2023 CAPA Marquee Award Winners Revealed

 The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts announced the winners in all 13 categories of the 2023 CAPA Marquee Awards presented by American Electric Power Foundation at its annual student showcase, held May 25 at the Ohio Theatre.

 

In addition to announcing the 2022-2023 winners, the event featured 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 nominated students from participating high schools. A student technical team also worked backstage.

 

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 2022-23 school year, each of the 18 participating central Ohio high schools also submitted a musical theatre production for review by the program’s team of professional adjudicators.

 

2022-2023 CAPA Marquee Award winners are:

Best Musical Production

• Pickerington High School North, Kinky Boots

 

Best Actress in a Leading Role Sponsored by White Castle

• Helena Engberg, Olentangy High School, Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

 

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

• Christian Strong, Pickerington High School North, Lola in Kinky Boots

 

Best Direction Sponsored by Denison University

• Allen DeCarlo-Boyd, Pickerington High School North, Kinky Boots

 

Outstanding Ensemble Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank

• Bishop Watterson High School, Damn Yankees

 

Outstanding Dance Execution Sponsored by Cardinal Health  

• Eastmoor Academy High School, Once on This Island

 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Sponsored by Huntington

• Gracie Clark, Upper Arlington High School, Babette in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast 

 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Sponsored by Johnson Investment Counsel

• Bennett Ladowitz, Pickerington High School North, George in Kinky Boots

 

Outstanding Technical Execution Sponsored by Mary Beth and Luke McCormick

• Olentangy Orange High School, The SpongeBob Musical, Stage Manager: Bryn Mosure

 

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

• Benjamin Coughlin, Olentangy Berlin High School, Lighting Design, The Addams Family 
   

Backstage Excellence Sponsored by ImprovEdge

• Set & Props Crew, Olentangy Orange High School, The SpongeBob Musical

 

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

• Grove City High School, Once Upon a Mattress

 

Engberg and Strong, winners of Best Actress and Actor in a Leading Role, will now compete nationally at The 2023 Jimmy Awards/National High School Musical Theatre Awards. They will participate in a week-long program in New York City, which includes intensive professional training led by Broadway theatre professionals and industry experts. The week will culminate in a talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage.

 

Additionally, CAPA nominated two students for the National Student Reporter program, Gigi O’Dorisio of Bishop Watterson High School, and Kathyrn Mowery of Westerville South High School. The category is sponsored locally by WBNS-10TV.

 

Mowery was selected by the Jimmy Awards as one of 10 finalists nationally, two of which will be selected to cover the Jimmy Awards in New York City. Those selections will be announced in early June.

 

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 48 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 million in educational scholarships. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, Inc., 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 sessions, training, and rehearsals led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals.

 

Nominees will spend one week (June 18-27) in New York City and their efforts throughout the week will lead to one extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on the Broadway stage. The 14th annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 26 at the Minskoff Theatre. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.  

 

About CAPA

Owner/operator of downtown Columbus’ magnificent historic theatres (Ohio Theatre, Palace Theatre, Southern Theatre) and manager of the Riffe Center Theatre Complex, Lincoln Theatre, Drexel Theatre, Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts (New Albany, OH), and the Shubert Theater (New Haven, CT), CAPA is a non-profit, award-winning presenter of national and international performing arts and entertainment. For more information, visit www.capa.com.