Issue Date: October 5, 2008 USA WEEKEND shines a spotlight on extraordinary high school productions across the country! Showstopper! 2008 Winner and slideshow Showstopper! Special award for Disney's High School Musical with performance clips Showstopper! 2008 Runners-up with slideshows State-by-state 2008 Honorable Mentions state-by-state listing with photos Seniors Devon Perry and Grant Cole, pictured with director Margaret Lawson, starred in Pickerington High North's winning show. The special award for Disney's High School Musical goes to ... Pickerington High School North in Ohio Since it exploded onto the scene two years ago, Disney's "High School Musical" quickly became one of the most widely produced shows in -- where else? -- America's high schools. This year, USA WEEKEND created a special Showstopper award to recognize the best among those productions, in partnership with Disney Theatrical Productions. The honor goes to Pickerington High School North in Pickerington, Ohio. "'High School Musical' was special to us because it gave us a chance to connect a younger generation that is so wrapped up with TV and video games to the joys of live theater," says theater director Margaret Lawson, who entered the show in the contest after reading about it in "The Columbus Dispatch." "It was also a musical that we could make our own." Among the show's attributes were a two-level stage set, a seven-piece live band, crisp choreography and dynamic ensemble performances. Pickerington High School North will receive $1,000 for the school's theater department. -- T.J. Walter