The Marquee Awards
Congratulations to our 2025 Nominees and Winners!
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
Bearden High School – Mary Poppins
Christian Academy of Knoxville – Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version)
Grace Christian Academy - Newsies
Karns High School – Guys and Dolls
South-Doyle High School – Anything Goes
WINNER: Karns High School – Guys and Dolls
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY EXECUTION
Bearden High School – Mary Poppins
Christian Academy of Knoxville – Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version)
Grace Christian Academy - Newsies
Karns High School – Guys and Dolls
South-Doyle High School – Anything Goes
WINNER: Christian Academy of Knoxville – Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version)
OUTSTANDING STUDENT DESIGN IN PROPS AND SCENERY
Bearden High School – Mary Poppins, Scenic Painting
Bearden High School – Mary Poppins, Lighted Panels
Central High School – The Phantom of the Opera, Chandelier
Heritage High School – The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Set Design
South-Doyle High School – Anything Goes, Set Design
WINNER: South-Doyle High School – Anything Goes, Set Design
OUTSTANDING STUDENT DESIGN IN COSTUMES
Bearden High School – Mary Poppins
Clayton-Bradley Academy – Into the Woods
Karns High School – Guys and Dolls
Oak Ridge High School – The Addams Family
Sevier County High School – The Wizard of Oz
WINNER: Oak Ridge – The Addams Family
OUTSTANDING STUDENT DESIGN IN CHOREOGRAPHY
Carter High School – The Addams Family
Grace Christian Academy – Newsies
Heritage High School – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Knoxville Catholic High School – High School Musical
Sevier County High School – The Wizard of Oz
WINNER: Grace Christian Academy – Newsies
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS
Asheville High School, Anything Goes - Ari Faile, Evangeline Harcourt
Clayton-Bradley Academy, Into the Woods – Addison O’Dell, Rapunzel
South-Doyle High School, Anything Goes – Charity Davis, Evangeline Harcourt
West High School, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Tori Iler, Queen Constantine
William Blount High School, Little Shop of Horrors – Sunny Ellmore, Ronnette
WINNER: West High School, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Tori Iler, Queen Constantine
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR
Bearden High School, Mary Poppins – Zane White, Robertson Ay
Central High School, The Phantom of the Opera – Gabe Gadd, Monsieur Firmin
Grace Christian Academy, Newsies – Chase Cline, Les Jacobs
Webb School of Knoxville, The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Will Carroll, Durdles
William Blount High School, Little Shop of Horrors – Daniel Snoderly, Mr. Mushnik
WINNER: William Blount High School, Little Shop of Horrors – Daniel Snoderly, Mr. Mushnik
OUTSTANDING OVERALL MUSICAL
Encore Tier - Productions with a budget over $20,000
Christian Academy of Knoxville – Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version)
Karns High School – Guys and Dolls
WINNER: Karns High School – Guys and Dolls
Curtain Call Tier - Productions with a budget under $20,000
Asheville High School – Anything Goes
Heritage High School – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Seymour High School – Newsies
WINNER: Seymour High School – Newsies
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS
Bearden High School, Mary Poppins – Layla Griffey, Mrs. Banks
Maryville High School, Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun (Stone) – Maddie Yalove, Annie Oakley
Northview Academy, Annie – Addie Mayfield, Miss Hannigan
Oak Ridge High School, The Addams Family – Edie Weston, Wednesday Addams
South-Doyle High School, Anything Goes – Annika Kallstrom, Reno Sweeney
WINNER: South-Doyle High School, Anything Goes – Annika Kallstrom, Reno Sweeney
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR
Bearden High School, Mary Poppins – Eli Solomon, Bert
Hardin Valley Academy, Big Fish – Jayden Sheard, Edward Bloom
Maryville High School, Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun (Stone) – Tristan Hall, Frank Butler
Seymour High School, Newsies – Sean Rogers, Jack Kelly
Webb School of Knoxville, The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Ephraim Sorrell, John Jasper/Clive Paget
WINNER: Bearden High School, Mary Poppins – Eli Solomon, Bert
ALL-STAR CAST MEMBERS
Asheville High School – Ava Leigh Manderson
Bearden High School – Katie Nichols
Carter High School – Annaliese Manis
Central High School – Gavin Woods
Christian Academy of Knoxville – Holland Foss
Clayton-Bradley Academy – Eve Hutchinson
Concord Christian School – Layla Townsend
Grace Christian Academy – Lily Walsh
Hardin Valley Academy – Jaylon Carey
Heritage High School – Kyle Baker
Karns High School – Amelia Hill
Knoxville Catholic High School - Cayden Leftwich
Maryville High School – Avery Thomas
Northview Academy – Danny Young
Oak Ridge High School – Teddi Rhodehouse
Sevier County High School – Kylie McClure
Seymour High School – Sullivan Smith
South-Doyle High School – Lucas Jones
Webb School of Knoxville – Wilson Conley
West High School – Tori Iler
William Blount High School – Alex Nolan
ALL-STAR CREW MEMBERS
Asheville High School – Cleo Page
Bearden High School – Blake Leslie
Carter High School – Sara Sprinkle
Central High School – JoRissah Wright
Christian Academy of Knoxville – Hannah Elliott
Clayton-Bradley Academy – Georgie Hatcher
Concord Christian School – Lucas Howell
Grace Christian Academy – Jackson Jarnigan
Hardin Valley Academy – Finnegan Learn-Houston
Heritage High School – Elisa Moore
Karns High School – Peyton Martin
Knoxville Catholic High School - Abby Kuhn
Maryville High School – Jackson Graver
Northview Academy – Nolyn Altman
Oak Ridge High School – Logan Bowman
Sevier County High School – Gabriel Taylor
Seymour High School – Lexie Wright
South-Doyle High School – Gracie Strader
Webb School of Knoxville – Mason Barger
West High School – Maya Nanny
William Blount High School – Carrie Coulter
The Marquee Awards are dedicated to supporting the talents, education, and opportunities of high school theater students in our region to build a strong and inclusive theater community.
The program consists of three pieces:
- Adjudication - A panel of knowledgeable theater lovers attend each school’s musical and provide feedback on the performance.
- Nomination - Schools and individuals receive awards that honor achievements in performance, technical and creative categories, at an Awards Ceremony held at the Tennessee Theatre. Some nominees will also have the opportunity to perform at the Awards Ceremony.
- Education - Partnering with Clarence Brown Theatre, nominees will participate in a day of workshops led by University of Tennessee artists and professors before attending the Awards Ceremony. Participating schools will also be the first to know about additional educational opportunities presented by the Theatre.
The Tennessee Theatre’s membership in The Broadway League allows the two Marquee Award Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress winners to attend The Jimmy Awards®, a national celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance, and acting performance and elevating the importance of theater arts education in schools.
Stay tuned for more information in late June about the 2026 participation guidelines and how to sign up!
For more information about awards categories, adjudication rubrics, rules and regulations, and more, please visit the FAQs below. If you still have questions, please contact Mary Adkins.
- Click here to view the Handbook for Participating Schools!
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Click here to apply to be an adjudicator!
If you're interested in attending high school performances during the 2025-26 school year and providing feedback, please complete the form here!
We are thankful to the following Partners
Arts & Culture Alliance
Knox County
Clarence Brown Theatre
Dept of Treasury
We wouid also like to thank the Nancy Sharp Voith and Kenneth Stark Family for their support of this program.
Interested in becoming a partner? Contact Nicki Collett for more information about sponsoring or supporting this event!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the rules and regulations?
Rules and regulations can be found here or in the Participation Handbook linked above.
What categories will there be?
In addition to the required Outstanding Overall Musical, Outstanding Lead Actress, and Outstanding Lead Actor, we will nominate students for a variety of categories recognizing their accomplishments in performing, backstage work, set design, costume design, and more. View a full list of categories here or in the Participation Handbook linked above.
Are there any costs for schools or students to participate?
This program will be completely free for schools and students to participate. However, schools and/or students will be responsible for transportation and some meals on the ceremony day.
What if my school doesn't have a theater program?
At this time, only schools presenting full-length musicals on the Qualifying Shows and Roles List are able to participate.
Does our school have to perform a certain show to participate?
Each year, the National High School Musical Theatre Awards release a list of Qualifying Shows and Roles. While this list is updated each year, typically shows are added rather than removed. We will update the list for the 2025 Awards as soon as it is released. Please note that your show must be adjudicated by Friday, April 25, 2025.
How will the shows be adjudicated?
To keep the competition fair, judges are selected from outside resources and are not staff members of the hosting theater or organization. This provides a wonderful opportunity to encourage involvement from other cultural and educational institutions within our region. Our judges include educators (not high school level), theater professionals, board members, and other community members with a knowledge of and interest in musical theater. The commitment of these volunteers provides the schools with invaluable feedback about their performances, which can help them to improve each year.
The objective of this independent panel of judges is to provide a fair analysis of each school's performance, determine nominees and select winners in each category. Each judge will use a Scoring Rubric to evaluate shows.
How do the outstanding lead actor and actress nominations work?
One finalist from each school will be chosen in the categories of Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Lead Actress and will participate in a second round of adjudication. These finalists must have performed roles from the National High School Musical Theatre Awards list of eligible shows and roles. At this audition, finalists will sing 32 bars from the eligible role that they performed during their school’s musical, as well as participate in a dance call for our panel of judges.
My school is not located in Knoxville. Are we still eligible to participate?
Schools within a 2-hour driving distance of the Tennessee Theatre are eligible for participation. If you are not located within this radius, you can find other participating regional programs.
What if I have other questions?
If you have any other questions regarding The Marquee Awards, please contact Mary Adkins at madkins@tennesseetheatre.com.