The Curtain Rises on High School Theatre Students

The lights dim, the curtain rises, the show has begun. The pens of Cappies Critics scratch across their notepads. Will they like the show? The power to nominate and vote for important regional awards is in their hands!

 The Cappies of Cincinnati is a student critic organization in which students from all over the greater Cincinnati and northern Kentucky area travel to other high schools and watch, review, and discuss the shows. After all of the productions, the Cappies gather together to vote on all their favorite actors and crew elements, and a few days later, the official nominee list is announced. All schools nominated for either Best Musical, Best Song, and Best Play get to perform at the Cappies Gala on the Aronoff Stage on May 22nd. Additionally, this is when all the winners will be announced.

This year, Harrison’s production of Legally Blonde received 17 Cappies nominations, a record breaking high for the school. These nominations include:

Best Musical – Legally Blonde
Best Song – Bend and Snap
Best Lead Actor in a Female Role in a Musical – Chloe Schwettmann
Best Lead Actor in a Male Role in a Musical – Matthew Rudolph
Best Supporting Actor in a Female Role in a Musical – Shay Uxer
Best Supporting Actor in a Male Role in a Musical – Parker Lawhorn
Best Vocalist in a Female Role in a Musical – Leah Marx
Best Featured Actor in a Female Role in a Musical – Natalie Brown
Best Featured Actor in a Male Role in a Musical – Logan Dreyer
Best Dancer in a Female Role in a Musical – Kiersten Saxon
Best Dancer in a Male Role in a Musical – Ethan Roush
Best Ensemble in a Musical – Delta Nus
Best Marketing and Publicity – Ashlyn Fuhrmann and Chloe Schwettmann
Best Hair and Makeup – Natalie Brown and Chloe Doherty
Best Costumes – Ashley Reckelhoff, Emily Benight, and Parker Lawhorn
Best Returning Critic – Ashlyn Fuhrmann
Best Critic Team – Ashlyn Fuhrmann, Chloe Schwettmann, Honey Dick, Ashley Reckelhoff, Dakota Roberts, Madison Jacob, Chloe Doherty, and Liv Carter

 

Harrison rejoined the Cappies of Cincinnati in 2019 for our production of Peter Pan, and have performed several other productions for Cappies including Radium Girls and The Addams Family. Previously, Harrison has won two Cappies Awards, one in 2022 won by Christian Mauldin for Featured Actor in a Male Role in a Play for his work as Dr. Knef, and one in 2023, won by Ashlyn Fuhrmann for Up and Coming Critic. We can’t wait to see this list continue to grow through the years.

Senior Logan Dreyer reacts to his nomination saying, “I feel shocked to be honest, I never expected to get an award for my first show I’ve ever done.” Being nominated for a Cappie is a huge honor, with so few nominees (typical max of 6 nominees per category). Senior Leah Marx continued this sentiment, “It’s so exciting to be recognized for the work I’ve put into my role! Becoming Vivienne Kensington has been the greatest vocal challenge I’ve had to face on stage. Earning a Cappies nomination for my performance is so validating!” All of these actors, crew members, and Cappies critics consistently worked hard to improve their performance in hopes to win a coveted Cappies award. Senior Logan Dryer continued, “A lot of it [improvement in performances] was working on my timing outside of rehearsal, and coming up with my own choreo for my scene, and my friends pushing me to do my very best and encouraging me every single rehearsal to do my best.”

These 17 amazing nominations is a huge win for Harrison and we will find out how many of these awards Harrison takes home at the Gala on May 22nd. If you’re interested in attending, tickets are currently being sold for $25. Additionally, the Drama Department will be performing the song “Bend and Snap” at the gala featuring Natalie Brown, Ashley Reckelhoff, Emerson Bunner, Chloe Schwettmann, Shay Uxer, Gabe Ashcraft, and many more of our drama students. We hope to see you there!

 

UPDATE: We are ecstatic to announce that Ashlyn Fuhrmann and Chloe Schwettmann won the Cappie Award for Marketing and Publicity at the gala this year, congratulations to all schools that won, and hats off to another great gala year!