2025 Marquee Award Announced by Columbus Association for the Performing Arts

The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) announced the winners in all 13 categories of the 2025 CAPA Marquee Awards presented by American Electric Power Foundation at its annual showcase, held May 9 at the Ohio Theatre.

In addition to announcing the 2024-2025 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 incorporated 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 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.

2024-2025 CAPA Marquee Award winners are: 

For Best Musical Production, the winner is Eastmoor Academy High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition. For Best Actor in a Leading Role, the winner is Jakob Robinson, Bexley High School, Edward Bloom in Big Fish (School Edition). For Best Actress in a Leading Role, the winner is Kamryn Dansby, Pickerington High School North, Catherine of Aragon in SIX: Teen Edition. For Best Direction, the winner is Nicholas Mayes, Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition.

For Outstanding Ensemble, the winner is Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition. For Outstanding Dance Execution, the winner is Marysville High School, Mamma Mia! For Best Actor in a Supporting Role, the winner is Zack Rouleau, Chillicothe High School, Chief Weasal in The Wind in the Willows. For Best Actress in a Supporting Role, the winner is Ava Baker, New Albany High School, Maggie in A Chorus Line: Teen Edition,

For Ourstanding Technical Execution, the winenr is Jonathan Alder High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition, Stage Manager: Kyra Neeley. For Outstanding Student Designer, the winner is Deven Licón-Conner, Whetstone High School, Costume Design, Hadestown: Teen Edition. For Backstage Excellence, the winner is Set & Costume Crew, Bishop Watterson High School, The SpongeBob Musical. Finally, for Outstanding Student Orchestra, the winner is Olentangy Orange High School, Sweeney Todd (School Edition).

Jakob Robinson and Kamryn Dansby, winners of Best Actress and Actor in a Leading Role, will now compete nationally at The 2025 Jimmy Awards/National High School Musical Theatre Awards. They will participate in “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.

Additionally, CAPA nominated two students for the National Student Reporter program - Lauren Hardy of Olentangy Liberty High School, and Valentina Vergamini of Upper Arlington High School. The category is sponsored locally by WBNS-10TV.

 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. 

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 Theatre (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.  

CAPA’s 2024-25 season is made possible in part by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. CAPA also appreciates the generous support of the Greater Columbus Arts Council, City of Columbus, Franklin County, and The Columbus Foundation’s Jane H. Zimmerman Arts, Martha G. Staub, and Richard G. and Mary Jo Seyler funds.

Columbus Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. 42ND STREET (Gahanna Lincoln Summer)

16.2% of votes

2. THE LITTLE MERMAID (Sunbury Performing Arts)

12.9% of votes

3. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Weathervane Playhouse)

10.4% of votes

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