Performance award for “Little Lamb From Alabama” from “Big Fish: School Edition,” performed by Olivia Betancourt, Julia Cagnassola and Natalie Trawin.
Warren County Technical School also received the Air Products 2026 Education and Community Impact Award.
Earlier this month, several Warren County schools were nominated across multiple categories.
Hackettstown High School’s production of “Lionel Bart’s Oliver!” received nominations for Outstanding Overall Production by a Smaller School, Outstanding Use of Costumes, Outstanding Stage Crew and Outstanding Use of Choreography and Musical Staging.
Students from Hackettstown also earned acting nominations, including Abby Jamer for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role as The Artful Dodger, Naomi Schicker for Outstanding Featured Performance by an Actress as Nancy and Eli DiPaolo for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role as Fagin.
Phillipsburg High School’s “Disney’s Frozen” also received nominations for Outstanding Technical Design, Outstanding Performance by an Orchestra and Outstanding Use of Choreography and Musical Staging.
Additional nominations included Riley Merker and Quinn Fucci for Outstanding Small Ensemble Performance for “I Can’t Lose You,” Riley Merker for Outstanding Featured Performance by an Actress as Elsa and the Vic Kumma Award for Outstanding Solo Vocal Performance for “Let It Go,” Daniel Thompson for Outstanding Supporting Actor as Olaf and Sophia Merker for Outstanding Featured Dancer as Oaken.
Warren Hills Regional High School’s “Big Fish: School Edition” received nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Orchestra and Outstanding Technical Contribution by a Student for lighting design by Zander Kirkwood.
Julia Cagnassola also received the lehighvalleylive.com Student Achievement Award nomination, while Milo Dominguez earned a nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role as Edward Bloom.
Belvidere High School’s “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” earned a nomination for Outstanding Technical Design by a Smaller School, while student Arden Henley received a lehighvalleylive.com Student Achievement Award nomination.
North Warren Regional High School’s production of “Sleeping Beauty The Musical” earned a nomination for Michael Naomi for the lehighvalleylive.com Student Achievement Award for stage management.
