Earlier this month, Youth Theatre Carson City’s Showstoppers and Rising Stars performance teams traveled to Southern California to compete in the Musical Theatre Competitions of America, a national competition, where they performed for Broadway professionals and competed against performing arts schools and studios from all across North America, Guam, Puerto Rico and more, and learned from some of Broadway’s biggest and brightest stars.
The Youth Theatre Carson City Showstoppers were awarded the Ovation Award for Best Ensemble for their performance of “She’s In Love” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid and several troupe members earned awards for individual events including 3rd place Advanced Musical Theatre Dance, Kyla Olsen; 3rd Place 7th Grade Duet, Brylee Russell and Ysabella Johnson, 2nd Place 4th Grade Solo, Zachary Etter; 2nd Place 7th Grade Solo, Ysabella Johnson; and 1st Place 8th Grade Duet, Evelyn Furlong and Ysabella Johnson.
The Showstoppers and Rising Stars brought home several other honors as well. All 18 performers auditioned against over 1200 other students and many were selected to participate in featured musical numbers in front of the entire convention of over 2000 people at the close of the festival.
Brylee Russell and Kyla Olsen were selected to work with Broadway Veterans Christine Abraham and Nikki Snelson in finale production numbers from Wicked and performed alongside Broadway’s Kara Lindsay (Wicked, Newsies) and Caroline Bowman (Wicked, Smash). Ysabella Johnson and Maika Adkins received vocal callbacks for the Finale Production. Ysabella Johnson was also awarded an MTCA scholarship. Directors Andie Wilkerson and Briana Valley were recognized for their creative direction and dedication to Theatre Education.
Above receiving recognition and accolades, the Showstoppers and Rising Stars also had the chance to learn alongside the country’s top performers and directors in the field taking master classes in all aspects of Musical Theatre. “I couldn’t be more proud of all our amazing young performers and the hard work they have put into their performances this season,” commented Andie Wilkerson, Youth Theatre Carson City’s Artistic Director. “Not only are they incredibly talented, but they are incredibly kind, driven, enthusiastic and compassionate individuals.”
You can catch the Youth Theatre Carson City Showstoppers in action March 27-29, 2026 at the Carson City Community Center as they perform their Spring Musical, Disney’s Dare to Dream, a brand new musical revue featuring over 20 favorite Disney classics. You can also see them perform their award-winning competition pieces and more at YTCC’s Annual Spotlight Awards April 18, 2026 at 7pm at the Carson City Community Center. Visit our website www.youththeatrecarsoncity.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
About the Youth Theatre Carson City Showstoppers
The Youth Theatre Carson City Showstoppers and Rising Stars are special groups of performers, hand-picked from the most talented, dedicated and enthusiastic members of the Youth Theatre Carson City program. Made up of 18 local young singers, dancers and actors between the ages of 8-18, the Showstoppers and Rising Stars tour and compete bringing their love of the arts to their community, and now to a national stage. Auditions for the 2026-2027 Showstoppers and Rising Stars performance teams will be held May 1, 2026. More information can be found on our website www.youththeatrecarsoncity.com.
About MTCA
Musical Theatre Competitions of America was established in 2005 to provide a competitive and educational event for Musical Theatre students and directors. Over the four-day event, students participated in professional-style auditions, competed with both group and individual performance pieces, took master classes from Broadway professionals and received personalized feedback from industry professionals.
