Ballston Spa rising senior Roman Mangino hit new heights during the spring musical season, performing as Frank Abagnale, Jr. in “Catch Me If You Can.”

His stage presence, voice, and dashing choreography drew all eyes to him amidst the ensemble members throughout the performance.

Last month, he was named a finalist in the Overall Lead Performer category, along with castmate and friend Peter Hinckley, who portrayed FBI agent Carl Hanratty. In one of the final award presentations, Mangino was announced as one of this year’s Outstanding Lead Performers.

Amsterdam senior Lanelys Oviedo Roman joins Mangino, this year’s other Outstanding Lead Performer, as they finish a 10-day stay at The Juilliard School in New York City. The pair, along with 54 other sets of winners nationwide, are being mentored, trained, and compete before Monday night’s National High School Musical Theatre Awards, known as ‘The Jimmies’.

The Daily Gazette caught up with Mengino and drama club director Matthew Lopez on the stage at Ballston Spa High School to talk about his young career and what is next for him.

Last month Amsterdam High School senior Lianelys Ovideo Roman was awarded the High School Musical Theatre Award for top performer after portraying Eurydice in Hadestown: Teen Edition

Amsterdam High School garnered two additional awards - Back Stage excellence and Best Musical Tier C, thrilling high school music teacher and director Christopher Stefani.

With the honor, Lianelys is currently in New York City at The Juilliard School for 10 days of mentorship, auditions, and competition culminating with the June 23 National High School Musical Theatre Awards show, called The Jimmies, with this year's host, Josh Groban, at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre.

Lianelys took my breath away when I had the opportunity to see her and the entire cast perform during dress rehearsal.

Here is Christopher Stefani talking about the decision to choose Hadestown: Teen Edition for this year's musical, talking about his talented cast, followed by the rising star, Lianelys Oviedo Roman, as she tells us her story.

When Sustainable Saratoga executive director Kelsey Trudell is not helping make our environment a better place throughout Saratoga County, she is a busy videographer and, along with her husband, Ben, are YouTube stars!

Her career took her to Arizona, where she worked early on with the Arizona Sustainability Alliance before the opportunity to move back to the area presented itself for her and her husband, Ben.

She talked about all the events that kicked off on April's Earth Day, to promoting the work of tiny pollinators during No Mow May to a Black Friday doorbuster type of atmosphere on May 31 for the annual Pollinator Palozza Plant Sale at Oginly's Country Gardens.

She talked about what the organization has done this spring, what's up next after a well-deserved break, including a bucket list destination and what you and I can do to help the environment that we all share.

For more information about the organization, visit www.sustainablesaratoga.org

• (00:01:30) - About Kelsey Trudell
• (00:04:20) - Work inside, then outside - in Arizona
• (00:07:30) - Returning to Saratoga County
• (00:08:00) - Finding Sustainable Saratoga
• (00:10:30) - A very busy spring
• (00:18:00) - Kelsley's almost 'Green Thumb'
• (00:22:30) - Looking forward this year
• (00:30:30) - What can we do to help?
• (00:36:00) - Kelsey and Ben's travels
• (00:40:00) - Bucket list destination
• (00:42:00) - Kelsey and Ben wedding videographers

For most people, Halloween is less than six months away, but for graphic designer Kayla Ek, the time is now. This Saturday, Ek will deliver new, intriguing, and — to some pedestrians — odd arts and exhibits to her second Nightmare on Jay Street.

Ek provided the first early evening exhibit in the marketplace last October, and its success created howls for another marketplace event in May.

Kalya stopped by The Daily Gazette podcast studio to talk about the Nightmare Marketplace, her start as an artist, her vision for the marketplace, and how early she likes to put up her own Halloween decorations.

For the past 22 years, Maggie Fronk has been front and center at Wellspring, the domestic violence and sexual assault services resource for Saratoga and Washington County in New York.

April is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and April 30th is Denim Day.

On a beautiful spring day, I sat down with Maggie Fronk, who shed light on Wellspring's mission, the history of Denim Day, and what everyone can do to help others who are in need of their services.

• (00:02:30) - Introduction to Wellspring and Denim Day
• (00:05:00) - 22 years at Wellspring
• (00:09:00) - What makes you happy
• (00:11:00) - What was COVID-19 like for your services
• (00:15:30) - "You helped me... a story"
• (00:19:00) - Explaining the job of Wellspring
• (00:21:30) - What can we do to help?

Paula Fidalgo is a familiar face in New York's Capital Region - one of the first staffers hired in 2002 at Time Warner Cable's Cable News 9 channel.

She spent years on screens, delivering the news, using her creative talents behind the scenes, and more before venturing out on her own.

The stories she helped deliver and the people she met helped her as she decided to craft her first book of fiction "They Even Took My Shoes: How a journalist overcame betrayal, an abusive court system and kept her promise."

I sat down with Paula to learn about her life; her world travels, and and her struggles. I learned how amazingly upbeat she was during her early life and how her energy continued as she told me her story.