The students of Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Music Theatre (UMT) won the Outstanding Production Award at the iTheatrics Junior Theatre Festival for the fifth consecutive year.

Marsalis’ students brought home the festival’s top honor after traveling to the largest annual festival for youth musical theater, competing against more than 100 groups of students age 7-18 from across the country. It is the first time in the festival’s 11 years that a group has won five years in a row.

“I’m extremely proud of our students for both their love of the arts and their commitment to excellence,” said Marsalis in a press statement.  “They bring that unique New Orleans joy and celebration to the competition every year.”

The UMT students performed excerpts from “James and the Giant Peach,” a recreation of the 1996 British-American musical film. UMT students also worked with ‘Downton Abbey’ star Gary Carr to perfect their British accents for the performance. Past productions of the student group have included “Godspell” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

More information about the Uptown Music Theatre can be found at uptownmusictheatre.org