The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) announced the nominees in all 13 categories of the 2025 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 2024-25 school year, each of the 26 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 2025 CAPA Marquee Awards are:

National Student Reporter Sponsored by WBNS-10TV

• Lauren Hardy, Olentangy Liberty High School
• Valentina Vergamini, Upper Arlington High School

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

• Bexley High School, Big Fish (School Edition)
• Bishop Watterson High School, The SpongeBob Musical
• New Albany High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Olentangy Orange High School, Sweeney Todd (School Edition)
• Pickerington High School Central, Little Shop of Horrors

Backstage Excellence Sponsored by ImprovEdge

• Set & Costume Crew, Bishop Watterson High School, The SpongeBob Musical
• Crew Dogs, New Albany High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Set Lead Team & Crew, Olentangy Orange High School, Sweeney Todd (School Edition)
• Costume Crew, Westerville South High School, Alice by Heart
• Lighting Crew Leads, Whetstone High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition

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

• Amabelle Chan, Olentangy Orange High School, Lighting Design, Sweeney Todd (School Edition)
• Lainey Kimball, Pickerington High School North, Set Design, SIX: Teen Edition
• Deven Licón-Conner, Whetstone High School, Costume Design, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Corinne Stevens, Upper Arlington High School, Costume Design, The Sound of Music
• Aaron Vezdos, Whetstone High School, Lighting Design, Hadestown: Teen Edition

Outstanding Technical Execution Sponsored by Mary Beth and Luke McCormick

• Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition, Stage Manager: Kyra Neeley
• New Albany High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition, Stage Managers: Margaret Farrell & Casper Green
• Olentangy High School, Mamma Mia!, Stage Manager: Erika Stake
• Olentangy Orange High School, Sweeney Todd (School Edition), Stage Manager: Preston Bronder
• Pickerington High School Central, Little Shop of Horrors, Stage Manager: Bella Peirano

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Sponsored by Electrical Service Professionals

• Oliver Bernstein, Pickerington High School Central, Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors
• Braden Carrion, Olentangy Liberty High School, Danny Maguire/Zeus in Xanadu
• Elliott Jingo, Westerville South High School, Harold Pudding/Mad Hatter in Alice by Heart
• Mason Peirano, Pickerington High School Central, Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors
• Zack Rouleau, Chillicothe High School, Chief Weasal in The Wind in the Willows

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Sponsored by Huntington

• Kate Armstrong, New Albany High School, Sheila in A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Ava Baker, New Albany High School, Maggie in A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Allison Freeland, Fairfield Union High School, Pinocchio in Shrek The Musical
• Gabby Lewis, New Albany High School, Bebe in A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Maria Thiel, New Albany High School, Kristine in A Chorus Line: Teen Edition

Outstanding Dance Execution Sponsored by The McCurdy Family Foundation  

• Eastmoor Academy High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Marysville High School, Mamma Mia!
• New Albany High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Olentangy High School, Mamma Mia!

Outstanding Ensemble Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, N.A.

• Eastmoor Academy High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Marysville High School, Mamma Mia!
• New Albany High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Olentangy High School, Mamma Mia!

Best Direction Sponsored by Denison University

• Seth Harms, Eastmoor Academy High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Nicholas Mayes, Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Anna McReynolds, Olentangy High School, Mamma Mia!
• Cathy Swain-Abrams, Olentangy Orange High School, Sweeney Todd (School Edition)
• Johanna Whetstone, Licking Heights High School, Urinetown

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

• Preston Hudson, Pickerington High School Central, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors
• Kyle Meadows, Eastmoor Academy High School, Hades in Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Jakob Robinson, Bexley High School, Edward Bloom in Big Fish (School Edition)
• Shawn Underwood, Eastmoor Academy High School, Orpheus in Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Oliver Weaver, Whetstone High School, Orpheus in Hadestown: Teen Edition

Best Actress in a Leading Role Sponsored by Johnson Investment Counsel

• Allyson Carroll, Pickerington High School North, Jane Seymour in SIX: Teen Edition
• Kamryn Dansby, Pickerington High School North, Catherine of Aragon in SIX: Teen Edition
• Kayden Grecco, Olentangy High School, Sophie in Mamma Mia!
• Lucy Robinson, Bexley High School, The Witch in Big Fish (School Edition)
• Emma Wintersteller, New Albany High School, Diana in A Chorus Line: Teen Edition

Best Musical Production

• Eastmoor Academy High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Marysville High School, Mamma Mia!
• New Albany High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
• Olentangy High School, Mamma Mia!

The CAPA Marquee Awards will culminate in a live student showcase at the Ohio Theatre on Friday, May 9, 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 CAPA Ticket Center at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.), online at www.CAPAMarqueeAwards.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 theatre intensive led by Broadway professionals and industry experts, and compete on the national level for the 2025 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®

(NHSMTA®)

The Jimmy Awards^®/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards^® (NHSMTA^®) program impacts approximately 150,000 students who participate in 55 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 13, 2025, through Tuesday, June 24, 2025, and their experience will culminate in an extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. The sixteenth annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 23, 2025, at the Minskoff Theatre.

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