Southwest Michigan’s passion for the performing arts was on full display at Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center recently, as hundreds of high school students, educators, and supporters came together for the fourth annual WAVE Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre.

Hosted by LMC’s Visual & Performing Arts Department and modeled after Broadway’s Tony Awards, the WAVE Awards spotlighted standout musical theater productions from 12 high schools across Berrien, Van Buren, and Cass Counties in Michigan, and St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties in Indiana. Nearly 700 students participated during the 2024-2025 school year.

The night’s big winner? Edwardsburg High School’s high-energy production of Newsies!, which took home four awards, including Outstanding Musical Production and individual honors for Set Design (Emma Hurley), Choreography (Catherine Wood), and Lead Actor (Brady Leep) for his performance as Jack Kelly.

“We are continually amazed by the depth of talent and the creative spirit in our region’s schools,” said Kristopher Zook, LMC’s Dean of Arts & Sciences and founder of the WAVE Awards. “These students are not only performing, they’re building community, telling stories, and learning what it means to create something bigger than themselves.”

Other multiple-award winners included Concord High School, whose Guys and Dolls received recognition for Music Direction (James Bennett) and Featured Ensemble (The Cuban Dancers).

Individual excellence was recognized across a wide range of categories. Among the night’s other top honors:

• Evangeline Salgado of James Whitcomb Riley High School earned Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical for her role as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!

• South Haven High School received Outstanding Lighting Design for Chicago

• Lakeshore High School’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat won Outstanding Costume Design

• Bridgman High School earned the Esprit de Corps Award, recognizing cast and crew members for exceptional collaboration and spirit

• St. Joseph, Lakeshore and South Haven high schools all won several awards for individual performances.

 Adding star power to the event, several awards were presented via video by well-known performers, including Broadway’s Gavin Lee, Tony winner Joanna Gleason, Stranger Things: The First Shadow’s Shea Grant, and animator Dan Povenmire.

All nominees received an LMC Red Hawk Scholarship for future coursework, and the lead actor winners—Leep and Salgado—were each awarded $1,000 Sierra Loughrin Scholarships to continue their studies with LMC’s Visual & Performing Arts Department.

Headline photo:  The cast of Lakeshore High School’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat perform at the 2025 Lake Michigan College WAVE awards

Full list of winners and more photos available at:  www.lakemichigancollege.edu/wave