The annual Cappies Gala is a spectacular celebration where thousands of students, teachers, parents, and community leaders come together to recognize the many contributions of high school theater and journalism. The emcees of this year’s gala, June 2, were Dr. Tara Taylor, Cappies NCA Chair and Fairfax County Public Schools Theatre and Dance Educational Specialist, and Cappies alumni Hasan Crawford, August Rivers, and Anna Maria Ferrari. It was directed by Cappies NCA Program Director Maeve Nash with orchestra direction by Dr. Jim Criswell.

The first awards of the evening were given to the outstanding student critics who review and select the winners for this end of year celebration. The Bill Strauss Outstanding Critic Award was awarded to Ellen Lawton of Herndon High School. This achievement marks a third consistent Cappie win for the talented writer, who previously won the Andy Mays Rising Critic in 2023 and the Maryland Theater Guide Returning Critic in 2024.

The highlight of every Cappies Gala is the performances of nominated songs and scenes from participating schools. The Concert Hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was filled with raucous applause from the thousands of students as they supported their peers’ productions and the recognition they received. Most of the performances featured graduating seniors in their final moments of their high school careers, resulting in tears of joy and sadness backstage during their well-earned applause. As wonderful as the performances were on stage, it was the camaraderie and bittersweet moments backstage that were the most moving of the night.

Colgan High School performed their Cappie Award–winning song “Wait for Me” from Hadestown: Teen Edition, featuring Andrew Serrano-Bremer (winner of Best Vocalist in a Male Role), Jeremiah Gates (winner of Best Supporting Actor in a Male Role in a Musical), and the ensemble.

Lake Braddock High School presented an emotionally stirring scene from their Cappie Award–winning production of The Trojan Women. Lake Braddock students won six Cappie Awards including Bella Molino for Special Effects and/or Technology, Madison Eismeier for Sound, Nathaniel Howard for Costumes, Ashley Kennedy for Featured Actor in a Female Role in a Play, Murphy Finnegan Lead Actor in a Female Role in a Play, and the Cappie Award for Best Play.

The Cappies Gala celebrated its 25th anniversary by highlighting moments from previous galas starring alumni who are now professionals in the industry and in the classroom. The most moving segment of the evening was a special tribute to Cappies leader, co-founder, and former Cappies NCA Chair, the honorable Jane “Janie” Strauss. Janie and her late husband Bill Strauss founded the Cappies in 1999. Since his death in 2007, Janie continued the important work of the Cappies and her advocacy as a Fairfax County School Board Member. Janie Strauss passed away in April of 2025, but her impact continues through the thousands of students and educators throughout the Metropolitan DC area and beyond.

The Cappies Awards Gala took place on Monday, June 2, 2025, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. The Cappies Gala will be telecast in its entirety on Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable channel Red Apple 21, which can be viewed online at FCPS.edu/TV.

ABOUT THE CAPPIES
The Cappies (Critics and Awards Program) is an international program that began in the DC Metro area. The program recognizes, celebrates, and provides learning experiences for high school theater and journalism students. Within each Cappies program, participating high schools select three to nine students for a critic team. After receiving intensive training in theater criticism and review writing, the critic team attends and provides a written review of plays and musicals produced by other participating high schools in their area. Volunteer teacher-mentors lead discussions and select the critic-written reviews that are later published by area newspapers. At the end of the year, the student critics cast ballots for the top achievements in 39 award categories. At the end of the season, the critics who have reviewed five or more shows may vote for the Cappie award winners.

The 2025 Cappie Award Winners

Winners are indicated with an asterisk.

Andy Mays Rising Critic

Erin Allen, Bishop Ireton High School
Julian Hassi, McLean High School
* Alden Walcott, South Lakes High School
Bonna Koo, Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology
Iris Cooper, Westfield High School

Maryland Theater Guide Returning Critic

Mary Campbell, Westfield High School
Emily Reisman, McLean High School
Christine Dang, Lake Braddock High School
* Madelyn Regan, Centreville High School
Julie Kessel, Albert Einstein High School

Bill Strauss Graduating Critic

Cecelia Meza, Herndon High School
* Ellen Lawton, Herndon High School
Josephin Friedrich, Langley High School
Clare Shacochis, Oakton High School
Iza Piatkowski, Woodgrove High School

Marketing and Publicity

Xander Bush, Zoe Carter, Caty Jewell, Iza Piatkowski, Woodgrove High School , Mamma Mia!
Anusha Krishnan, Arsema Kelkay, and The Westfield Publicity Team, Westfield High School, The Sound of Music
Chance McGill, Kaitlyn Lanigan, Megan Sawyer, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition
* Kat Pascual, Libby Hansen, Olive Webster, Devin Linthicum, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing
The PR & Marketing Team, South Lakes High School, Once Upon a Mattress

Special Effects and/or Technology

Nawal Abib, Cindy Ayala, Fama Gueye, Nariah S. Martin, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition
Peyton Morales and a Certain Special Effects Crew, West Springfield High School, Puffs: Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic
Alex Hall, Drew Hall, Ethan Jones, McLean High School, Amelie
* Bella Molino, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Anabelle Perez-Caban, Henry Green, Woodson High School, Lear by William Shakespeare

Hair and Make-up

Mary Frances Dempsey, Cassidy Greenwalt, Peyton Olsen, Vivi Parsons, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
Juliana Esen, Vin Watts, Amelia Underwood, Kiara Valerio-De Dios, Falls Church High School, The Addams Family
Lila Halleran, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
* Isabelle Philippe, Jade Mattei, and the Mattress Hair and Makeup Team, South Lakes High School, Once Upon a Mattress
Agustin Anello Quiroga and Chloe Kang, Robinson Secondary School, Tuck Everlasting

Sound

* Madison Eismeier, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Kenrick Philpott, Leo Deangelo, Chase Chapman, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
Tobey Phinney, Kiran Kane, Justice High School, Almost, Maine
Wil Shank, Loudoun Valley High School, Peter and the Starcatcher
Virginia Williams, Rain Medrano, Lynn Milkiewicz, Herndon High School, MACBETH

Props

Aubrey Astore, Margaret Hughes, Liv Rosenfeld, Emerson Thiebert, McLean High School, Amelie
August Carr, Caleb Hayes, Teddy Seylar, August Yates, Wakefield High School, Little Shop of Horrors
* Caroline Cochran, Cameron Filson, Eva Klinker, Victoria Reyes, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Leah Rajnik, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Fiona Raymer, Jasmine Hamilton, Kaleigh Rosania, Annandale High School, Little Shop of Horrors

Lighting

Macie Brooks, Sam Cole, Chantilly High School, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
Katie Eagan, Zaya Economides, CC Mucker, Robinson Secondary School, Tuck Everlasting
ITPA Lighting Team, Independence High School, Once Upon a One More Time (High School Version)
* William Waugh, Kareena Kasperowski, Natalie Mitchell, South County High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
Rebecca Weingast, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women

Costumes

Cassidy Greenwalt, Peyton Olsen, Vivi Parsons, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
* Nathaniel Howard, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Audrey Ihde, Amelie Hatfield, and The Costume Team, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Amalia Manow, Katy Nguyen, Cricket Nicholls, Woodson Costumes Team, Woodson High School, Lear by William Shakespeare
Iona McCluskey, Catherine Carow, Nancy McDougal, and the BITA Costuming Team, Bishop Ireton, Guys and Dolls

Sets

Charlie Fink, Allyson Pikul, Iris Nijbroek, Allison Rigsbee, and the Dramahawks Set Crew, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You
* Eliot Hettler, Amelia Haid, Isabel Suk, and The Set Team, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Kinsey Lin, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Chloe Lupo, Rachael Shore, and The Westfield Set Team, Westfield High School, The Sound of Music
Anna Wisneski, Owen Penrose, Caroline Reams, and the BITA Design Team, Bishop Ireton, Guys and Dolls

Orchestra

The Hadestown Band, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes, Hadestown: Teen Edition
Crazy for You Orchestra, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You
South County A Chorus Line Pit Orchestra, South County High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
* Yorktown Pit Orchestra, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
Oakton High School Pit, Oakton High School, Into the Woods

Choreography

Caty Jewell, Maggie Bugaj, Aurora Schriver, Jordan Smith, Woodgrove High School , Mamma Mia!
Katie Johnson, Lexi Stattel, James Madison High School, Mean Girls High School Version
Mary Clare Pelczynski, Sam Wolff, Chantilly High School, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
* Ava Taylor, Josie Sinniger, Karen Board, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You
Sitina Tochterman, Jahlil Greene, Hudson Koonce, South Lakes High School, Once Upon a Mattress

Creativity

Charlotte Keshap and Alice Aramendia, Direction, H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, Uncle Vanya
Aiden Harper, Sol Modell, and Duke Crespin, Musicianship, Meridian High School, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish
* Emmett Justice, Scout Gould, Composition, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, The Laramie Project
Warner Smith, Dramaturgy, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Abeni Smith, Thomas Gay, and the TJTA Dramaturgy Team, Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, Big Fish School Edition

Stage Management

Jasmine Downing, Evan Slider, Natalie Lanter, Maya Wade, South County High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
Lily Sarfaraz, Mimi Wise, and the GCTC SM Team, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown
* Allie Vargo, Katherine Dailey, McLean High School, Amelie
Hailey Vuong, Riley Russian, Emily Schmitt, Harry Dunick, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
Raymond Walker, Izzy Manicone, Amber Zhu, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing

Stage Crew

Gabe Acquavella, Jordi Tyler, and the Messina Resort Staff, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing
* Dramahawks Run Crew, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You
The Riverside Stage Crew, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition
The GCTC Run Crew, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown
A Certain Run Crew, West Springfield High School, Puffs: Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic

Ensemble in a Play

The Chorus, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
The Weird Sisters and the Drumming Divinations, Walt Whitman High School, Macbeth
* Citizens of Laramie, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, The Laramie Project
The Rude Mechanicals, Meridian High School, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish
Dogberry’s Watch, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing

Ensemble in a Musical

The Final 17, South County High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
Reno and her Angels, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
* The “Poor” Ensemble, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown
The Fates, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
The Follies, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You

Featured Actor in a Female Role in a Play

Ajyah Ford, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, The Laramie Project
Michelle Harris, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition
* Ashley Kennedy, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Ellen Lawton, Herndon High School, MACBETH
Marli Palchik, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing

Featured Actor in a Male Role in a Play

* Zerabruck Haile, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, The Laramie Project
Tony Hillary, West Springfield High School, Puffs: Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic
Marshall Vogel-Rogers, Meridian High School, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish
Noah McGuire, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Krishnan Patel, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition

Featured Actor in a Female Role in a Musical

Gabriel Ayala, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Angelina Kaminsky, Wakefield High School, Little Shop of Horrors
* Francesca Klesius, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
Grace Shaffer, Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, Big Fish School Edition
Amaris Stokes, South County High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition

Featured Actor in a Male Role in a Musical

* Matthew Aslaksen, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
Rigley Mostafavi, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Jack Rodstrom, James Madison High School, Mean Girls High School Version
Ella Tysse, Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, Big Fish School Edition
Nico Velasco-Kent, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You

Dancer in a Female Role

* Cassie DellaVedova, South County High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
Caty Jewell, Woodgrove High School , Mamma Mia!
Nealah Malmstrom, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown
Ava Taylor, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You
Hope Titus, McLean High School, Amelie

Dancer in a Male Role

Kamdi Aghazu, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown
Isiah Alston-Gambrell, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, The Laramie Project
Iskandar Aoun, Robinson Secondary School, Tuck Everlasting
* Nate Kauffman, Quince Orchard High School, Mamma Mia!
Hudson Koonce, South Lakes High School, Once Upon a Mattress

Vocalist in a Female Role

Lea Ahrens, South County High School, A Chorus Line: Teen Edition
Lilli McNerney, Westfield High School, The Sound of Music
Angela R. Fuentes Quinteros, Annandale High School, Little Shop of Horrors
* Itsuko Scoville, South Lakes High School, Once Upon a Mattress
Josie Sinniger, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You

Vocalist in a Male Role

Nate Borrowman, James Madison High School, Mean Girls High School Version
Prajeet Chitty, Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, Big Fish School Edition
Donovan Furey, Bishop Ireton, Guys and Dolls
* Andrew Serrano-Bremer, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
Zachary Ulman, Langley High School, Beauty and the Beast

Comic Actor in a Female Role in a Play

Emma Carr, West Springfield High School, Puffs: Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic
* Juliana Gurrola, Woodson High School, Lear by William Shakespeare
Kaitlyn Lanigan, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition
Eudora Neal, Meridian High School, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish
Lydia Wester, Clarksburg High School, Much Ado About Nothing

Comic Actor in a Male Role in a Play

Alex Fulgham, Meridian High School, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish
Ben Harper, West Springfield High School, Puffs: Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic
Mekhi Lee, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, The Laramie Project
* Mauro Manganello, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing
Jojo Smothers, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition

Comic Actor in a Female Role in a Musical

Scarlett Anthony, Westfield High School, The Sound of Music
* Savannah Day, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Kira Gilligan, Robinson Secondary School, Tuck Everlasting
Grace Rodstrom, James Madison High School, Mean Girls High School Version
Sasha Wendell, Falls Church High School, The Addams Family

Comic Actor in a Male Role in a Musical

* Noelle Brosnan, Robinson Secondary School, Tuck Everlasting
Marcello Canniff, Annandale High School, Little Shop of Horrors
Romain Dairay, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Chase Danzenbaker, Independence High School, Once Upon a One More Time (High School Version)
Syd DeWitt, Wakefield High School, Little Shop of Horrors

Supporting Actor in a Female Role in a Play

Holland Hasle, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
* Sofi Hemmens, Justice High School, Almost, Maine
Ambriah Jenkins, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, The Laramie Project
Kathryn Whitis, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing
Sophia Wiegold, Thomas A. Edison High School, Peter Pan and Wendy

Supporting Actor in a Male Role in a Play

Aiden Brennan, Woodson High School, Lear by William Shakespeare
* Ben Demase, Loudoun Valley High School, Peter and the Starcatcher
Jack Kreul, Meridian High School, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish
Nataline Phillips, West Springfield High School, Puffs: Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic
Nate Wheeler Smith, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing

Supporting Actor in a Female Role in a Musical

Giovana Abdo, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Ella Brown, Robinson Secondary School, Tuck Everlasting
Gwyneth Kemeny, James Madison High School, Mean Girls High School Version
* Allison Payne, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown
Mariam Trigui, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition

Supporting Actor in a Male Role in a Musical

David Garcia, Chantilly High School, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
* Jeremiah Gates, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
Alex Valencic, McLean High School, Amelie
Drew Wright, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
Aden Wright, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes, Hadestown: Teen Edition

Lead Actor in a Female Role in a Play

Nora Blythe, Herndon High School, MACBETH
* Murphy Finnegan, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Anna Murray, Walt Whitman High School, Macbeth
Kat Pascual, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing
Charlotte Willmore, Woodson High School, Lear by William Shakespeare

Lead Actor in a Male Role in a Play

Bo Chatterjee, Herndon High School, MACBETH
* Isaac Frenza, Fairfax High School, Much Ado About Nothing
Jeffrey Henderson, Riverside High School, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – High School Edition
Nathaniel Howard, Lake Braddock Secondary School, The Trojan Women
Hugo Ratheau, Meridian High School, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish

Lead Actor in a Female Role in a Musical

Cam Carter, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
Camille Dausch, Chantilly High School, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
Elsa Harlor, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown
* Bella Houston, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
Clara Neag, South Lakes High School, Once Upon a Mattress

Lead Actor in a Male Role in a Musical

Aquilles Ailus, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You
* Colt Armstrong, Falls Church High School, The Addams Family
August Carr, Wakefield High School, Little Shop of Horrors
Nathaniel Dosen, Annandale High School, Little Shop of Horrors
Seger Ott-Rudolph, Albert Einstein High School, The Secret Garden

Song

No One is Alone, Oakton High School, Into the Woods
Anything Goes, Yorktown High School, Anything Goes
* Wait For Me, Colgan High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
I Got Rhythm, Hayfield Secondary School, Crazy for You
Run, Freedom, Run!, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Urinetown

Critic Team

Centreville High School
Langley High School
Oakton High School
* South Lakes High School
Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology

Play

A Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish, Meridian High School
Puffs: Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, West Springfield High School
MACBETH, Herndon High School
Much Ado About Nothing, Fairfax High School
The Laramie Project, Duke Ellington School of the Arts
* The Trojan Women, Lake Braddock Secondary School

Musical

Hadestown: Teen Edition, Colgan High School
Anything Goes, Yorktown High School
Into the Woods, Oakton High School
Once Upon a Mattress, South Lakes High School
* Urinetown, Our Lady of Good Counsel
Crazy for You, Hayfield Secondary School