Miami Valley High School Theatre Awards Showcase is Thursday at Schuster Center

The 30 participating schools in the fifth season of MVHSTA are: Brookville High School; Butler High School; Butler Tech School of the Arts; Carlisle High School; Carroll High School; Cedarville High School; Centerville High School; Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School; Dayton Christian High School; Emmanuel Christian Academy; Fairborn High School; Franklin High School; Kenton Ridge High School; Kettering Fairmont High School; Madison High School; Mechanicsburg High School; Miami Valley School; Miamisburg High School; Monroe High School; Northmont High School; Oakwood High School; Springboro High School; Stivers School for the Arts; Tecumseh High School; Tippecanoe High School; Wayne High School; West Carrollton High School; Wilmington High School, Xenia High School; and Yellow Springs High School.

In particular Brookville, Butler Tech School of the Arts, Kenton Ridge and Oakwood are new to MVHSTA.

“It was cool to see a lot of the talent we didn’t know was out there,” said MVHSTA Coordinator Taylor Benjamin. “And of course, we see continued talent and growth in the (schools) that come back year after year. The passion of the students and directors grows exponentially every single year.”

Performances at the showcase will include solos by the following highest-scoring students: Addison Haines of Springboro High School (Anya/“Anastasia”); Avanelle Roseberry of Kettering Fairmont High School (Lily/“The Secret Garden”); Brendan Lamb of Kettering Fairmont High School (Dickon/“The Secret Garden”); Caleb Cochrell of Cedarville High School (Sebastian/Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”); Carson Keith of Monroe High School (Gleb Vaganov/”Anastasia”); Casen Kidd of Springboro High School (Gleb Vaganov/”Anastasia”) Connor Egloff of Stivers School for the Arts (Baker/”Into the Woods”); Daniel Breslin of Kettering Fairmont High School (Dr. Neville Craven/”The Secret Garden”); Ella Grace Schultz of Kettering Fairmont High School (Mary Lennox/”The Secret Garden”); Ellianna Ferguson of Cedarville High School (Ariel/Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”); Graysen Thompson of Carroll High School (Nathan Detroit/”Guys and Dolls”); Griffin Greear of Oakwood High School (Sam Carmichael/”Mamma Mia!”); Hope Danis of Carroll High School (Sarah Brown/”Guys and Dolls”); Houda Loukssi of Xenia High School (Fiona/”Shrek The Musical”); Jon Kalis of Carroll High School (Sky Masterson/”Guys and Dolls”); Jon Luke Blanton of Mechanicsburg High School (Tevye/”Fiddler on the Roof”); Lily Wittman of Carroll High School (Miss Adelaide/”Guys and Dolls”); Mina Brown of Emmanuel Christian Academy (Mother Abbess/”The Sound of Music”); Noah Seibel of Springboro High School (Dmitry/”Anastasia”); Olivia Mongelli of Carroll High School (Nicely-Nicely Johnson/”Guys and Dolls”); Samantha Lambert of Carlisle High School (Madame Thenardier/Les Misérables-School Edition); Sophie Caton of Centerville High School (Sophie Sheridan/”Mamma Mia!”); Sydney Korpusik of Centerville High School (Donna Sheridan/”Mamma Mia!”); Teigan Journell of Springboro High School (Vlad Popov/”Anastasia”); and Tres Oakley of Kettering Fairmont High School (Archibald Craven/”The Secret Garden”).

In addition, as an adjudicator and patron of numerous MVHSTA productions throughout season, I would like to highlight the following students: Wyatt Benton (Jean Valjean), Austyn Benton (Javert), Bella Brown (Eponine), Kalen Browne (Thenardier), and Madyston Temple (Cosette) of Carlisle’s “Les Misérables-School Edition”; Connor Cook (Man in Chair) of Fairborn’s “The Drowsy Chaperone”; Lucy Dennis (Cinderella), Isabella Gomez (Witch) and Lorelai Wetterlin (Jack’s Mother) of Stivers’ “Into the Woods”; Jonah Sievers (Harry Bright) of Brookville’s “Mamma Mia!”; and Maggie Weckesser (Baker’s Wife) of Chaminade Julienne’s “Into the Woods.”

Jimmy Award nominees

Thursday’s showcase will notably spotlight 2024 graduates Egloff and Korpusik. They were top scorers in their representative roles and also demonstrated their talents at a musical theatre workshop among the aforementioned high-scoring students.

The duo will represent MVHSTA at the 15th annual Jimmy Awards in New York City on June 24 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, the home of Disney’s “The Lion King.”

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 so excited for Connor and Sydney,” Benjamin said. “Connor is very well-trained in dance and we’re very excited especially to send a student from Dayton Public Schools to represent the Miami Valley. And the growth in Sydney’s acting, voice and presence is so impressive. She blew us away with her voice, dancing and work ethic.”

She is also confident in the duo’s ability to view the intensive workshops awaiting them in New York as incredible opportunities for growth.

“We want to make sure the two students we send to New York are going to have a good attitude, be excited to be there and absorb everything they can,” Benjamin said. “They are not necessarily there to win. They are there for the experience and to learn from the best.

HOW TO GO

What: Miami Valley High School Theatre Awards Showcase

Where: Schuster Center, 1 W. Second St., Dayton

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30

Cost: $15

More info: daytonlive.org