The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts Announces Nominees For The 2024 Marquee Awards

The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts has announced the nominees in all 13 categories of the 2024 CAPA Marquee Awards presented by American Electric Power Foundation.

Designed to recognize and celebrate the wealth of high-caliber musical theatre talent in central Ohio, this year-long, educational program offers selected high schools the opportunity to participate in professional theatre education activities throughout the school year.

During the 2023-24 school year, each of the 22 participating central Ohio high schools also submitted a musical theatre production for review by the program's team of professional adjudicators. The team provided educationally focused feedback and evaluated students/productions for a CAPA Marquee Award in the categories of Best Musical Production, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Direction, Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Dance Execution, Outstanding Student Orchestra, and Outstanding Technical Execution. Adjudicators evaluated hard-copy submissions in the categories of Backstage Excellence, Outstanding Student Designer, and National Student Reporter.

Nominees for the 2024 CAPA Marquee Awards are:

National Student Reporter

Sponsored by WBNS-10TV

• Lauren Hardy, Olentangy Liberty High School
• Gigi O'Dorisio, Bishop Watterson High School

Outstanding Student Orchestra

Sponsored by The DiMarco Family Fund of The Columbus Foundation

• Bexley High School, Xanadu
• Bishop Watterson High School, Les Misérables (School Edition)
• Dublin Coffman High School, Mean Girls (School Edition)
• Grove City High School, Shrek The Musical
• Worthington Kilbourne High School, Into the Woods

Backstage Excellence

Sponsored by ImprovEdge

• Stage Crew, Olentangy Liberty High School, Anything Goes
• Lighting Crew, Olentangy Orange High School, Sister Act
• Stage Management Team, Upper Arlington High School, Mean Girls (School Edition)
• Student Design Team, Westerville South High School, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
• Props & Costume Management Crew, Whetstone High School, Little Shop of Horrors

Outstanding Student Designer

Sponsored by The Pam and Jack Beeler Family Fund of The Columbus Foundation

• Aubrielle Behary, Westerville South High School, Costume Design, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
• Josh Brown, Upper Arlington High School, Sound Design, Mean Girls (School Edition)
• Deven Licón-Conner, Whetstone High School, Props Design, Little Shop of Horrors
• Betty Solomon, Licking Heights High School, Costume Design, The Wedding Singer
• Corinne Stevens, Upper Arlington High School, Costume Design, Mean Girls (School Edition)

Outstanding Technical Execution

Sponsored by Mary Beth and Luke McCormick

• Bexley High School, Xanadu, Stage Manager: Ruth Gravelle
• Fairfield Union High School, Mamma Mia!, Stage Manager: Carter McCrady
• New Albany High School, Mean Girls (School Edition), Stage Manager: Adeline Billups
• Olentangy High School, Catch Me If You Can, Stage Manager: Elena Achtman
• Whetstone High School, Little Shop of Horrors, Stage Manager: Lia Anderson

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Sponsored by Huntington

• Izzy Carleton, Bexley High School, Calliope in Xanadu
• Kamryn Dansby, Pickerington High School North, Dragon in Shrek The Musical
• Gianna Dziewiatkowski, Bishop Watterson High School, Gavroche in Les Misérables (School Edition)
• Sammie Ross, Bexley High School, Melpomene in Xanadu
• Kaylee Vance, Licking Heights High School, Grandma Rosie in The Wedding Singer

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Sponsored by Johnson Investment Counsel

• Ethan Bevington, Worthington Kilbourne High School, Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods
• Gage Freshour, Whetstone High School, Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors
• Lucas Gleim, Licking Heights High School, Sammy in The Wedding Singer
• Gus Nusken, Bexley High School, Danny in Xanadu
• Johnny Redman, Olentangy High School, Roger Strong in Catch Me If You Can

Outstanding Dance Execution

Sponsored by Kimball Midwest  

• Eastmoor Academy High School, The Wiz
• Grove City High School, Shrek The Musical
• Licking Heights High School, The Wedding Singer
• Olentangy High School, Catch Me If You Can
• Westerville South High School, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Outstanding Ensemble

Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, N.A.

• Bishop Watterson High School, Les Misérables (School Edition)
• Grove City High School, Shrek The Musical
• New Albany High School, Mean Girls (School Edition)
• Olentangy High School, Catch Me If You Can
• Whetstone High School, Little Shop of Horrors

Best Direction

Sponsored by Denison University

• Andrew Martin, Pickerington High School Central, The SpongeBob Musical
• Stefanie McConnell, Grove City High School, Shrek The Musical
• Christopher Ray, Whetstone High School, Little Shop of Horrors
• Rebecca Rhinehart, Bexley High School, Xanadu
• Johanna Whetstone, Licking Heights High School, The Wedding Singer

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Sponsored by White Castle

• Caira Fisher-Rogers, Olentangy Orange High School, Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act
• Allie Gomez, Upper Arlington High School, Cady Heron in Mean Girls (School Edition)
• Gwen Goodney, Bexley High School, Clio/Kira in Xanadu
• Mia Kadar, Dublin Coffman High School, Regina George in Mean Girls (School Edition)
• Kayla Servilla, Olentangy Berlin High School, Rusty in Footloose

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Sponsored by Danbert, Inc.

• Preston Hudson, Pickerington High School Central, SpongeBob SquarePants in The SpongeBob Musical
• Colin McNair, Bishop Watterson High School, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (School Edition)
• Andy Norbuta, Olentangy High School, Frank Abagnale, Jr. in Catch Me If You Can
• Jakob Robinson, Bexley High School, Sonny in Xanadu
• Christian Strong, Pickerington High School North, Shrek in Shrek The Musical

Best Musical Production

• Bishop Watterson High School, Les Misérables (School Edition)
• Eastmoor Academy High School, The Wiz
• Licking Heights High School, The Wedding Singer
• Upper Arlington High School, Mean Girls (School Edition)
• Whetstone High School, Little Shop of Horrors

The CAPA Marquee Awards will culminate in a live student showcase at the Ohio Theatre on Thursday, June 6, at 7:30 pm. The event will announce the winners of each category and include performances from the nominees for Best Musical Production, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Actress in a Leading Role, as well as opening and closing numbers that incorporate students from all participating high schools. A student technical team will also work backstage.  

Tickets are $15 for students and $25 for adults and can be purchased in-person at the CBUSArts Ticket Center at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.), online at www.CAPAMarqueeAwards.com or www.CBUSArts.com or by phone at (614) 469-0939.

Students selected as Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role will be designated as official Jimmy Award nominees for “Jimmys Week,” a 10-day theatre intensive led by Broadway professionals and industry experts, and compete on the national level for the 2024 Jimmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress.

About The Jimmy Awards /The National High School Musical Theatre Awards

The Jimmy Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) program impacts approximately 130,000 students who participate in 51 regional high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $6,000,000 in educational scholarships since its launch in 2009. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, Inc., the NHSMTA invites two nominees from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a rigorous theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training, and rehearsals led by some of Broadway's most accomplished professionals.

Nominees will spend ten days in New York City from Friday, June 14, 2024, through Tuesday, June 25, 2024, and their efforts throughout the week will lead to one extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The fifteenth annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 24, 2024, at the Minskoff Theatre.

For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.

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