Student thespians from area high schools gathered on Easton’s State Theatre stage for the 2025 Freddy Awards Ceremony recently.

Emmaus High School’s “Mamma Mia!” scored one Freddy out of 15 nominations.

The lehighvalleylive.com Student Achievement Award for going “above and beyond their offstage duties in a leadership role within production” was presented to Stage Manager Cecilia Ruyak for her work with the EHS production of “Mamma Mia!”

The graduating senior is soon headed to Wilkes University as an environmental science major with a theater and global cultures minor.

With EHS being one of six contenders for the Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical Freddy Award, Lila Schneider as Tanya, Anna Chavolla-Ramirez as Donna Sheridan and Kyra Kelly as Rosie Mulligan wowed the State Theatre audience as they led the company in “Dancing Queen/Waterloo” at the State Theatre, Easton.

Another area school taking home an award was William Allen with Tailisha Montanez Vargas receiving the Freddy for Outstanding Performance by a Female Ensemble Member for her role as Lucy in “Avenue Q: School Edition.”

“This is the best experience of my life,” she said. The graduating senior will study theater at DeSales University come fall.

Student actors from all 29 participating schools enthusiastically sang and danced across the stage for the opening and closing numbers. EHS, Salem Christian School, Salisbury High School, Allentown Central Catholic High School and William Allen High School were represented.

In 2003, the State Theatre Center for the Arts partnered with WFMZ Channel 69 to create a live television show to recognize outstanding achievement in local high school musical theater.

The Freddy Awards are named after J. “Fred” Osterstock, the legendary “Fred the Ghost” of the State Theatre who managed the company that owned the theater from 1936 until his death in 1957.