Blumenthal Arts Announces 12th Annual Blumey Awards Winners

May 19, 2025 (Charlotte, NC) – The 12th annual Blumenthal Arts High School Musical Theater Awards culminated Sunday, May 18, at a gala award celebration where winners in 15 categories were announced and nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Bank of America Best Musical performed live on stage at the Belk Theater. The Blumey Awards are presented by Bank of America.

 

 

Weddington High School won the Tier 1 Bank of America Best Musical Award for its production of Chicago: Teen Edition. North Lincoln High School won the Tier 2 Bank of America Best Musical Award for its production of Pippin. Haley Ciaramella from Central Academy of Technology and Arts won Best Actress for her portrayal as “Eponine” in Les Misérables School Edition. Alex Board from Central Academy of Technology and Arts won Best Actor for his portrayal of “Javert” in Les Misérables School Edition.

 

(2025 Blumey Awards Best Actress And Best Actor Winners Haley Ciaramella and Alex Board)

 

Blumenthal Arts President and CEO Tom Gabbard said, "The Blumey Awards are one of the most joyful and uplifting moments of the year as it celebrates the incredible talent, passion, and hard work of our community’s high school performers. We’re deeply grateful to the students, teachers, parents, and supporters who worked together to make this night so inspiring. Congratulations to everyone involved for your amazing achievement.”

Performer Warren Egypt Franklin (Hamilton Broadway national tour, TV’s American Sports Story and Grown-ish) hosted the black-tie event. Among the presenters and special guests were last year’s Best Actress and Best Actor winners, Lainey Gaston and Rylan Lowe, Blumey Awards Gordon Hay Scholarship recipient Ash Hernick, Ryann Redmond (Broadway’s Once Upon a One More Time, Disney’s Frozen, Escape to Margaritaville, and others), Sterling Masters-Deeny (Broadway and national tours of Wicked, A Chorus Line, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and others), WFAE reporter Nick de la Canal, and Portia Sherman MacKinnon (Senior Vice President, Head of Enterprise Digital Operations, Bank of America).  

2025 Blumey Award winners:

Bank of America Best Musical – Tier 1

Weddington High School – Chicago: Teen Edition

Bank of America Best Musical – Tier 2

North Lincoln High School – Pippin

Best Actor

Central Academy of Technology and Arts – Alex Board as Javert – Les Misérables School Edition

Best Actress

Central Academy of Technology and Arts – Haley Ciaramella as Eponine –

Les Misérables School Edition

Best Supporting Actor

William A. Hough High School – Jack McRee as Uncle Fester – The Addams Family

Best Supporting Actress

North Lincoln High School – Emma Rogne as Fastrada – Pippin

Best Featured Performer
Central Academy of Technology and Arts – Garrett Dwiggins as Bishop of Digne/Legles

– Les Misérables School Edition

Best Overall Direction

North Lincoln High School – Pippin

Best Ensemble/Chorus
Concord Academy – Guys and Dolls

Best Choreography Execution

Weddington High School – Chicago: Teen Edition

Best Student Orchestra

Central Academy of Technology and Arts– Les Misérables School Edition

Best Student Costume Designer

Concord Academy – Lexi LaCroix – Guys and Doll

Best Student Set Designer

William A. Hough High School – Dylan Vezendy – The Addams Family

Best Student Stage Manager

William A. Hough High School – Gavin Vezendy – The Addams Family

Best Student Reporter

Weddington High School - Hayden Kocur

Along with The Blumey Awards, five students were awarded college scholarships. 

The Mary Doctor Fine Arts Scholarship annually benefits two graduating high school seniors within the Charlotte region who are preparing to pursue a degree in the arts. Scholarships are awarded at $10,000 and are annually renewable during a student’s four-year undergraduate program. This year, the Mary Doctor scholarship committee selected Elijah Phillips and Maria Nicoleta Cutitaru. Elijah, a senior at Northwest School of the Arts, will attend Shenandoah University in the fall to pursue a BFA in Acting. North Carolina School of the Arts High School senior Maria Nicoleta will attend Boston University in the fall.

The Gordon Hay Scholarship Committee selected Emily Stanton, Miles Denny-Martinez, and Victoria Kahnle as the 2025 scholarship recipients. North Lincoln High School senior Emily, who will study lighting design at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts this fall, was awarded $10,000. Weddington High School senior Miles, who will also attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, was awarded $5,000. Victoria, a current student at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was awarded $2,500. Each year, deserving high school seniors or college freshmen or sophomores are selected to receive this unique scholarship. The award is not for tuition, class fees, or living expenses, but for special learning opportunities related to the recipient’s career interest in a nonperformance discipline within the performing arts (e.g. lighting and sound design, set design, costume design, stage management, etc.).

To find out more about college scholarships, visit blumenthalarts.org/college-scholarships.

The gala celebration was a highlight of the competition, which started in January when local schools began presenting their annual musical theater productions. Each school’s musical was viewed and evaluated by a panel of three judges, who awarded points according to detailed guidelines. 

Blumenthal Arts thanks title sponsor Bank of America along with supporters Kelli and Mike Richardson, Peg and Jay Adamczyk, Savannah College of Art and Design, Mel Gordon and category sponsors Rodgers Builders (Best Student Set Designer), and Vickie Gabbard (Best Supporting Actress). Charlotte joins more than 50 other cities, including Pittsburgh, Houston, and Atlanta, in hosting annual high school musical theater awards programs.

“Bank of America, as a longtime partner of Blumenthal Arts, is proud to support the 2025 Blumey Awards. This celebration of talent and big dreams is a meaningful showcase of the hard work of Charlotte’s students, staff, and schools. We are proud to support an organization that opens doors by providing important opportunities for students through arts education, recognition, and industry connections,” said Grace Nystrum, Charlotte Market Executive for Bank of America.

Like the Tony Awards®, The Blumey Awards Ceremony features a performance by each of the six nominated schools in the best musical category, a medley of performances by the six nominees for Best Actor and for Best Actress, and an opening and closing number that features two students from each of the 54 participating schools.

The New York–based creative team included Broadway composer and Grammy-nominated orchestrator David Dabbon (Oh, Mary!, Beetlejuice, Funny Girl, Disaster!, and others), Music Director since the inaugural Blumey Awards ceremony in 2012, returning as Conductor, Music Director, and Arranger. Reagan Casteel (Broadway national tour of & Juliet, Broadway’s Once Upon a One More Time and Dancin’) returned as Music Director and Arranger. Director and choreographer Deirdre Goodwin (Broadway: A Chorus Line, Chicago) choreographed the event with Associate Choreographer Alex White (Broadway: Monty Python’s Spamalot, NBA dance captain: Charlotte Hornets).

The schools that competed this year included:
 

NAME OF SCHOOL	NAME OF MUSICAL
A.L. Brown High School	Little Shop of Horrors
Ardrey Kell High School	Legally Blonde
Ashbrook High School	The SpongeBob Musical
Ballantyne Ridge High School	The Lightning Thief
Cannon School	Mamma Mia!
Carmel Christian School	Oklahoma!
Catawba Ridge High School	Little Shop of Horrors
Central Academy of Technology & Arts	Les Misérables School Edition
Central Cabarrus High School	Chicago: Teen Edition
Charlotte Catholic High School	Fiddler on the Roof
Charlotte Country Day School	Bright Star
Charlotte Latin School	The Drowsy Chaperone
Christ the King Catholic High School	The Music Man
Concord Academy	Guys and Dolls
Concord High School	Hairspray
Cox Mill High School	Disney's The Little Mermaid
Cuthbertson High School	Anastasia
Davidson Day School	Once Upon a Once More Time High School Edition
East Lincoln High School	Matilda the Musical
East Mecklenburg High School	Pippin
Gaston Christian School	The Sound of Music
Gaston Day School	Once Upon a Mattress
Hickory Grove Christian School	Seussical
Hickory Ridge High School	Something Rotten!
Highland School of Technology	The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Hopewell High School	Mamma Mia!
Indian Land High School	Chicago: Teen Edition
Jay M. Robinson High School	Mamma Mia!
Kings Mountain High School	Disaster!
Lake Norman High School	Anastasia
Lincoln Charter School	The SpongeBob Musical
Lincolnton High School	Something Rotten!
Marvin Ridge High School	Mary Poppins
Mountain Island Charter School	Mean Girls High School Version
Myers Park High School	Freaky Friday
Nation Ford High School	The Lightning Thief
North Gaston High School	Mean Girls High School Version
North Lincoln High School	Pippin
Northwest Cabarrus High School	Seussical
Northwest School of the Arts	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Northwestern High School	Hello, Dolly!
Palisades High School	Little Shop of Horrors
Parkwood High School	You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Revised)
Piedmont Community Charter School	West Side Story
Pine Lake Preparatory	Heathers the Musical: Teen Edition
Porter Ridge High School	Mamma Mia!
Providence Day School	Peter Pan
Providence High School	All Shook Up
Shelby High School	The Lightning Thief
South Mecklenburg High School	Legally Blonde
Weddington High School	Chicago: Teen Edition
West Cabarrus High School	The Addams Family
Westminster Catawba Christian School	Hello, Dolly!
William Amos Hough High School	The Addams Family

 

For more information: BlumenthalArts.org/BlumeyAwards
 

For interview requests, contact Rachel Peterson, rachel.peterson@blumenthalarts.org

 

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ABOUT BLUMENTHAL ARTS
Blumenthal Arts serves the Carolinas as a leading cultural, entertainment, and education not-for-profit. For more information, call (704) 372-1000 or visit BlumenthalArts.org. Blumenthal Arts receives support from the City of Charlotte and the North Carolina Arts Council. Generous support is also provided by PNC Bank, sponsor of the PNC Broadway Lights series, and Equitable, sponsor of the Equitable Bravo Series.

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