Nominees Announced For High School Theater Awards

JP Taravella High School received six nominations for Picnic at this year’s Cappies.

By: Sharon Aron Baron

The Critics’ Awards Program, or Cappies for short, will celebrate outstanding achievement in high school theater when students from 24 public and private schools throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties will vie for top honors at the 16th Annual Cappies Awards Gala.

Modeled after Broadway’s Tony Awards, the Cappies Awards will feature songs and scenes from the top-nominated shows and recognize the best in high school theater in 42 categories encompassing awards for performers, designers, technicians and critics. This year, in support of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, National Cappies is currently collecting donations.

Top nominees in Coral Springs and Parkland are: Marjory Stoneman High School, who received 15 nominations for Fiddler on the Roof; JP Taravella, who received six nominations for Picnic; and Coral Glades High School who received five nominations for The Clean House.

“The Cappies was founded in part as a response to the tragedy at Columbine High School to highlight the positive contributions teenagers were making in the arts,” said South Florida Cappies Program Director Lori Sessions. “As we now face a similar tragedy in our own community, we especially look forward to recognizing some of the most talented students and their achievements in theatre and journalism. We thank the Broward Center for helping make this event successful.”

Cappie Award winners are determined by votes from students through a weighted peer-review voting process. Nominations are made by student critics from participating schools who attend productions at rival schools and write reviews, which then are edited by theater educators and published on FloridaTheaterOnStage.com.

The 16th Annual South Florida Cappies Awards Gala will be held on Tuesday, May 22, at 7 p.m. in the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20 at BrowardCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222 or the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

2017-2018 Cappies Nominees by School

The Clean House by Coral Glades High School

American Heritage School – 8
Archbishop McCarthy High School – 8
Boca Raton Community High School – 19
Calvary Christian Academy – 14
Cardinal Gibbons High School – 8
Cooper City High School – 4
Coral Glades High School – 5
Cypress Bay High School – 12
Deerfield Beach High School – 2
Dillard Center for the Arts – 6
JP Taravella High School – 10
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – 20
North Broward Preparatory – 12
Palm Beach Central – 7
Pompano Beach High School – 1
St. Andrew’s School – 3
St. Thomas Aquinas – 4
The Sagemont School – 13
Somerset Academy – 1
South Plantation High School – 5
University School – 17
West Boca High School – 11
West Broward High School – 4
Western High School – 3

2017-2018 Cappies Nominees

Sweet Charity by Boca Raton Community High School.

American Heritage School
(Eight nominations; Seven for The Importance of Being Earnest and one for criticism)
Play: The Importance of Being Earnest
Critics’ Team: Fiona Baquerizo, Lead Critic
Lead Actor in a Play: Frederick Bredemeyer
Featured Actor in a Play: Brandon Dawson
Supporting Actress in a Play: Fiona Baquerizo
Comic Actor in a Play: Wesley Mahon
Comic Actress in a Play: Sydnie Rathe
Hair and Make-up: Aimee Perez, Maia Fernandez-Baigun, Kaitlyn Dawson
Props: Nikolas Serrano

Fiddler on the Roof by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Archbishop McCarthy High School
(Eight nominations for The Farnsworth Invention)
Play: The Farnsworth Invention
Lead Actor in a Play: Pablo Uribasterra
Featured Actor in a Play: Justin Cook
Featured Actress in a Play: Emiliana Quiceno
Supporting Actor in a Play: Liam Mihoulides
Supporting Actress in a Play: Rebecca Correa
Ensemble in a Play: Farnsworth’s Lab Gang
Stage Management: Shea Simpson

Boca Raton High School
(19 nominations for Sweet Charity)
Musical: Sweet Charity
Song: “Big Spender”
Lead Actress in a Musical: Samantha O’Donnell
Supporting Actor in a Musical: Dylan Severin
Supporting Actress in a Musical: Keana Yazdan
Comic Actor in a Musical: Jo Piccin
Male Dancer: Thomas Restrepo
Female Dancer: Neala Gordon
Ensemble in a Musical: Dance Hall Girls
Orchestra: Pit Orchestra
Sets: Melanie Almeida, Kylie Woessner and Crew
Lighting: Matthew Chapman and Crew
Costumes: Alyssa Diaz, Claire Jackson and Crew
Sound: Meralie Hall, Yudi Kitamura, Bridget Peterson and Crew
Props: Cedenna Smith and Calvin Zanetti and Crew
Special Effects and or Technology: Alina Figuerras, Samantha Perez and Liana Progiar
Hair and Make-up: Leticia Altafim, Allison Magila, Khai Willis
Marketing & Publicity: Olivia Bortz, Delaney Hill, and AnaMichelle Morejon
Stage Management: Morgan Crews, Alex Talbott, and Crew

Matchmaker by Calvary Christian Academy.

Calvary Christian Academy
(14 nominations for The Matchmaker)
Play: The Matchmaker
Lead Actor in a Play: Steven Day
Lead Actress in a Play: Anna Hopson
Featured Actor in a Play: Jake Lane
Featured Actress in a Play: Zoey Boyette
Supporting Actor in a Play: John Roig
Supporting Actress in a Play: Megan Salsamendi
Comic Actor in a Play: Juan Mojica
Comic Actress in a Play: Ariel Feldman
Choreography: Jesse McCoy
Sets: Samuel Hernandez and Arianna Weber
Props: Nicole Wroth and Kinsey Nguyen
Hair and Make-up: Hannah Citelli
Stage Management: Willow Rachels, Zoe Larson, Ashleigh Finley, Olivia Hill

Cardinal Gibbons High School
(Eight nominations; Seven for The Importance of Being Earnest and one for criticism)
Junior Critic: Charlotte Bacharach
Play: The Importance of Being Earnest
Lead Actor in a Play: Spencer Knight
Featured Actress in a Play: Hannah Eichholtz
Supporting Actress in a Play: Emily Tallman
Ensemble in a Play: Housekeepers
Costumes: Alexandra Cassis, Maria Arevalo, and Anna Murray-Campbell
Hair and Make-up: Caroline Aristizabal, Zaza Acosta and Alyssa Chiarello

Cooper City High School
(Four nominations for Into The Woods)
Supporting Actor in a Musical: Reese Abrahamoff
Comic Actor in a Musical: Nathan Jakovich
Comic Actress in a Muscial: Joania Hernandez
Orchestra: Cooper City Pit Orchestra

Coral Glades High School
(Five nominations for The Clean House)
Play: The Clean House
Lead Actress in a Play: Haley Amann
Supporting Actress in a Play: Alexa Libert
Comic Actress in a Play: Mava Gonzalez
Sets: Vanessa West and Company

Cypress Bay High School
(12 nominations for RENT)
Musical: RENT
Song: “RENT”
Lead Actor in a Musical: Leandro Biarrieta
Lead Actress in a Musical: Kyleigh Jehlicka
Supporting Actor in a Musical: Jason Rosenberg
Supporting Actress in a Musical: Yasemin Atesnak
Featured Actor in a Musical: Charlie Seldin
Featured Actress in a Musical: Maya Hedrick
Male Vocalist: Gianni Palermo
Female Vocalist: Daniela Machado
Ensemble: Homeless/Bohemians
Choreography: Amanda Ribnick

Deerfield Beach High School
(Two nominations for Boeing Boeing)
Comic Actor in a Play: Alan Halaly
Comic Actress in a Play: Ananda Espinal

Dillard Center for the Arts
(Six nominations for Macbeth)
Lead Actress in a Play: Grace Sindaco
Supporting Actor in a Play: Yasharwan Blain
Featured Actor in a Play: Kevaughn Reid
Featured Actress in a Play: Amanda Doty
Ensemble in a Play: The Three Witches
Creativity: Danilo Mina – Composition of Music

JP Taravella High School
(10 nominations; Six for Picnic and four nominations for criticism)
Critics’ Team: Daniel Agmon
Junior Critic: Kimberly Sessions
Sophomore Critic: Nicole Sugarman
Sophomore Critic: Dani Wolfe
Marketing and Publicity: Kimberly Sessions and Morgan Wolfe
Sound: Amanda Gonzalez, Jada Brown, Christina Daley and Hannah Silverstein
Lighting: Alex Rodriguez, Jenna Payne and Anthony Torres
Costume: Mia Mendez, Sarah Marcus, Rachel Paul and Crew
Sets: JPT Stagecraft Class, Cast and Crew
Comic Actress in a Play: Madison Kelleher

North Broward Preparatory School
(12 nominations; nine for 9 to 5 and three for criticism)
Critics’ Team: Quinn DeVita
Sophomore Critic: Madeline Finkelman
Sophomore Critic: Dylan Jost
Musical: 9 to 5
Song: “Heart to Hart”
Lead Actress in a Musical: Danielle Ganz
Featured Actor in a Musical: Eitan Pessah
Featured Actress in a Musical: Julia Hopper
Comic Actor in a Musical: Samuel Kelly-Cohen
Comic Actress in a Musical: Quinn DeVita
Female Vocalist: Eve Cohen
Male Dancer: Evan Laufman

Palm Beach Central
(Seven nominations for Drowsy Chaperone)
Lead Actor in a Musical: Cameron Silverman
Featured Actress in a Musical: Nicole Pena
Supporting Actress in a Musical: Tori Lobdell
Comic Actor in a Musical: Joey Dallas
Male Dancer: Ben Shaevitz
Female Vocalist: Cassie Ortiz
Sets: Jason Goetz-Stern

Pompano Beach High School
(One nomination for criticism)
Senior Critic: Amorie Barton

St. Andrew’s School
(Three nominations for Great All American Musical Disaster)
Comic Actor in a Play: Alex Watson
Special Effects and Technology: Brendan Assaf and Crew
Creativity: Norona, Weisz and Crew – Movie Clips Writing/Directing

St. Thomas Aquinas High School
(Four nominations for Circus Olympus)
Featured Actress in a Play: Shannon Reid
Comic Actor in a Play: Jason Pietrafetta
Ensemble in a Play: The Greek Geeks
Sound: Brian Sayre

The Sagemont School
(13 nominations; 8 for Something Wicked This Way Comes and five for criticism)
Critic’s Team: Andres Hernandez, Lead Critic
Senior Critic: Andres Hernandez
Senior Critic: Taylor Briesemeister
Sophomore Critic: Natalie Medina
Freshman Critic: Eva Daskos
Lead Actor in a Play: Nico Betancur
Lead Actress in a Play: Natalie Medina
Supporting Actor in a Play: Andres Hernandez
Costumes: Eva Daskos
Lighting: Arturo Fernandez
Sound: Skylar Scorca, Marc Plaskett and Crew
Special Effects and Technology: Sofia Grajales and Crew
Marketing and Publicity: Taylor Briesemeister and Crew

Somerset Academy
(One nomination for Our Town)
Lead Actress in a Play: Victoria Vitale

South Plantation High School
(Five nominations; Four for It Can’t Happen Here and one for Criticism)
Junior Critic: Nya Hedman
Supporting Actor in a Play: Edwins Garcon
Featured Actor in a Play: Curtis Dodgen
Ensemble in a Play: Interpreters
Props: Nya Hedman and Edwins Garcon

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
(20 nominations; 15 for Fiddler on the Roof and five for criticism)
Critics’ Team: Alex Wind, Lead Critic
Senior Critic: Kali Clougherty
Junior Critic: Dylan Redshaw
Junior Critic: Alex Wind
Freshman Critic: Peri Harris
Musical: Fiddler on the Roof
Lead Actor in a Musical: Alex Wind
Lead Actress in a Musical: Sawyer Garrity
Supporting Actress in a Musical: Kali Clougherty
Comic Actress in a Musical: Bailey Feuerman
Featured Actor in a Musical: John Barnitt
Featured Actress in a Musical: Avery Anger
Male Dancer: Cameron Appel
Female Dancer: Isabela Barry
Ensemble in a Musical: Tevye’s Daughters
Sound: Adam Alhanti, Jocelyn Krooks, Emma Summers,
Lighting: Euan Beith, Logan Weber, Daniel Duff
Choreography: Isabela Barry, John Barnitt
Special Effects and Technology: Alex Duffy and Crew
Marketing and Publicity: Daniel Williams and Kelly Mathesie

University School
(17 nominations for Tuck Everlasting)
Musical: Tuck Everlasting
Song: “The Story of Winnie Foster”
Lead Actor in a Musical: Jared Cohen
Lead Actress in a Musical: Nicolette Nunziato
Supporting Actress in a Musical: Shannon Williams
Female Dancer: Bailey Busher
Featured Actor in a Musical: Paul Levine
Featured Actress in a Musical: Julia Musso
Male Dancer: Gabriel Feldenkrais
Ensemble in a Musical: Featured Dancers
Choreography: Yuval Benit
Creativity: Jared Cohen and Sarina Schwartz for Musicianship
Lighting: Tal Kochav
Hair and Makeup: Cole, Feldenkrais, and Kohler
Special Effects and Technology: Crew
Stage Management and Stage Crew: Gonzalez, Lapayowker, and O’Neal
Marketing and Publicity: Foster Hirsch

West Boca High School
(11 nominations for Annie)
Song: “Hard Knock Life”
Comic Actress in a Musical: Melody Burrage
Featured Actor in a Musical: Noah Fineman
Female Dancer: Abril Gonzalez
Male Vocalist: Spencer Glazer
Female Vocalist: Brianna Quackenbush
Ensemble in a Musical: Orphans
Costumes: Kerry Cappo, Julia Mourao, Clara Pham and Natalia Reyes
Orchestra: Orchestra
Props: Madison Brito, Angelina Buck, Gianna Ceraso and Sarah Viva
Stage Management: Julia Forenga and Trent Baez

West Broward High School
(Four nominations for Footloose)
Supporting Actor in a Musical: Kaleb Hobson-Garcia
Comic Actor in a Musical: Noah Levin
Comic Actress in a Musical: Brianna Rivas
Female Vocalist: Francesca Pinilla

Western High School
(Three nominations; Two for Into the Woods and one for criticism)
Senior Critic: Santiago Zornosa
Lead Actor in a Musical: Aidan Havens
Supporting Actor in a Musical: Santiago Zornosa

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District at 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

Author Profile

Sharon Aron Baron

Editor of Talk Media and writer for Coral Springs Talk. CST was created in 2012 to provide News, Views, and Entertainment for the residents of Coral Springs and the rest of South Florida.