Nearly 40 schools, the largest thus far in MVHSTA history, participated in the sixth season of competition: Archbishop Alter High School; Archbishop Carroll High School, Bethel High School; Brookville High School; Butler High School; Carlisle High School; Cedarville High School; Centerville High School; Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School; Dayton Christian High School; Dominion Academy; Emmanuel Christian Academy; Fairborn High School; Franklin High School; Global Impact STEM Academy; Kenton Ridge High School; Kettering Fairmont High School; Little Miami High School; Madison High School; Mechanicsburg High School; Miami East High School; Miami Valley School; Miamisburg High School; Monroe High School; Northeastern High School; Northmont High School; Oakwood High School; Springboro High School; Springfield High School; Stivers School for the Arts; Tecumseh High School; Tippecanoe High School; Troy High School; Troy Christian High School; Wayne High School; West Carrollton High School; Wilmington High School, Xenia High School; and Yellow Springs High School.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Here are more MVSHTA Showcase tidbits by the numbers:
- 11 Outstanding Musicals will perform at the Showcase.
- 28 Outstanding Performers will perform in medleys of their nominated roles.
- 68 student representatives from participating schools will perform as part of the Opening/Closing Company.
- 450 student performers and representatives will be involved in the Showcase.
The ceremony will also feature awards for Theatre Director of the Year and Social Media Star among other honors.
Jimmy Award nominees
The MVHSTA Showcase will notably spotlight 2025 Kettering Fairmont High School graduate Lynn Dauterman and Oakwood High School rising senior Griffin Greear. They were top scorers in their representative roles (Dauterman portrayed Madame Thenardier in “Les Misérables: School Edition” and Greear portrayed Uncle Fester in “The Addams Family”) and demonstrated their talents at a musical theatre workshop among their fellow high-scoring students.
The duo will represent MVHSTA at the 16th annual Jimmy Awards in New York City happening Monday, June 23 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, the home of “Disney’s The Lion King.”
Credit: Matt Silver
Credit: Matt Silver
As one of this season’s adjudicators, I can happily say Dauterman’s impressively fierce, funny and formidable performance was a knockout. She took the rousing “Master of the House” to another dimension in particular.
“Madame Thenardier was one of the trickier roles I’ve done just because there’s not a lot of her in the show but when she’s there she is a lot,” Dauterman said. “I was really able to go full-in and just have lots of fun with her. She’s a fun character to play with a lot of personality.”
She also realized in her journey that supporting roles can be incredibly satisfying.
“A lot of people think the best role is the lead role,” Dauterman said. “However, supporting roles and the people in the background are just as important. Madame Thenardier is just as important as Eponine, Fantine and Cosette. Even though she’s only in a few scenes she matters to the story. You don’t have to have a lead role to be successful in a show. Supporting roles matter.”
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
In eighth-grade Greear memorably stepped into Uncle Fester’s kooky shoes in Muse Machine’s 2022 production of “The Addams Family.” He acknowledged the enjoyment of returning to the role at 17 with more depth and understanding.
“Coming back as an older, more experienced person with more training, I was able to bring out more nuances than before,” Greear said. “Uncle Fester is the narrator but also the comedic relief. There are a lot of aspects to the role. Coming back a second time was a great exercise in learning new ways to explore the character through a new lens with a new director and a new cast.”
Greear notably honed his craft last summer at New York’s prestigious Stagedoor Manor performing arts camp, whose starry alumni includes Robert Downey Jr., Natalie Portman, Zach Braff, Mandy Moore and Lea Michele. He’s excited for the upcoming Jimmys experience, especially the master classes with Broadway professionals that will aid his future performances.
“This feels like a culmination of everything I’ve been training for but it’s also a chance to grow more as an actor,” Greear said. “I’m literally going to have a week-and-a-half where I’m doing nothing but my favorite thing in the world and learning how to get better at it.”
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
The Jimmy Awards are also known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards. Dayton Live is an official Regional Awards Program with the National High School Musical Theatre Awards.
“We are thrilled to have Lynn Dauterman and Griffin Greear represent the Miami Valley High School Theatre Awards at the 2025 Jimmy Awards in New York City,” said Taylor Benjamin, manager of the Miami Valley High School Theatre Awards. “Over their years of participating in the MVHSTA program, both Lynn and Griffin have shown so much growth in themselves as performers and students, and we could not be more excited to continue to watch them grow throughout the Jimmys process, while they work toward their Broadway debuts. Not only are they representing the MVHSTAs but they are also representing their high schools, Dayton Live and the Miami Valley as a whole. We could not think of two more deserving students for that honor and believe they will represent themselves, our program, and the area with enthusiasm, grace, and pride.”
Additional kudos
In addition to Dauterman and Greear’s outstanding work, I would like to highlight the following students in my role as an adjudicator and patron of numerous MVHSTA productions throughout the season:
- Lilah Halley (Miss Hannigan) and Houda Loukssi (Grace) of Xenia’s “Annie.”
- Cody Clements (Tevye) and Riley Domigan (Tzeitel) of Dayton Christian’s “Fiddler on the Roof.” Domigan was extraordinary as Anne Shirley in Dayton Christian’s non-eligible “Anne of Green Gables” as well.
- Dylan Meyers (Nick Carraway, Percy Jackson) and Jonah Sievers (Jay Gatsby, Grover Underwood) of Brookville’s “The Great Gatsby” and “The Lightning Thief.”
- Emma Anderson (Miss Adelaide) and Vincent Crane (Nicely-Nicely Johnson) of Miami East’s “Guys and Dolls.”
- Addison Haines (Eurydice), Casen Kidd (Hades), Cameron Krause (Orpheus), Haylie Medlin (student choreographer), Noah Seibel (Hermes) and Izzy Twist (Persephone) of Springboro’s “Hadestown: Teen Edition.”
- Tristen Clark (Marius), Benjamin Pachin (Jean Valjean), Elle Rowley (Eponine) and Wyatt Rowley (Gavroche) of Kettering’s “Les Misérables: School Edition.”
- Caroline Kaibas (Ariel), Parker Kaibas (King Triton), Gavin Poronsky (Prince Eric), Elijah Ramos (Sebastian) and Faye Young (Ursula) of Tippecanoe’s “Disney’s The Little Mermaid.”
- Mars Johnson (Donna Sheridan) and Lila Malcolm (Sophie Sheridan) of Fairborn’s “Mamma Mia!”
- Keefe Carter (Damian), Reese Hornick (Cady) and Liza Russ (Regina) of Alter’s “Mean Girls: High School Version.”
- Hayden Carabell (King Sextimus), Sarah Kress (Princess Winnifred), Grayson Reynolds (Prince Dauntless) and Mya Yancey (Queen Aggravain) of Centerville’s “Once Upon a Mattress.”
HOW TO GO
What: Miami Valley High School Theatre Awards Showcase
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 5
Where: Schuster Center, 1 W. Second St., Dayton
Cost: $18-$23
More info: Call 937-228-3630 or visit daytonlive.org.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
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