CAPA Announces Winners of the 2022 CAPA Marquee Awards Presented by American Electric Power Foundation

The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) today announced the winners in all 11 categories of the 2022 CAPA Marquee Awards presented by American Electric Power Foundation. Designed to celebrate, support, and advocate for high school musical theatre education throughout central Ohio, the program evaluated nominated high school musical theatre students and productions from 18 participating high schools.

The winners of each category were announced at the 2022 CAPA Marquee Awards student showcase held on Tuesday, May 10. Modeled after the Tony® Awards, the event included 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 incorporated nominated students from all participating high schools.

The 2022 CAPA Marquee Award winners are:

Outstanding Student Orchestra sponsored by The DiMarco Family Fund of The Columbus Foundation

• Dublin Jerome High School, The Addams Family
• Grove City High School, Newsies
• New Albany High School, Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Olentangy Orange High School, Hairspray
• Thomas Worthington High School, Mamma Mia!

Backstage Excellence sponsored by Liz Riley

• Costuming Guild, Bishop Watterson High School, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
• Sound Crew, Olentangy Berlin High School, Mamma Mia!
• Set Construction & Run Crew, Olentangy Liberty High School, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins
• Lighting Crew, Olentangy Orange High School, Hairspray
• Backstage Run Crew, Thomas Worthington High School, Mamma Mia!
• Production Managers, Upper Arlington High School, 42nd Street

Outstanding Student Designer sponsored by The Pam and Jack Beeler Family Fund of The Columbus Foundation

• Jonah Dean, Worthington Christian School, Props Design, The SpongeBob Musical
• Milo Eckhardt, Westerville Central High School, Puppet Design, Shrek The Musical
• Joshua Pearson, Olentangy Berlin High School, Set Design, Mamma Mia!
• Carol Rekow, Bishop Watterson High School, Costume Design, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
• Nora Root, Hilliard Darby High School, Costume Design, Calvin Berger

Outstanding Technical Execution sponsored by Mary Beth and Luke McCormick

• Dublin Jerome High School, The Addams Family, Stage Manager: Maya Valcourt
• New Albany High School, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Stage Manager: Eloise Galaise
• Pickerington High School Central, Chicago (School Edition), Stage Manager: Kat Ross
• Pickerington High School North, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Stage Manager: Drake Collins
• Upper Arlington High School, 42nd Street, Stage Manager: Edith LeBlanc

Best Actress in a Supporting Role sponsored by Huntington

• Shannon Barr, Olentangy Orange High School, Penny Pingleton in Hairspray
• Zion Clifton, Olentangy Orange High School, Little Inez in Hairspray
• Avery Golowin, Upper Arlington High School, Annie Reilly in 42nd Street
• Ella Kaminski, Olentangy Orange High School, Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray
• KK Murphy, Upper Arlington High School, Maggie Jones in 42nd Street

Best Actor in a Supporting Role sponsored by Johnson Investment Counsel

• William Baumann, Westerville North High School, Chef Louis in Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Elijah Beal, Olentangy Orange High School, Wilbur Turnblad in Hairspray
• Connor Bellair, Upper Arlington High School, Bert Barry in 42nd Street
• Jack Stevens, Bishop Watterson High School, Cogsworth in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
• Ben Stone, Thomas Worthington High School, Bill Austin in Mamma Mia!

Outstanding Ensemble sponsored by Fifth Third Bank

• Grove City High School, Newsies
• Olentangy Liberty High School, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins
• Pickerington High School North, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• Upper Arlington High School, 42nd Street
• Westerville South High School, Bright Star

Best Direction sponsored by Denison University

• Allen DeCarlo, Pickerington High School North, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• Justin Nawman, Thomas Worthington High School, Mamma Mia!
• David O’Roark, Worthington Christian School, The SpongeBob Musical
• Aileen Targett, Pickerington High School Central, Chicago (School Edition)
• Greg Varner, Upper Arlington High School, 42nd Street

Best Musical Production

• Dublin Jerome High School, The Addams Family
• New Albany High School, Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Upper Arlington High School, 42nd Street
• Westerville South High School, Bright Star
• Worthington Christian School, The SpongeBob Musical

Best Actress in a Leading Role sponsored by White Castle

• Allie Gomez, Upper Arlington High School, Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street
• Edin Kebede, New Albany High School, Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Bella Price, Westerville South High School, Alice Murphy in Bright Star
• Lorelei Roeger, New Albany High School, Scuttle in Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Avery Young, Dublin Jerome High School, Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family

Best Actor in a Leading Role sponsored by Danbert, Inc.

• Wyatt Kerns, Worthington Christian School, Squidward Q. Tentacles in The SpongeBob Musical
• Samuel O’Roark, Worthington Christian School, SpongeBob SquarePants in The SpongeBob Musical
• Grant Overmyer, Upper Arlington High School, Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street
• Christian Strong, Pickerington High School North, Mitch Mahoney/Dan Schwartz in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• Ben Wright, Westerville Central High School, Shrek in Shrek The Musical

 

Winners Bella Price and Wyatt Kerns are the official Jimmy Award® nominees for “Jimmys Week,” a 10-day professional training intensive with theatre professionals and industry experts, and will compete on the national level for the 2022 Jimmy Awards® for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress.

About Bella Price
Bella Price is a graduating senior from Westerville South High School. She has been heavily involved with her school’s theatre program all four years, being a part of 20 performances in total. Notable credits include Into the Woods (Witch), Oklahoma! (Ado Annie), Bright Star (Alice Murphy), and Footloose (Rusty). Price has won multiple awards including Best Actress and Best Actress of the Season in her school’s theatre program, as well as regional recognition, scoring a double superior on multiple individual events for Ohio Thespians. Outside of theatre, Price enjoys writing, playing guitar and piano, and expanding her wardrobe. She will pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in the fall of 2022.

About Wyatt Kerns
Wyatt Kerns is a graduating senior from Worthington Christian Upper School where he has been a proud member of the theatre department, working on and off the stage. Credits include Big Fish (Zacky Price), You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Linus Van Pelt), Godspell (Featured Ensemble), and The SpongeBob Musical (Squidward Q. Tentacles). Kerns has also performed in shows with CATCO including High School Musical Jr. (Troy Bolton). He has been a member of Worthington Christian’s High School Men’s Choir, Mixed Choir, and Chorale, and has also participated in the Ohio Music Education Association solo and ensemble contest, receiving superior ratings for six consecutive years. Outside of his time in theatre, Kerns enjoys studying music theory, composing music, reading, dancing in tap class, and continuing his study in voice. He will be attending The Ohio State University School of Music to study choral music education with a minor in vocal performance.

About The Jimmy Awards® /The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®)
The Jimmy Awards®/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®) program impacts more than 140,000 students who participate in 46 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 $5,000,000 in educational scholarships. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, the NHSMTA invites one Best Actress and one Best Actor nominee from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a week-long theatre intensive that includes coaching, training, and rehearsing led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals. Nominees will spend one week in New York City from Monday, June 20, 2022, through Tuesday, June 28, 2022, and their combined efforts throughout the week will lead to one extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The thirteenth annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 27, 2022, at the Minskoff Theatre. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.