The mission of the Isaac Awards is to encourage and support excellence in high school musical theatre in our region through an annual awards event that recognizes student achievement.

Due to the number of high schools that wanted to participate in the Isaac Awards, we expanded to two nights in 2017.  Each night has their own set of judges and their own set of awards.

2024 Isaac Awards

The 19th Annual Isaac Awards for High School Musicals will be held May 25 and 26, 2024 at Altoona’s historic Mishler Theatre with 20 schools from 6 counties.  Participating schools are listed on the High School Musical Calendar.  Just click the link on the left.

We send judges to attend each of the participating schools performances beginning in November and ending April 30.  Then they confer and select nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Production, and more.  Those nominations are released in early May.

The winners will be announced at the awards show on May 25 and 26 when the Mishler Theatre is filled to the rafters with students, parents, and teachers.

2023 Isaac Awards

The 18th Annual Isaac Awards were held May 27 and 28 at Altoona’s historic Mishler Theatre with 20 area high schools in 6 counties participating.

We are pleased and proud to announce that with the support of our generous sponsors and four local universities*, students participating in the 2023 Isaac Awards received more than $55,000 in college scholarships plus $21,000 to participating high schools for their musical thatre programs.

Click on this Isaacs Archive button to see participating schools, nominations, and award winners.

Many thanks to our long-time Title Sponsor, Reliance Bank, along with our other corporate sponsors: Altoona Blair County Development Corporation, Michelle Barnes Optometry, The EADS Group, and The Blair Companies.

Thanks also to Ann and Bill Benzel for $1,000 checks to 18 high schools and 2 lucky schools that received $1,500 for their musical’s budget next year!

* In addition to the individual award winners’ $1,000 scholarships from ACT, Penn State Altoona, Mount Aloysius College, Saint Francis University, and Juniata College provide scholarships as well.  Look back at the “Archive” pages to learn more.