Lake Michigan College is planning to hold an awards ceremony for high school performing arts programs this month. LMC Dean of Arts and Sciences Kristopher Zook tells us the second annual WAVE Awards will be May 24 with nine schools taking part.
“It’s basically a high school version of the Tony Awards that really gets our high school musical theater community to rally together and provide educational opportunities and creative growth to the students because we send a team of professionals out to view all of the musicals and provide them with written feedback,” Zook said.
Zook says there’s a great deal of talent putting on shows at southwest Michigan schools, and this is a way to recognize and encourage those students. The event started last year with four schools and has already expanded. High schools taking part this month include Bridgman, St. Joseph, Lakeshore, Hartford, Dowagiac, New Buffalo, Cassopolis, and Penn High School. The celebration will start at 7 p.m. on May 24 at the Mendel Center Mainstage at the LMC Benton Harbor campus with red carpet arrivals at 6. Anyone can attend. Zook says it’s “astonishing how the arts community has rallied around this idea.”
The 2022-2023 WAVE Award nominees are:
Outstanding Set Design in a Musical
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Lincoln Clark
New Buffalo High School; “Into the Woods, Jr.”; Dwayne Whitmyer
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Kristofer M. Perkins
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Nora Noble
Lakeshore High School; “Legally Blonde: The Musical”; Paul Milligan
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!”; Marcus Roll
Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Lincoln Clark
Hartford High School; “Shrek: The Musical”; Joe MacMillian
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Kristofer M Perkins
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Jacob Moehn
Lakeshore High School; “Legally Blonde: The Musical”; Paul Milligan
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!”; Scott Bradford
Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Ravan Bakeman and Paige Behnke
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Marsha Pinkowski
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; “My Fair Lady”; Jean Porath
Hartford High School; “Shrek: The Musical;” Sarah Briley
New Buffalo High School; “Into the Woods, Jr.”; Deb Rancatore
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Kathryn Hein
Outstanding Choreography in a Musical
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Caitlyn Lustila
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Anna Leach and Kennedy Westrate
New Buffalo High School; “Into the Woods, Jr.”; Holli Sommerfeld
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Sophia Marie Louden
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Jenn Wolfe
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!”; Cassidy Vlietstra
Outstanding Musical Direction in a Musical
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; “My Fair Lady”; Terryn Williams
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Hunter Schuur
New Buffalo High School; “Into the Woods, Jr.”; Chris Beushausen
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Maxwell Wagner
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Andrew Nemeth
Lakeshore High School; “Legally Blonde: The Musical”; David Gailey
Outstanding Orchestra (Band) in a Musical
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Sydney Heasley
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Anne Tschetter
Lakeshore High School; “Legally Blonde: The Musical”; Matthew Pagel
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!”; Beth Gray-Roll
Outstanding Featured Ensemble in a Musical
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Storytellers
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Fairytale characters
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; “My Fair Lady”; Barkeep and Chimney Sweeps
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Sardines and Townsfish
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Electric Skates
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; High School Chorus
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Men’s Chorus
Lakeshore High School; Legally Blonde: The Musical”; Delta Nus/Greek Chorus
Outstanding Featured “Special” Cast Member
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.” Rooster; Gabriel Lindley
Dowagiac High School; The SpongeBob Musical”; Gary; Dowagiac Robotics Club operated by Olivia Stockwell
Hartford High School; “Shrek: The Musical”; Dragon Puppet, Ensemble
New Buffalo High School; “Into the Woods, Jr.“; Milky White; New Buffalo Robotic Club (Rich Eberly)
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Fox and Raccoon; Abigael Brooks and Evelyn Shephard
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Topher’s Horse “Buttercup”
Lakeshore High School; “Legally Blonde: The Musical”; Rufus; Monteverdi Potato Gailey
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.” Dragon; Emalie Nelson
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; “My Fair Lady”; Mrs. Higgins; Brielle Carter
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; My Fair Lady”; Alfred P. Doolittle; Ethan Pflug
Hartford High School; “Shrek: The Musical”; Gingy; Grace Weber
Hartford High School; “Shrek: The Musical”; Pinocchio; Jersey Baker
New Buffalo High School; “Into the Woods, Jr. “; Rapunzel’s Prince; Ian Sokol
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Chuck Cranston; Colin Smallcombe
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!” Tanya; Caroline Corning
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Storyteller No. 1; Alivia Abram
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Squidward Q. Tentacles; Jessica Schrader
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Eugene Krabs; Alex Mauai
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Willard Hewitt-; Aaron West
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Vi Moore; Anna White
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Marie; Mikalah Daffron
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Gabrielle; Tess Kavadas
Lakeshore High School; “Legally Blonde: The Musical”; Paulette Bonafonte; Monica Tomsic
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!” Harry Bright; Jonathan Kwon
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Lord Farquad; Max Babcock
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Fiona; Summer Fast
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; “My Fair Lady”; Eliza Doolittle; Reagan Jay
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; “My Fair Lady”; Henry Higgins; Christian Collins
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; SpongeBob Squarepants; Sara Torbet
Hartford High School; “Shrek: The Musical”; Fiona; Cessie Finley
Hartford High School; “Shrek: The Musical”; Donkey; Kendra Briley
New Buffalo High School; Into the Woods, Jr.; Jack; Henry Gadiel
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Ren McCormack; Max Crawford
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”; Ariel Moore; Aliya Leavitt
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Topher; Sutter Sherwood
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Ella; Avery King
Lakeshore High School; “Legally Blonde: The Musical”; Elle Woods; Meaghan Fell
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!”; Donna Sheridan; Abby Berry
Outstanding Direction in a Musical
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”; Jennifer Ammerman
Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School; “My Fair Lady”; Patrick Bondy
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”; Tammy Mammel
New Buffalo High School; “Into the Woods, Jr. “; Chris Beushausen
Paw Paw High School; ”Footloose: The Musical”; Kristofer M. Perkins
Penn High School; “Cinderella”; Danielle Black
Outstanding Musical Production
Bridgman High School; “Shrek, Jr.”
Dowagiac High School; “The SpongeBob Musical”
Paw Paw High School; “Footloose: The Musical”
Penn High School; “Cinderella”
St. Joseph High School; “Mamma Mia!”
