Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase highlights on Iowa PBS

Iowa PBS is proud to present the 2026 Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase on Monday, July 6 at 8:30 p.m. Feel the energy of hundreds of amazing student performers representing 100 participating Iowa high schools, as they share highlights from their award-winning school musicals! The showcase will be rebroadcast Sunday, July 12 at 4:30 p.m. and the program will be available for on-demand streaming on iowapbs.org and the PBS app for a limited time.

The Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase is an unforgettable evening of entertainment and a celebration of the important contributions of Iowa’s high school musical theater productions.

"At Des Moines Performing Arts, we believe school theater programs are a powerful force for student development and community connection,” said Director of Education for Des Moines Performing Arts Karoline Myers. “By bringing greater visibility to school musical productions, we aim to highlight the lasting impact these programs have on students while advocating for continued investment in arts education in communities of every size.”

This unforgettable evening of entertainment is a celebration of the important contributions of Iowa’s high school drama programs. Throughout the year, theater professionals travel across the state to review high school musical productions. The year culminates with students from those schools coming together to share highlights from their productions on the Des Moines Civic Center stage, and to receive honors for their work in performance, technical and creative categories. In addition, students work under the direction of a guest music director and choreographer from New York City to give the best performances of their young lives.

Program support provided by ACT, Inc., The Daniel and Ann Krumm Charitable Trust and Musco Lighting.