Columbus Association for the Performing Arts announces Marquee Awards winners

Jim Fischer

May 12, 2022 at 9:56 AM·7 min read

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you’ve waited for.”

That line from the song “The Greatest Show” from the musical “The Greatest Showman” was one of several numbers an ensemble of local high school theater students performed on the Ohio Theatre stage May 10, opening CAPA’s annual Marquee Awards show.

It certainly was the case for all the students, teachers and families of those nominated for the awards, which mark the culmination of a year-long theater education program sponsored by CAPA.

Loud cheers from different sections of the audience greeted every announcement of every school, from the 18 central Ohio high schools that participated during the 2021-22 school year to the announcement of the winners of 11 categories celebrating both on-stage and backstage talent.

“There are lots of awards to recognize athletic talent, but it’s just as important to recognize this talent,” CAPA president and CEO Chad Whittington said during his opening remarks.

During the school year, each of the 18 participating high schools submitted a musical theater production for review by the program’s team of professional adjudicators, with 15 schools nominated for Marquee Awards.

A student ensemble performs the opening number for the 2022 Columbus Association for the Performing Arts Marquee Awards show, honoring the best in central Ohio high school theater, May 10 at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus.

Top individual honors went to Bella Price of Westerville South High School for best actress in a leading role for her portrayal of Alice Murphy in “Bright Star” and Worthington Christian School’s Wyatt Kerns, who won for best actor in a leading role for his work in “The SpongeBob Musical” as Squidward Q. Tentacles.

“(‘Bright Star’) is unlike any other show I've done. It is authentic, heartwarming and uplifting,” Price said after the ceremony. “Playing Alice Murphy was playing two characters – Alice in her youth and Alice as a developed adult. It was challenging but simultaneously full of depth that I am forever grateful I had the opportunity to portray. …

“This award is so special to me as it is not just a victory for me but is a victory for everyone who has been a part of my journey and helped tell Alice Murphy's story. Everyone in the cast of ‘Bright Star’ was so genuinely connected because of the ensemble-like nature of the show. It was so rewarding to connect one last time through this.”

“This award means everything and more,” said Kerns, who in his acceptance speech offered that personal and interpersonal struggles had caused him to consider quitting the theater program. “I can’t believe that I have gotten to where I am now, and I am so thankful for everyone who helped me get to this point. My school and our drama program in particular get looked over quite frequently, so being recognized for such a big award is crazy and amazing. …

“The show is extremely meaningful to me because it displays such good characteristics of friendship, perseverance and bravery. The role of Squidward is my favorite I have ever played.”

Other best-actress nominees were Allie Gomez, Upper Arlington High School; Edin Kebede, New Albany High School; Lorelei Roeger, New Albany; and Avery Young, Dublin Jerome High School.

Other best-actor nominees were Samuel O’Roark, Worthington Christian; Grant Overmyer, Upper Arlington; Christian Strong, Pickerington High School North; and Ben Wright, Westerville Central High School.

Leading-role nominees performed medleys of songs from their shows as part of the ceremony.

A student ensemble performs the closing number for the 2022 Columbus Association for the Performing Arts Marquee Awards show, honoring the best in central Ohio high school theater, May 10 at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus.

Price and Kerns are to move on to compete at the national level as official CAPA and Columbus nominees in the categories of best performance by an actor and best performance by an actress at the 2022 Jimmy Awards/National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City, which also include a professional training intensive with theater professionals and industry experts.

Much “hip hooray” and “ballyhoo” were reserved for Upper Arlington for its production of “42nd Street,” which won for best musical production.

“It’s really awesome to be recognized outside of our own community in Upper Arlington through a program that connects us to the rest of central Ohio,” Allie Gomez (as Peggy Sawyer) said. “It’s really exciting that something I got to be a part of got recognized as best musical. I think that’s a sign of potential to do even more and better things.”

Greg Varner, Upper Arlington’s theater teacher and director, said students were determined to open the new high school and a return to live theater with a show that celebrated the new season.

“As all shows are, this was a community effort,” Varner said. “But perhaps because we were feeling ‘back’ after the pandemic, we celebrated the process more intentionally.

“When the curtain went up on opening night, we were confident that we had hit our goals. Having CAPA applaud our investment with the award for best musical affirms all that we did as worth it. This award means that our tech crew, our student leaders, our student designers and our performers are doing something right.”

Other nominees were Dublin Jerome, “The Addams Family”; New Albany, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”; Westerville South, “Bright Star”; and Worthington Christian, “The SpongeBob Musical.”

Guests give a standing ovation to the closing performance at the end of the 2022 Columbus Association for the Performing Arts Marquee Awards show, honoring the best in central Ohio high school theater, May 10 at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus.

“I have to believe that every musical represented at the Marquee Awards felt a sense of satisfaction with what they had done that was punctuated by the honor of CAPA's recognition,” Varner said. “The added memory is in seeing the collective community of student and adult artists creating yet another layer to an already successful year. Being part of that was a purposeful reminder of why the arts matter.”

Worthington Christian's theater teacher David O’Roark earned best-direction honors for his school’s production of “The SpongeBob Musical.”

Other nominees were Allen DeCarlo, Pickerington North; Justin Nawman, Thomas Worthington High School; Aileen Targett, Pickerington High School Central; and Varner, Upper Arlington.

“Having been part of the Worthington Christian School theater for over 20 years, it means a lot to know that I have been moving the program in a good direction,” O’Roark said after the ceremony. “We have never had a real auditorium, and we have had to build our program (and stage) from the ground up. I always tell the kids that just because we don’t have a huge auditorium or state-of-the-art equipment doesn’t mean that we can’t do great work. …

“My favorite thing about the theater is standing in the back of the room, watching the audience enjoy the show. I really see it as a gift that we get to give people. Watching the students use their gifts to give the gift of laughter and even tears is a very powerful thing. Winning for best direction is great, but the nomination for best musical really shows what we can do with talent and heart.”

Other Marquee Awards presented during the ceremony follow:

Best actress in a supporting role: KK Murphy, Upper Arlington, Maggie Jones in “42nd Street”

Best actor in a supporting role: William Baumann, Westerville North High School, Chef Louis in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”

Outstanding ensemble: Olentangy Liberty High School, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's “Mary Poppins”

Outstanding technical execution: Edith LeBlanc, Upper Arlington, stage manager, “42nd Street”

Outstanding student designer: Joshua Pearson, Olentangy Berlin High School, set design, “Mamma Mia!”

Backstage excellence: costuming guild, Bishop Watterson High School, Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”

Outstanding student orchestra: Dublin Jerome, “The Addams Family”

“We knew we wanted to spotlight students in the various aspects of a production,” said Amy Handra, CAPA Director of Education. “Central Ohio has a tremendous amount of high school talent. These students are not only talented but also conscientious and hard-working.”

The performing ensemble that opened the show, composed of two representatives from each of the 18 participating schools, also closed the evening with a medley that included the song “I See Stars” from the musical “Mean Girls.” The evening’s final sung line was “We are stars!”

Indeed.

editorial@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekNews

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Columbus Association for the Performing Arts: And the winner is ...

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