San Juan native, comedian to host the annual Palm Awards

The stars of local high school theater will be celebrated Wednesday evening during the fifth annual Palm Awards, the popular event that honors and recognizes educational value, artistry, and community of high school theater in South Texas.

“The historically sold-out event — with over 1,800 attendees — offers an evening of spectacular musical performances and celebrity appearances as high school students and theater directors compete for awards in 25 categories, including Best Production in Musical and Play, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Technical Crew,” a news release read. “Much like the Tony Awards, which celebrate the best of Broadway, the show even includes a memorable Red Carpet experience.”

The Palm Awards is a non-profit organization founded by retired PSJA ISD high school theater teachers Michael Alebis and Gilbert Zepeda Jr. in 2017 with the intent to “enhance the awareness of theater-arts education in the Rio Grande Valley and honor students’ hard work and commitment by publicly recognizing their exceptional accomplishments.”

This year’s celebration will be hosted by comedian, actress, writer, producer and San Juan native, Cristela Alonzo.

Alonzo is known for being the first Latina to create, produce and star in her own network sitcom, “Cristela,” as well as being the first Latina lead in a Disney Pixar film, “Cars 3.”

“The reason I have gotten to do everything I’ve done in life (so far) is that my junior high teacher, Mr. (Bryan) Honl, convinced me to do theater,” Alonzo said in the news release. “Then, my high school drama teachers [Mr. Robert Gomez and Ms. Ofelia Gonzalez] continued the support and taught me I could play any role I wanted.”

In addition, the DC Universe “Blue Beetle” cast, as well as actress Tina Parker of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” will be announcing this season’s winners. The event saw over $25,000 in scholarships awarded to last year’s winners.

The event, which will take place at the McAllen Performing Arts Center, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with a red carpet, followed by the awards show at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available from $15 to $30, and can be purchased online on Ticketmaster. For more information, email [email protected].