AJ Denomme
Carl Hanratty, Catch Me If You Can
Dakota High School
Jimmy Awards
Regional Awards Programs
Sutton Foster Awards
East Lansing, MI
Wharton Center for Performing Arts
2026 Ceremony Date: May 31, 2026
These awards recognize individual artistry in vocal, dance, and acting performances for two outstanding performers in a leading role in a high school musical theater production. It also honors the commitment of Michigan teachers and schools to excellence in performing arts education.
This program was formerly known as Ovation Awards.
Nominees
2026
Lillian Tang
Suzanne Prevot, The Hello Girls
Bloomfield Hills High School
2025
Sabina Camblor
Baker's Wife, Into the Woods
Interlochen Arts Academy
Jason Thomas Clyde
Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief
Zeeland High School
2024
Braeden Davis
Curly, Oklahoma!
Loy Norrix High School
Gretchen Shope
Alice, Alice By Heart
H.H. Dow High School
2023
Jillian Armstrong
Betty Haynes, White Christmas
Milford High School
Mark Bonney
Joseph, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Detriot School of Arts
2022
Greyson Taylor
Leading Player, Pippin
Interlochen Arts Academy
Ashley Woytal
Audrey, Little Shop of Horrors
Portage Northern High School
2021
Jason Koch
Portage Northern High School
Bella Seigo
Grand Ledge High School
2019
Eric Liu
Bobby Child, Crazy for You
Rockford Senior High School
Sarah Nelson
Georgia Hendricks, Curtains
Milford High School
2018
Betsy Miller
Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins
John Glenn High School
Jeremy VandenHout
Snoopy, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown
Caledonia High School
2017
Antonio Cipriano
Mickey McKee, Hello! My Baby
University Liggett School
Catherine Elliott
Betty Gold/Buddy, Hello! My Baby
University Liggett School
2016
Stacy Coleman
Deb, Ordinary Days
Rockford High School
Logan Dolence
Papa Ge, Once On This Island
Zeeland East High School
2015
Madeline Mathias
Martha, The Secret Garden
Rockford High School
Aleksander Papanastasopoules
Javert, Les Misérables
Divine Child High School
2014
Jamie Colburn
Phantom of the Opera, The Phantom of the Opera
Holland High School
Emily Hadick
Babe Williams, The Pajama Game
Holt High School
2013
Brian Baylor
Coalhouse Walker Jr., Ragtime
West Bloomfield High School
Mason Van Gieson
Belle, Beauty and the Beast
Clarkston High School
2012
Zachary Kozlow
Albert Peterson, Bye Bye Birdie
Wylie E. Groves High School
Emily McKay
Reno Sweeney, Anything Goes
Okemos High School