HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION, URINETOWN, PIPPIN & More Nominated For 2026 Shuler Awards

The ArtsBridge Foundation has announced nominees, honorees, and scholarship recipients for the 2026 Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Shuler Awards. The ceremony will take place April 16, 2026 at 8:00 p.m., airing on Georgia Public Broadcasting and streaming online.

Now in its 18th year, the Shuler Awards recognize excellence in musical theatre across 67 participating high schools throughout Georgia.

“The Shuler Awards are about celebrating the extraordinary talent, dedication, and collaboration happening in high school theatre programs across Georgia,” said Beth Lenhart, Director of Arts Education for ArtsBridge Foundation and Director of the Shuler Awards.

OVERALL PRODUCTION NOMINEES

• Allatoona High School — Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Buford High School — Urinetown
• Houston County High School — Pippin
• King’s Ridge Christian School — The Drowsy Chaperone
• Milton High School — Water for Elephants High School Edition
• Peachtree Ridge High School — 42nd Street

LEADING ACTRESS NOMINEES

• Eden Singletary — Cairo High School (Little Women)
• Sutton Van Lenten — Greenbrier High School (The Hello Girls)
• Amelia Wilson — Lakeside High School (Anything Goes)
• Madeline Hansen — Lambert High School (My Fair Lady)
• Destiny Brown — Tri-Cities High School (The Color Purple)
• Trinity Goolsby — Westlake High School (Mean Girls High School Edition)

LEADING ACTOR NOMINEES

• Will Bartlett — Decatur High School (Alice by Heart)
• Andrew Pijanowski — Denmark High School (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
• Steel Stout — Houston County High School (Pippin)
• Aiden Egorugwu — Stilwell School of the Arts (The Wiz)
• Jake James — Milton High School (Water for Elephants High School Edition)
• Connor Green — North Forsyth High School (Guys and Dolls)

DIRECTION, MUSIC & PRODUCTION

BEST DIRECTION

• Traci Kemp (Allatoona)
• Leila Bowman (Buford)
• Brett Taylor (Houston County)
• Kathy Winchell (King’s Ridge)
• Lynda Micki Ankiel (Milton)
• Courtney Chitwood Ondre (Peachtree Ridge)

BEST MUSIC DIRECTION

• Emily Cannon (Allatoona)
• Elise Eskew Sparks (Decatur)
• Jenny Piacente (King’s Ridge)
• Leroy Kennedy & Amelia Wilson (Lakeside)
• Richard Magner (Providence Christian)
• Jané Ellis & Savannah Hatch (Ringgold)

BEST ORCHESTRA

• Daniel Scott (Cambridge)
• Jennie Fabianski (Chattahoochee)
• Riley Hooper (Dalton)
• Lori Van Lenten (Greenbrier)
• Joel Derringer (Stilwell)
• Dr. Tariq Rowland (Tri-Cities)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

• Ashley Smith (Buford)
• Brett Taylor & team (Houston County)
• Lydia Kurtz (Milton)
• Courtney Chitwood Ondre (Peachtree Ridge)
• Sophia Thomas (Ringgold)
• Brianna As-Salaam (Tri-Cities)

BEST ENSEMBLE

• Buford HS
• Decatur HS
• Houston County HS
• Milton HS
• Peachtree Ridge HS
• Ringgold HS

TECHNICAL & DESIGN AWARDS

BEST TECHNICAL EXECUTION

• Allatoona HS
• Houston County HS
• King’s Ridge Christian School
• Lakeside HS
• Milton HS
• Morgan County HS

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

• Allatoona HS
• Buford HS
• Decatur HS
• Lakeside HS
• Lakeview Academy
• Peachtree Ridge HS

BEST SOUND DESIGN

• Allatoona HS
• King’s Ridge Christian School
• Lakeside HS
• Milton HS
• North Forsyth HS
• Providence Christian Academy

BEST SCENIC DESIGN

• Allatoona HS
• Decatur HS
• Milton HS
• Peachtree Ridge HS
• Ringgold HS
• Sequoyah HS

BEST COSTUMES

• Decatur HS
• Houston County HS
• King’s Ridge Christian School
• Milton HS
• Peachtree Ridge HS
• Providence Christian Academy

PERFORMANCE AWARDS

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER

• Students from Allatoona, Buford, Dalton, King’s Ridge, Lakeside, Milton, New Manchester, Providence Christian, Ringgold, and Tri-Cities High Schools

BEST FEATURED PERFORMER

• Tafesse Jenks (Decatur)
• Tamia Carthers (Marietta)
• Bailee Bowman (Ringgold)
• MC Brezina (Trinity Christian)
• Sofia Winter (West Forsyth)
• Malachi Johnson (Westlake)

SCHOLARSHIPS & STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

MAJOR SCHOLARSHIPS

• Jasiah Taylor (Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts) — James Carlos Family Scholarship
• Zainab Sesay (Lanier HS) — British Academy of Performing Arts Intensive

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS

• Seth Manuel (Milton HS)
• Destiny Brown (Tri-Cities HS)
• Jace Ferney (Ringgold HS)
• Sutton Van Lenten (Greenbrier HS)
• Nazra Tadele (Providence Christian Academy)
• Aidan Rolle (Greenbrier HS)
• Victoria Harris (Westlake HS)
• Tony Le (Houston County HS)
• David Horton (Providence Christian Academy)
• Ava Kassebaum (Roswell HS)
• Bram Fages (Weber School)
• Aiden Egorugwu (Stilwell School of the Arts)

SPECIAL AWARDS & HONORS

SHOWSTOPPER AWARD

• Stilwell School of the Arts — “Y’all Got It” from The Wiz

SPOTLIGHT AWARD

• Ringgold High School — The Little Mermaid

STANDING OVATION AWARDS

• DeKalb School of the Arts
• Duluth High School
• Greenbrier High School
• Stilwell School of the Arts
• Ringgold High School
• Wesleyan School

TICKETS & INFORMATION