It’s been an exciting start to the summer for hundreds of theater students from around Southwest Michigan as Lake Michigan College held its annual WAVE Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre at the Mendel Center last month.

LMC’s Jennifer Shoemaker tells us ten judges evaluated 12 high schools and approximately 700 students who participated in high school musical productions in the last academic year in an event loosely inspired by the Tony Awards. It’s all for the students to show them their hard work is appreciated.

“They come and we have a red carpet set up and they get photographed on the red carpet and they’ll either wear their costumes or they’ll get dressed up, and then they come in and the auditorium is full of their friends and family and students and instructors and all of that,” Shoemaker said.

Edwardsburg High School’s production of “Newsies!” led the way, taking home four awards, while Concord High School’s “Guys and Dolls” also earned multiple awards. Shoemaker says there must have been 800 people in attendance at the awards, all of them having a ball.

“I’m a former theater student, or theater kid I should say, and I would have just been so giddy to be able to do this. And we try to make it as special as possible.”

Drama teams from throughout Southwest Michigan were honored. Single awards went to Cassopolis High School’s “Beetlejuice, Jr.,” Hartford High School’s “High School Musical 2,” Lakeshore High School’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” New Buffalo High School’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” Paw Paw High School’s “Spamalot,” South Haven High School’s “Chicago,” and St. Joseph High School’s “The Little Mermaid.”

All nominees received an LMC Red Hawk Scholarship for a three-credit course and written feedback from a panel of arts professionals. We have the full list of winners below.

The 2024-2025 WAVE Award nominees and winners are:  

 

Outstanding Set Design in a Musical   

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; Scott Preheim  

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; Dwayne Whitmyer 

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Emma Hurley – WINNER 

James Whitcomb Riley High School; “Hello, Dolly!”; Kevin Marek 

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Kristofer M. Perkins & Avery McCafferty  

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Suzanne Button 

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical   

Hartford High School; “High School Musical 2: Live Onstage”; Joe MacMillian 

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Paul Milligan 

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; Lloyd Whitmyer 

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Kristofer M. Perkins  

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Scott Bradford 

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; Mike Springer and Erin O’Neil – WINNER 

Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical   

James Whitcomb Riley High School; “Hello, Dolly!”; Laura Pollock  

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Barb Stepka & Reta Trux – WINNER  

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; Deb Rancatore  

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Claudia Lee  

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Kathryn Hein  

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Jessica Wiersbe 

Outstanding Choreography in a Musical   

Bridgman High School; “The Wizard of Oz”; Caitlyn Lustica 

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; Heather Schoenherr 

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Catherine Wood – WINNER 

James Whitcomb Riley High School; “Hello, Dolly!”; Nathan Mittleman  

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Theresa Graziano 

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Jenn Wolfe  

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; Allie Ruppert & Brandy Campbell          

Outstanding Orchestra (Band) in a Musical  

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; Nicole Knouse  

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Jennifer Gladkowski  

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Matthew Pagel  

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Sydney Brown 

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Zac Coudret – WINNER 

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Burke Lokey        

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; Jeff Bopp 

Outstanding Music Direction in a Musical  

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; James Bennett – WINNER 

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Kyle Rehnlund  

James Whitcomb Riley High School; “Hello, Dolly!”; Kyle Schreiber & John Mink 

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Ethan Schopp 

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Beth Gray-Roll  

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; Katie Hilyard  

Outstanding Featured Ensemble in a Musical  

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; The Cuban Dancers – WINNER 

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Newsies of New York  

James Whitcomb Riley High School; “Hello, Dolly!”; The Waiters 

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Narrators & Jacob’s Sons 

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; The Urchins 

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; The Lady of the Lake & Laker Girls 

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; The Sardines  

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; The Mersisters & Flounder 

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Flotsam & Jetsam 

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; 6 Merry Murderesses of the Cook County Prison  

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical   

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; Gen. Cartwright; Ava Peters  

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Hannah; Shaelyn Carrick  

Hartford High School; “High School Musical 2: Live on Stage”; Oberon Fulton; Aiden Apreza – WINNER (TIE) 

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Levi; Lillian Clark  

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; Orin–Dentist; Aaron Ilescas-Villa – WINNER (TIE) 

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Angel; Kami Crandall  

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Tim; Bryn Carlsen  

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Mayor; Riley Newcomer  

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Chef Luis; Evan Lokey  

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; Hunyak; Serenity Scully 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical (2 actors awarded in this category) 

Cassopolis High School; “Beetlejuice, Jr”; Delia Schlimmer; Emma Husted  

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Crutchie; Lucas Bentzer 

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Davey; Aiden Dohm  

James Whitcomb Riley High School; “Hello, Dolly!”; Barnaby; Cristian Samuel Hernandez  

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Simeon; Ian Sokol  

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; Mushnik; Addison Lamport  

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Patsy; Leilani Cowgill – WINNER 

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Mr. Krabs; Jack Mead  

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Ursula; Sam Schadler – WINNER 

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; Amos; Timothy Knapp  

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical (2 actors awarded in this category) 

Bridgman High School; “Wizard of Oz”; Dorothy; Malia Fast 

Cassopolis High School; “Beetlejuice, Jr.”; Beetlejuice; Laycee Ericson 

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; Sky Masterson; Ed Hernandez Lopez 

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; Sarah Brown; Sydney Trowbridge  

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Jack Kelly; Brady Leep – WINNER 

Hartford High School; “High School Musical 2: Live on Stage”; Gabriella Montez; Nevaeh Ledesma 

James Whitcomb Riley High School; “Hello, Dolly!”; Dolly Gallagher Levi; Evangeline Salgado – WINNER 

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; Seymour; Henry Gadiel  

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”; Arthur; Ben Plested 

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; SpongeBob; Ava Gallo  

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Patrick Star; Nix Hardman 

St. Joseph High School; “The Little Mermaid”; Sebastien; Seth Martin  

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph…Dreamcoat”; Joseph; Aiden Sokol  

South Haven High School; “Chicago”; Velma Kelly; Claudia Fiedorowicz 

Esprit d’Corps  

Bridgman High School; “Wizard of Oz” 

Outstanding Direction in a Musical  

Cassopolis High School; “Beetlejuice, Jr.”; Patrick Bondy – WINNER 

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls”; Sam Vaughan  

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!”; Kyle Rehnlund  

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; Christine Sloan 

New Buffalo High School; “Little Shop of Horrors”; Chris Beushausen      

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Andrew Nemeth  

Outstanding Musical Production  

Concord High School; “Guys and Dolls” 

Edwardsburg High School; “Newsies!” – WINNER 

Lakeshore High School; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” 

Paw Paw High School; “Spamalot”  

Penn High School; “The SpongeBob Musical” 

South Haven High School; “Chicago”