The Stephen Sondheim Society has announced the 12 finalists in the running for the 16th annual Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year (SSSSPOTY).
Selected by critic and broadcaster Edward Seckerson (chair of the judges) and musical director Nigel Lilley (Follies, National Theatre, Fun Home, Young Vic) from over 300 video submissions followed by 75 in-person auditions, the 2024 finalists are:
Holly Adams (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance)
Brooke Bazarian (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art)
Oliver Halford (Emil Dale Academy)
Harrison Langham (Arts Ed)
Katie Leach (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art)
Madeleine Morgan (Royal Academy of Music)
Rowen Newsome (Brighton Academy)
Tumi Olufawo (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School)
Thomas Oxley (Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts)
Daisy Pearson (Rose Bruford College)
Gavin Rasmussen (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art)
Josh Rosewood (Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts)
The two reserves will be Mountview Academy students Jacob Dolan Holmes and Noah Thallon.
The finalists will take to the stage of the Sondheim Theatre during a gala final hosted by Bonnie Langford on 9 June. The winning student will be announced after all the finalists have performed before the panel of industry experts including West End stars Jenna Russell, Callum Scott Howells, Fra Fee and Jak Malone and musical director Alex Parker.
Hannah Chissick will direct the final which will also include performances from host Langford (Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, Gielgud Theatre, Gypsy, Piccadilly Theatre), Joaquin Pedro Valdes (star of the recent, critically acclaimed production of Pacific Overtures) and 2023 SSSSPOTY winner Milly Willows.
Each finalist will sing one song by Stephen Sondheim, plus a new song chosen by them from the selection at New UK Musicals – the organisation founded by Benjamin Button composer Darren Clark to showcase the UK’s best new musical theatre writing for the stage.
The Society is once again partnering with the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT), and the event will feature a preview performance from Into the Woods at the Southwark Playhouse by a chorus drawn from the current cohort of young performers.
The students will compete for a top prize of £1,000 and the chance to headline their own Sondheim-themed cabaret show in London. The runner-up will receive £500.
For the first time, the price-giving will be led by Jenna Russell, a patron of the Stephen Sondheim Society, who is taking over the role following the retirement of the Society’s founding patron, Julia McKenzie.
Previous winners include Taron Egerton, Stuart Thompson and Alex Young while previous finalists include Cynthia Erivo, Lily Kerhoas, Cameron Burt and Oisin Nolan-Power.
Angela Thomas
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