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Nominees for the 2025 Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards Announced!
Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce the 24 student nominees for Best Performer in an Actor and Actress role, and nominees for Best Ensemble, Best Direction and Best Production for the 2025 Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards (IHSMTA).
NOMINEES FOR BEST PERFORMER IN AN ACTRESS ROLE
- Natalie Beck as Ursula in Harrisburg High School’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid
- Kaleigh Buda as Charlotte in Lincoln-Way West High School’s Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version)
- Myah Crawford as The Witch in Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School’s Into the Woods
- Molly Czechanski as Eurydice in Lincoln-Way East High School’s Hadestown: Teen Edition
- Samantha Grant as SpongeBob SquarePants in The Chicago High School for the Arts’ The SpongeBob Musical
- Stella Hoyt as Delilah McPhee in Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Between the Lines
- Lydia Jensen as Katherine Howard in Prairie Ridge High School’s SIX: Teen Edition
- Sophia Leverett as Ursula in Providence Catholic High School’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid
- Veronica Sample as Doralee Rhodes in Burlington Central High School’s 9 to 5 The Musical
- Emma Schiffbauer as Anya/Princess Anastasia in Minooka Community High School’s Anastasia
- Amélie Villaseñor as Peter Pan in Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School’s Peter Pan
- Audrey Wagner as Sandy Cheeks in Hampshire High School’s The SpongeBob Musical
NOMINEES FOR BEST PERFORMER IN AN ACTOR ROLE
- Logan Arroyo as Hermes in Lincoln-Way East High School’s Hadestown: Teen Edition
- Corey Atkinson as Harold Hill in Crystal Lake Central High School’s The Music Man
- Tommy Grant as Cornelius Hackl in Loyola Academy’s Hello, Dolly!
- Jamaur Houston as Jack in The Chicago Academy for the Arts’ Into the Woods
- Kaden Krumrei as The Baker in The Chicago Academy for the Arts’ Into the Woods
- Sebastián Llavona as Bobby Strong in Dundee-Crown High School’s Urinetown
- Gabriel McKinney as Ms. Winx in Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Between the Lines
- Mason Natyshok as Beadle Bamford in Coal City High School’s Sweeney Todd
- Justin Shorris as Trent Oliver in Adlai E. Stevenson High School’s The Prom (School Edition)
- Bryce Stewart as Prince Oliver in Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Between the Lines
- Tyler Weaver as Randall in Richwoods High School’s Bring It On
- Aaron Yaccino as Jack in Cary-Grove High School’s Into the Woods
NOMINEES FOR BEST ENSEMBLE
- Adlai E. Stevenson High School’s The Prom (School Edition)
- Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School’s Into the Woods
- Champaign Central High School’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
- Crystal Lake Central High School’s The Music Man
- Hinsdale South High School’s SIX: Teen Edition
NOMINEES FOR BEST DIRECTION
- Dominic A. Cattero, Batavia High School’s Songs For A New World
- Ben Stoner, Crystal Lake South High School’s The SpongeBob Musical
- Hannah Drake, Harrisburg High School’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid
- James Reinbacher, Reed-Custer High School’s Pippin
- Sade’ May, Thornton Fractional North High School’s The Color Purple
NOMINEES FOR BEST PRODUCTION
- Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School’s Into the Woods
- Coal City High School’s Sweeney Todd
- Crystal Lake Central High School’s The Music Man
- Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Between the Lines
- Lincoln-Way East High School’s Hadestown: Teen Edition
2025 IHSMTA Student Reporters
Raina Ashrafi – Addison Trail High School
Keniyah Stephenson – Thornton Fractional North High School
Broadway In Chicago is delighted to have high schools across the State of Illinois participate in the 14th Annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards, Sponsored by NBC 5. The Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards (IHSMTA) celebrate excellence in high school theatre throughout the State of Illinois.
This year’s categories include Best Performer in an Actor Role, Best Performer in Actress Role, Best Production, Best Direction and Best Ensemble. Twenty-four nominees (12 in each Best Performance category) will perform on stage at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut) and compete in front of Chicago casting agents and theater professionals.
From the twenty-four nominees, two Illinois award recipients will go on an all-expense paid trip to New York City to represent the State of Illinois at The Jimmy Awards® and participate in a week-long theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase on Broadway, where a panel of judges crowns the nation’s top performers. The Jimmy Awards® are named after legendary Broadway theater owner and producer James M. Nederlander. Broadway In Chicago is a Nederlander presentation and is excited be a part of a network of theatres across the country participating in The Jimmy Awards®.
Important Dates
2025 IHSMTA Program Date: Monday, May 12, 2025
The Jimmy Awards®: Monday, June 23, 2025
Congratulations to our 2025 IHSMTA Participating High Schools
Addison Trail High School
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Amundsen High School
Auburn High School
Aurora Central Catholic High School
Barrington High School
Batavia High School
Benet Academy
Bolingbrook High School
Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School
Burlington Central High School
Byron High School
Cary-Grove High School
Champaign Central High School
Chicago Chrisitan High School
Coal City High School
Crystal Lake Central High School
Crystal Lake South High School
Deerfield High School
Dundee-Crown High School
Dunlap High School
Elmwood Park High School
Evergreen Park High School
Fenwick High School
Glenbard East High School
Glenbard West High School
Glenwood High School
Grayslake Central High School
Hampshire High School
Harrisburg High School
Harry D. Jacobs High School
Hillsboro High School
Hinsdale South High School
Hoffman Estates High School
Homewood-Flossmoor High School
Huntley High School
James B. Conant High School
Joliet West High School
Lane Tech High School
Leyden High School
Libertyville High School
Lincoln Community High School
Lincoln-Way East High School
Lincoln-Way West High School
Loyola Academy
Mahomet-Seymour High School
Maine West High School
McHenry Community High School
Minooka Community High School
Mother McAuley High School
Naperville Central High School
Nazareth Academy
North Shore Country Day High School
Northside College Prep High School
Oak Lawn Community High School
Oak Park and River Forest High School
Palatine High School
Plainfield Central High School
Plainfield East High School
Plainfield North High School
Plainfield South High School
Prairie Ridge High School
Providence Catholic High School
Reavis High School
Reed-Custer High School
Richwoods High School
Robinson High School
Romeoville High School
Rosary High School
Saint Ignatius College Prep
Saint Viator High School
Schaumburg High School
South Elgin High School
St Francis High School
Stillman Valley High School
Sycamore High School
Taft High School
The Chicago Academy for the Arts
The Chicago High School for the Arts
Thornton Fractional North High School
Trinity High School
University High School
Urbana High School
Vernon Hills High School
Wheaton North High School