The Lake Michigan College Visual and Performing Arts Department is hard at work preparing for this month’s WAVE Awards, recognizing the hard work of performing arts students at high schools throughout the region.
LMC Dean of Arts and Sciences Kristopher Zook tells us the WAVE Awards are like the Tonys for drama students. He says several partners came together five years ago to start the event, seeking to encourage participation in high school theater by giving the students some recognition.
“We have all of these great things for our student athletes, and we have MSBOA for our band and orchestras, and we have MSVMA for our choirs, and really didn’t have anything that brought together our theater students,” Zook said.
Ten judges evaluated 13 high schools and about 890 students who took part in high school musicals in the 2025-2026 academic year while selecting the nominees. They come from all over Southwest Michigan and northern Indiana.
“Any school that’s interested registers. They apply to be a part of it. It’s completely free for schools to participate. We’re actually starting to get interest from up in the Kalamazoo area for next year already.”
Zook says when the WAVE Awards are held May 20 at the LMC Mendel Center, organizers will literally roll out the red carpet for students attending. From there will ensue a real awards show.
“We do have performances from the schools that are nominated for Outstanding Musical of the Year. We do an all-star cast now that brings together a couple students from each school for the opening number.”
The evening goes all out in its effort to create that sense of razzle dazzle.
“The showcase has presenters that come from different arts organizations throughout our region, or some of them are of the arts, some of them are different business owners. We’ve had people who are pillars of our community that are really just wanting to give back to the community.”
The WAVE Awards ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. on May 20, after the red carpet reception at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public, and Zook says it’s a lot of fun to attend and see the talent of Southwest Michigan and northern Indiana students.
“It’s a wonderful night where they get to have a lot of fun, see some great performances, celebrate each other. And we’ve even had some cameo appearances on video from some celebrities, some Broadway stars, TV personalities, and things like that at the show that have gone over really, really well with the students and the audience seems to really enjoy it.”
Below is a list of this year’s WAVE Award nominees.
Outstanding Set Design in a Musical
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Scott Preheim
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Lincoln Clark
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!” Kyle Rehnlund, Andrew Hamilton, & Emma Hurley
· Hartford HS; “Mean Girls: High School Version,” Hailey Cunningham
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Paul Milligan
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph … Dreamcoat,” Kristofer M. Perkins & Avery McCafferty
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Suzanne Button & Braden McMillen
Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical
· Brandywine HS; “Beetlejuice, Jr.,” Garrett Stoneburner
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Scott Preheim
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Lincoln Clark
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!,” Emma Hurley & Kyle Rehnlund
· New Buffalo; “The Wizard of Oz,” Lloyd Whitmyer
· Paw Paw (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Kristofer M. Perkins
· Penn; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Chase Beachy
Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical
· Concord HS: “Freaky Friday,” Stephanie Vaughan
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Jessica Wiersbe
· New Buffalo HS; “The Wizard of Oz,” Deb Rancatore & Eliza Zook
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Claudia Lee
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Kathryn Hein
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Jessica Wiersbe
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians,” Melanie Ruppert
Outstanding Choreography in a Musical
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Heather Schoenherr
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!,” Catherine Wood
· Hartford HS; “Mean Girls: High School Version,” Cessie Finley
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Christian Marquez
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Theresa Graziano
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Jenn Wolfe
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Beth Gray
Outstanding Orchestra (Band) in a Musical
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Nicole Knouse
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!,” Jennifer Haynes
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Matthew Pagel
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Sydney Brown
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Zac Coudret
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Burke Lokey
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians,” Jeff Bopp
Outstanding Music Direction in a Musical
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” James Bennett
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!,” Kyle Rehnlund
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Kyle Schreiber & John Mink
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” David Gailey
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” August Gallagher
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Ethan Schopp
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Beth Gray
Featured “Special” Award
· Brandywine HS; “Beetlejuice,” The Sandworm
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Angry Bob & Caspian
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Sven & Olaf
· Hartford HS; Mean Girls: High School Version,” Damian & Janis’ wheels
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Leaf’s Sock Puppet
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Iguanodon Monster
· New Buffalo HS; “The Wizard of Oz,” Flying Monkeys, & Winkies, & Jitterbugs… Oh, my!”
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” The Camel
· St. Joseph HS; “Grease,” Greased Lightning
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians,” Appollo’s Horses (& his Abs…)
Outstanding Featured Ensemble in a Musical
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Police officers
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Pabbie, Bulba & the Rock Trolls
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!,” The Dynamos & Wedding Guests
· Hartford HS; “Mean Girls: High School Version,” The Plastics
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Ancestors
· New Buffalo HS; “The Wizard of Oz,” Munchkins
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Joseph’s Brothers
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” The Fates & Workers
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Burger Palace Boys & Pink Ladies
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians,” Greek Chorus & Featured Dancers
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Mrs. Time – Keira Dykema
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Oaken – Madeline Steenbeke
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,”
Ms. Midge Mahoney – Kelis Johnson
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Pugsley Addams – Laney Stempien
· New Buffalo HS; “The Wizard of Oz,” Wicked Witch of the West / Mrs. Gulch- Bianca Ilescas-Villa
· New Buffalo HS; “The Wizard of Oz,” Professor Marvel / Oz – Aaron Ilescas-Villa
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Patty Simcox – Gianna McClellan
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical (two awards will be given)
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Torrey – Skyler Balamucki
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Fletcher Blake – Matthew Seabolt
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Kristoff – Brady Frazier
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!,” Bill Austin – Lucas Bentzer
· Hartford HS; “Mean Girls: High School Version,” Ms. Norbury – Valeria Perales
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Leaf Coneybear – Babacar Thiam
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre – Ella Farrough
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Alice Beineke – Kya Butcher
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Uncle Fester – Jorin Tabbert
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Lucas Beineke – Ian Sokol
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Pharaoh – Bryn Carlsen
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Jan – Ava Armstrong
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Marty – Elle Durocher
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Frenchy – Rose Lawrence
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians,” Thalia – Katherine Cox
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical (two awards will be given)
· Brandywine HS; “Beetlejuice, Jr,” Lydia – Hailey Amster
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Katherine Blake – Sydney Trowbridge
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday,” Ellie Blake – Julia Witt
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Elsa – Makaylin Mauai
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!,” Sophie Sheridan – Erin Solarek
· Hartford HS; “Mean Girls: High School Version,” Cady Heron – Destiny Davis-Russell
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Olive Ostrovsky – Cady Bango
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” William Barfee – Oliver Pollock
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Gomez Addams – Camden King
· New Buffalo HS; “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy Gale – Angelina Bryk
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Narrator – Kami Crandall
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Eurydice – Meadow Mager
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” Persephone – Riley Newcomer
· Saint Joseph HS; “Grease,” Sandy Dombrowski – Zoey Owens
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians,” Zoe – Drew Olney
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians,” Lexi – Serenity Scully
Outstanding Direction in a Musical
· Brandywine HS; “Beetlejuice, Jr.,” Daysha Amster
· Dowagiac Union HS; “Frozen, Jr.,” Ryan Murray
· Hartford HS; “Mean Girls: High School Version,” Hailey Cunningham
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Meghan Beard
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family,” Mikaela McLaughlin
· New Buffalo HS; “The Wizard of Oz,” Chris Beushausen
· St. Joseph HS; “Grease,” Beth Gray
Outstanding Musical Production
· Concord HS; “Freaky Friday”
· Edwardsburg HS; “Mamma Mia!”
· James Whitcomb Riley HS; “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
· Lakeshore HS; “The Addams Family Musical”
· Paw Paw HS; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
· Penn HS; “Hadestown: Teen Edition”
· South Haven HS; “The Olympians: An Epic Muse-ical,”
