Lancaster County schools’ spring musicals earn Apollo Award nominations

• By Mary Ellen Wright/LNP | LancasterOnline

Some Lancaster County schools, and theater programs with Lancaster County ties, have been nominated for their spring musicals in the 17th annual Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards.

Based on the Tony Awards, these prizes recognize achievement, both onstage and behind the scenes, by local high school students in musical and play productions.

Some new schools participated in the program this season, so a record 28 casts were evaluated by a panel of judges to determine nominations for the category of Outstanding Musical.

Lancaster County high schools, plus a regional theater program for home-schooled students, that are nominated or received honorable mentions are Columbia Junior/Senior High School; Ephrata, Elizabethtown, Warwick, Lampeter-Strasburg and McCaskey high schools; Encore Home School Productions; and Mount Calvary Christian School in Elizabethtown.

The awards are usually presented at the Hershey Theatre, which is closed for renovations. A total of 18 Apollo Awards will be presented during the awards ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Giant Center, 550 Hersheypark Drive, Hershey.

Apollo nominees for schools’ fall plays were announced in December; visit lanc.news/ApolloPlays2025.

The Apollo Award nominees for spring musicals are as follows.

Outstanding Musical

— Elizabethtown Area High School — “The Pirates of Penzance.”

— Ephrata High School — “Chicago: Teen Edition.”

— Lampeter-Strasburg High School — “Mamma Mia!”

— Lower Dauphin High School — “Oklahoma!”

— McCaskey High School — “The Wedding Singer.”

Outstanding Musical — Honorable Mention

— Cedar Crest High School — “The Lightning Thief,” Half-Blood Cast.

— Palmyra Area High School — “Titanic.”

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical

— Tyson Bomberger as Bert in “Mary Poppins” — Middletown Area High School.

— Scott Creason as The Pirate King in “The Pirates of Penzance” — Elizabethtown Area High School.

— Brendan Fritz as Frederic in “The Pirates of Penzance” — Elizabethtown Area High School

— Carlos Kohls as Billy Flynn in “Chicago: Teen Edition” — Ephrata High School.

— Callaghan Petrosky as Robbie Hart in “The Wedding Singer” — McCaskey High School.

— Malachi Shenk as Don Lockwood in “Singin’ in the Rain” — Mount Calvary Christian School, Elizabethtown.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical — Honorable Mention

— Hunter Meyers as Curly McClain in “Oklahoma!” — Lower Dauphin High School.

— Ian Riethmiller as Willy Wonka/Candy Man in “Willy Wonka” — Encore Home School Productions.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical

— Madelin Bibeau as Ella in “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” — Milton Hershey School.

— Lauren King as Laurey Williams in “Oklahoma!” — Lower Dauphin High School.

— Annika Locke as Julia Sullivan in “The Wedding Singer” — McCaskey High School.

— Dania Louis as Percy Jackson in “The Lightning Thief,” Half-Blood Cast — Cedar Crest High School.

— Ava Rooney as Donna Sheridan in “Mamma Mia!” — Harrisburg Academy.

— Susannah Schelling as Velma Kelly in “Chicago: Teen Edition” — Ephrata High School.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical — Honorable Mention

— Riley Frey as Roxie Hart in “Chicago: Teen Edition” — Ephrata High School.

— Hadley Qualls as Sophie Sheridan in “Mamma Mia!” — Harrisburg Academy.

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical

— Dio Caraballo-Cruz as George in “The Wedding Singer” — McCaskey High School.

— Lydia Corvino as Linda in “The Wedding Singer” — McCaskey High School.

— Alex Davis as Henry Etches in “Titanic” — Palmyra Area High School.

— Alexa Landon as Isabel in “The Pirates of Penzance” — Elizabethtown Area High School.

— Valen Shrum-Groff as Simeon in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” — Harrisburg Christian School.

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical — Honorable Mention

— Karly Bozell as Dora Bailey in “Singin’ in the Rain” — Mount Calvary Christian School.

— Julia Fosnocht as Ida Straus in “Titanic” — Palmyra Area High School.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical

— Jordan DeGroft as Cosmo Brown in “Singin’ in the Rain” — Mount Calvary Christian School.

— Ben Killian as Harry Bright in “Mamma Mia!” — Harrisburg Academy.

— Philip Le as Uncle Fester in “The Addams Family” — Conestoga Valley High School.

— Rylan McClain as Jud Fry in “Oklahoma!” — Lower Dauphin High School.

— Brady Smith as J. Bruce Ismay in “Titanic” — Palmyra Area High School.

— John Traino as Grandpa Joe in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” — Bishop McDevitt High School.

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Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical — Honorable Mention

— Brock Sunday as Grandpa Joe in “Willy Wonka” — Encore Home School Productions.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical

— Olivia Banks as Matron “Mama” Morton in “Chicago: Teen Edition” — Ephrata High School.

— Namara Foster as Rita la Porta in “Lucky Stiff” — Columbia High/Middle School.

— Claire Fugate as Clarisse in “The Lightning Thief,” Half-Blood Cast” — Cedar Crest High School

— Clementine Johnson as Pugsley in “The Addams Family” — Conestoga Valley High School.

— Celia Keener as Holly in “The Wedding Singer” — McCaskey High School.

— Clara Mecouch as Tanya in “Mamma Mia!” — Lampeter-Strasburg High School.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical— Honorable Mention

— Sophia Bozell as Lina Lamont in “Singin’ in the Rain” — Mount Calvary Christian School.

— Vivienne Lowe as Sandy Cheeks in “The SpongeBob Musical” — Central Dauphin East High School.

Outstanding Student Orchestra

— Elizabethtown Area High School — “The Pirates of Penzance.”

Ephrata High School — “Chicago: Teen Edition.”

Lampeter-Strasburg High School — “Mamma Mia!”

Palmyra Area High School — “Titanic.”

Outstanding Student Orchestra — Honorable Mention

— Capital Area School for the Arts — “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Outstanding Dance Number in a Musical

— Elizabethtown Area High School — “With Cat-Like Tread, Upon Our Prey We Steal” from “The Pirates of Penzance.”

— Encore Home School Productions — “I Eat More” from “Willy Wonka.”

— Ephrata High School — “All That Jazz” from “Chicago: Teen Edition.”

— McCaskey High School — “It’s Your Wedding Day” from “The Wedding Singer.”

— Mount Calvary Christian School — “Good Morning” from “Singin’ in the Rain.”

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Outstanding Dance Number in a Musical — Honorable Mention

— Cedar Crest High School — “D.O.A.” from “The Lightning Thief,” Half-Blood Cast.

— Warwick High School — “Jitterbug” from “The Wizard of Oz.”

Public and private schools in Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lebanon, Perry Counties, in addition to schools in Lancaster County within a 30-mile radius of Hershey, are eligible to participate in the awards program.

All Apollo nominees receive a monetary award. Senior nominees are also eligible for additional scholarships.

During the awards show on Sunday, May 18, monologues and medleys will be performed by nominated lead actors and actresses. Additionally, each school nominated in the category of “Outstanding Musical” will perform a number from its production.

Tickets for the awards ceremony, $15-$37, are on sale at hersheyentertainment.com/giant-center.