(RED BANK – MARCH 5) The Basie Awards will mark 20 years of celebrating Monmouth County high school theatre on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at the Count Basie Center’s historic Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre, 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank.

In celebration of the 20^th anniversary, this year’s ceremony will feature students, teachers and school programs honored over the years, while celebrating the impact of the arts in the community.

Tickets for the 20^th annual Basie Awards will go on sale May 7, 2025 at 10am, following the revelation of a complete list of official nominees on April 30^th.

So, what student productions are being considered? We revealed the fall productions a few months back, but now it’s time to complete the list:

Spring Productions Under Consideration

• Biotechnology High School: Little Shop of Horrors
• Christian Brothers Academy: Twelfth Night
• Collier High School: Ride the Cyclone
• Colts Neck High School: Anything Goes
• Communications High School: Chicago: Teen Edition
• Freehold High School: Mamma Mia!
• Freehold Township High School: Legally Blonde
• High Technology High School: Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief
• Holmdel High School: Curtains
• Howell High School: Spamalot
• Keansburg High School: Evil Dead The Musical High School Version
• Keyport High School: Mean Girls
• Long Branch High School: In The Heights
• Manalapan High School: Matilda
• Manasquan High School: The Addams Family
• Matawan Regional High School: Pippin
• Middletown High School North: Pippin
• Middletown High School South: Footloose
• Monmouth Regional High School: Grease
• Neptune High School: The Wedding Singer
• Ocean Township High School: Little Shop of Horrors
• Trinity Hall: Hello Girls
• Raritan High School: Mean Girls
• Red Bank Catholic High School: Into The Woods
• Red Bank Regional High School: James and the Giant Peach
• Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School: Matilda
• Saint John Vianney High School: Annie

Each year, the Basie Awards program invites all Monmouth County high schools to submit their musical and drama productions for consideration. Adjudicators are sent to each presentation and assess scores in categories ranging from acting, directing and choreography, to technical categories such as set and costume design and lighting.

As is tradition, an annual Lifetime Achievement Award is also bestowed upon a figure central to the preservation and celebration of arts in the community. This year’s recipient, as well as this year’s official nominees, will be announced April 30.

For more information on the 20^th annual Basie Awards, visit www.thebasie.org/basieawards