Some Lancaster County schools, and theater programs with Lancaster County ties, have been nominated for their spring musicals in the 16th annual Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards.
The awards recognize outstanding achievement, both onstage and behind the scenes, of local high school students in musical and play productions.
Lancaster County high schools, plus a regional theater program for home-schooled students, that were nominated are Columbia Junior/Senior High School; Ephrata, Elizabethtown and Donegal high schools; and Encore Home School Productions.
Public and private schools and theater programs for home-schooled students in Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lebanon and Perry counties, in addition to select schools in Lancaster County, are invited to participate in the program.
Apollo Award winners will be announced at a ceremony at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at Hershey Theatre. The awards are modeled on Broadway’s Tony Awards.
The evening will include monologues and medleys performed by nominated lead actor and actresses, along with a musical number presented by each school nominated in the category of outstanding musical.
The Apollo Award nominations for fall plays were announced in December. You can see a list at lanc.news/ApolloAwardPlayNoms24.
The Apollo Award nominees for spring musicals are as follows.
Outstanding featured performer in a musical
• Alaya Brubaker as Chiron in “The Lightning Thief” – Columbia Junior/Senior High School
• MaryKate Kenny as Aunt Em in “The Wizard of Oz” – Encore Home School Productions
• Max McHugh as Herald in “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” – Camp Hill High School
• Derek Palmeri as The Emerald City Guard in “The Wizard of Oz” – Donegal High School
• Ben Rodgers as Earthworm in “James and the Giant Peach” – Central Dauphin East High School
• Emily Teetz as Les in “Newsies” — Palmyra Area High School
Honorable mention
• Olivia Gable as Miss Andrew in “Mary Poppins” – Elizabethtown Area High School.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical
• Rhyley Billow as Pharaoh in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” – Susquenita High School
• Max Davis as Davey in “Newsies” – Palmyra Area High School
• Carlos Kohls as Harry Bright in “Mamma Mia!” – Ephrata High School
• Mason Richwine as Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast” – Harrisburg Academy
• Doug Smiley as Crutchie in “Newsies” – Palmyra Area High School
Honorable mention
• Aiden Ngo as Lumiere in “Beauty and the Beast” – Harrisburg Academy
• Dakota Shertzer as Max Detweiler in “The Sound of Music” – Middletown Area High School
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical
• Tatum Davis as Mae Tuck in “Tuck Everlasting” – Greenwood High School
• Rachel Gatesman as Liesl von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” – Middletown Area High School
• Tania Marcano as Mother Abbess in “The Sound of Music” – Middletown Area High School
• Danielle Pierce as Ladahlord in “James and the Giant Peach” – Central Dauphin East High School
• Madalyn Sandell as Rosie in “Mamma Mia!” – Ephrata High School
• Zoe Snyder as Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz” — Donegal High School
Honorable mention
• Rachel Wallace as Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz” – Donegal High School
• Rain Yague Cowfer as Bridget in “Bring It On” – Capital Area School for the Arts
Outstanding Student Orchestra
• Central Dauphin East High School – “James and the Giant Peach”
• Elizabethtown Area High School – “Mary Poppins”
• Middletown Area High School – “The Sound of Music”
• Palmyra Area High School – “Newsies”
Outstanding Dance Number in a Musical
• Donegal High School – “Jitterbug” from “The Wizard of Oz”
• Elizabethtown Area High School – “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from “Mary Poppins”
• Encore Home School Productions – “Jitterbug” from “The Wizard of Oz”
• Ephrata High School – “Voulez-Vous” from “Mamma Mia!”
• Palmyra Area High School – “King of New York” from “Newsies”
Honorable mention
• Capital Area School for the Arts – “Friday Night, Jackson” from “Bring It On”
• Middletown Area High School – “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from “The Sound of Music”
Outstanding lead actor in a musical
• Landis Cramer as Hunk/Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz” – Donegal High School
• Brendan Fritz as Bert in “Mary Poppins” – Elizabethtown Area High School
• Aiden Hipsky as Zeke/Lion in “The Wizard of Oz” – Donegal High School
• Ian Riethmiller as Hunk/Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz” – Encore Home School Productions
• Malachi Shenk as Cornelius Hackl in “Hello, Dolly!” – Mount Calvary Christian School
Honorable mention
• Scott Creason as George Banks in “Mary Poppins” – Elizabethtown Area High School
• Damian Hemsley as Sam Carmichael in “Mamma Mia!” – Ephrata High School
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
• Ella Brandt as Maria in “The Sound of Music” – Middletown Area High School
• Laney Dixon as Cinderella in “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” – Camp Hill High School
• Abigail Foran as Cinderella in “Into the Woods” – Lower Dauphin High School
• Claire Hanlon as Mary Poppins in “Mary Poppins” – Elizabethtown Area High School
• Alice Tomasetti as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” – Encore Home School Productions
Honorable mention
• Amber Abela as The Baker’s Wife in “Into the Woods” – Lower Dauphin High School
• Olivia Clegg as Winnie Foster in “Tuck Everlasting” – Greenwood High School
Outstanding musical
• Elizabethtown Area High School – “Mary Poppins”
• Encore Home School Productions – “The Wizard of Oz”
• Ephrata High School – “Mamma Mia!”
• Greenwood High School – “Tuck Everlasting”
• Lower Dauphin High School – “Into the Woods”
Honorable mention
• Middletown Area High School – “The Sound of Music”
• Palmyra Area High School – “Newsies”
Evaluators judged 165 individual roles to determine nominations for five of the eight musical categories. Twenty-two casts were evaluated for nominations for the outstanding musical.
