Columbia student wins rising star award

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Columbia High School student Mac Silverstein has won a 2023 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award as Outstanding Performer in a Featured Role for his performance as “Brother Jeremiah” in the school’s production of “Something Rotten!”

Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey.

Among the early nominees and winners are Academy Award-winner Anne Hathaway, Tony Award-winners Laura Benanti, Nikki M. James and Rob McClure, plus Olivier Award-nominee Jared Gertner and Shanice Williams, star of NBC’s “The Wiz Live!”

The 2023 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation ceremony took place at Paper Mill Playhouse on Tuesday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m. as a livestream and is now available to view on Paper Mill’s Facebook page.

This year, Ridge High School in Basking Ridge took the prize for Outstanding Overall Production for their production of “Newsies,” but Columbia was among the top nominated high schools with 13.

“We are very excited to celebrate excellence in high school musical theater with the students of New Jersey,” said Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill Playhouse’s producing artistic director. “For many New Jersey schools, the prestigious honor of a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star nomination is the culmination of their hard work in a high school musical. Many of our Rising Star nominees and winners are now working professionally and have won esteemed industry awards while working in theater and film.”

Paper Mill Director of Education Lisa Cooney said that programs like the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards raise the bar and create opportunities for student performers and theater technicians to be recognized for their achievements, while giving them access to thousands of dollars in scholarships and professional training.

The awards are modeled after the Tony Awards and Paper Mill Playhouse’s program serves the entire state of New Jersey. Paper Mill conceived and created the awards in 1996 to give schools the opportunity to showcase their musical arts programs on a statewide level.

The musicals are adjudicated by Paper Mill Playhouse throughout the spring by a group of 70 evaluators, with each school receiving three independent evaluations.

Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical and Leading Performers nominees take the stage at the awards event.