Another remarkable year of theater has come and gone here in the Hampton Road region, and we can’t wait to celebrate it all at our awards ceremony on August 20th at 7:30PM at the Ferguson Center at CNU. Narrowing down the list of nominees was once again incredibly difficult – a credit to all the amazing work our theaters have done this year!

If you are nominated, you should be either hearing from the theater your nomination is associated with or from us directly with the opportunity to attend the show. 

If you are not nominated but would still like to attend, each theater was provided an allocation of tickets, so please ask your associated theater to see if they still have tickets available (each theater has their own process for providing tickets to interested individuals, and that process may not have started yet, so please be patient). 

If you are not associated with a theater, your theater is not participating in the ticketing process, or you were not able to get tickets from your theater’s allocation, we will have an allotment of tickets available.  We are taking ticket requests via email at HRACTAwards@gmail.com, and we will let you know if we are able to fulfill your request or not.

Note that all tickets are free.  We would love to have you!

We pulled names and roles directly off of Playbills, so if you were listed differently on two different Playbills and are nominated for both shows, you may have different names listed below.  If you have a spelling correction, a more preferred name, or a correction for who should be credited with a nomination (such as a Hair/Makeup Designer that should be included with the Costume Designer in the Best Costume/Hair/Makeup Design category, or a Music Director that should be included with the Sound Designer in the Best Sound Design category, etc), please let us know as soon as possible at HRACTAwards@gmail.com.  Changes we know about by June 30th will be reflected on the nomination certificates given out at the awards ceremony.

Without further ado, here are the 2025-26 nominations for the Hampton Roads Achievement in Community Theater Awards! 

*Note: The theaters’ names have been shortened –

Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center = DG

Generic Theater = Generic

Little Theatre of Norfolk = LTN

Little Theatre of Virginia Beach = LTVB

Peninsula Community Theatre = PCT

Smithfield Little Theatre = SLT

Williamsburg Players = WP

BEST PLAY

Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School of Magic and Magic at PCT

Noises Off at LTVB

Doubt: A Parable at LTVB

Rehearsal for Murder at WP

Clyde’s at Generic

BEST MUSICAL

9 to 5 at SLT

In the Heights at LTN

1776 at WP

Ride the Cyclone at LTN

The Producers at LTVB

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Moriah Joy for In the Heights at LTN

Karen Buchheim for Crazy For You at LTVB

Dana Margulies Cauthen for Cabaret at WP

Tré Porchia for Ride the Cyclone at LTN

Karen Buchheim for The Producers at LTVB

BEST SCENIC DESIGN

Andrew Smith for 9 to 5 at SLT

Andrew Smith & Robert Cox for Murder on the Orient Express at SLT

Marc Dyer for Sleuth at LTVB

Dasia Gregg for Water by the Spoonful at LTN

Sandra Epperson & Logan Bennett for Clyde’s at Generic

BEST COSTUME/HAIR/MAKEUP DESIGN

Mickey VanDerwerker & Ebony Wright for In the Heights at LTN

E. Katherine Hargrove & Edith Broward-Edds for The Revolutionists at WP

Pam Revill & Elaine Brown for Murder on the Orient Express at SLT

Kay Burcher for Crazy For You at LTVB

Kay Burcher, Karen Buchheim, Robert Shirley, & Marilyn Abernathy for The Producers at LTVB

BEST LIGHTING

Z.F. Norris for Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School of Magic and Magic at PCT

Derrion La’Zachan Hawkins for In the Heights at LTN

Emily Lutz for Ride the Cyclone at LTN

Derrion La’Zachan Hawkins for Water by the Spoonful at LTN

Jason Amato for Clyde’s at Generic

BEST SOUND DESIGN

Tom McIlvain for Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School of Magic and Magic at PCT

Steve Clark & Andrew Smith for Murder on the Orient Express at SLT

Jon Vredenberg for Doubt: A Parable at LTVB

Mike Hallberg & Cristina Loyola for Ride the Cyclone at LTN

Jimmy Dragas for Water by the Spoonful at LTN

BEST DIRECTOR

Mallory Schmidt for In the Heights at LTN

Jeff Seneca for Noises Off at LTVB

ArLynn Parker for Stick Fly at LTVB

Dana Margulies Cauthen for Cabaret at WP

Isis Marné for Angel Street at LTN

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING FEMALE ROLE (MUSICAL)

Anyssa Castillo as Vanessa in In the Heights at LTN

Merideth Owens as Polly Baker in Crazy For You at LTVB

Mara Suggs as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins in Purlie at DG

Ava Stevenson as Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg in Ride the Cyclone at LTN

Madison Cupp-Enyard as Susanna AKA Sister Mary Jo in Desperate Measures at Generic

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING MALE ROLE (MUSICAL)

Jeremiah Vega as Usnavi in In the Heights at LTN

Jeff Nicoloff as John Adams in 1776 at WP

Kobie Smith as Bobby Child in Crazy For You at LTVB

Keith Bocklet as Emcee in Cabaret at WP

Elijah Ramsey as Sheriff Martin Green in Desperate Measures at Generic

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING MALE ROLE (MUSICAL)

Sean Tyrik as Benny in In the Heights at LTN

Matthew Cadman as Benjamin Franklin in 1776 at WP

Derrion La’Zachan Hawkins as Gitlow Judson in Purlie at DG

Michael Harris as Edward Rutledge in 1776 at WP

Andre Magalhaes as Noel Gruber in Ride the Cyclone at LTN

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING FEMALE ROLE (MUSICAL)

Jessica Seneca as Daniela in In the Heights at LTN

Charity Robinson as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost: The Musical at PCT

Marcia Dadds as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret at WP

Annie O’Shea as Jane Doe in Ride the Cyclone at LTN

Grace Fitzpatrick as Ulla in The Producers at LTVB

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING FEMALE ROLE (NON-MUSICAL)

Destinee Kiara as Cheryl in Stick Fly at LTVB

Regina Rossi as Sister Aloysius in Doubt: A Parable at LTVB

Sheryl Harris as Mrs. Manningham in Angel Street at LTN

Dari Caldwell as Christine in Bad Seed at WP

Vania Alonnie as Letitia in Clyde’s at Generic

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING MALE ROLE (NON-MUSICAL)

Jeff Corriveau as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express at SLT

Samuel Flint as Father Flynn in Doubt: A Parable at LTVB

Jim Dwyer as Alex Dennison in Rehearsal for Murder at WP

Jamie Turnbull as Mr. Manningham in Angel Street at LTN

Adrian Rivera as Rafael in Clyde’s at Generic

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING MALE ROLE (NON-MUSICAL)

Scott Briggs as Cedric in Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School of Magic and Magic at PCT

James McDaniel V as Rough in Angel Street at LTN

Roger Wilson as ChutesandLadders in Water by the Spoonful at LTN

Lawrence Nichols as Leroy in Bad Seed at WP

Brandon Bradley as Montrellous in Clyde’s at Generic

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING FEMALE ROLE (NON-MUSICAL)

Salem Rogers as Taylor in Stick Fly at LTVB

Liz Brydge as Sister James in Doubt: A Parable at LTVB

Katy Feldl as Bella Lamb in Rehearsal for Murder at WP

Corey Hinson as Nancy in Angel Street at LTN

Laura Agudelo as Haikumom in Water by the Spoonful at LTN

BEST PERFORMANCE OF A SONG (SOLO/SMALL GROUP)

Aliya Reed’s performance of “Paciencia y Fe” in In the Heights at LTN

Kobie Smith & Sandy Lawrence’s performance of “What Causes That” in Crazy For You at LTVB

Mara Suggs’s performance of “Purlie” in Purlie at DG

John Cauthen & Marcia Dadds’s performance of “It Couldn’t Please Me More” in Cabaret at WP

John M. Post & Lori Thurman’s performance of “Just For You” in Desperate Measures at Generic

BEST PERFORMANCE OF A SONG (ENSEMBLE)

The Company’s performance of “Carnaval del Barrio” in In the Heights at LTN

The Company’s performance of “I’m Outta Here” in Ghost: The Musical at PCT

The Company’s performance of “Walk Him Up the Stairs” in Purlie at DG

The Company’s performance of “The Ballad of Jane Doe” in Ride the Cyclone at LTN

The Company’s performance of “Springtime for Hitler” in The Producers at LTVB

BEST COMEDIC ACTING

Mark Glickstein as Narrator in Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School of Magic and Magic at PCT

Kelly Flick as Roz Keith in 9 to 5 at SLT

Robert Walters as Piragüero in In the Heights at LTN

Sarah Faber-Catanese as Marie-Antoinette in The Revolutionists at WP

Peter Scheible as Franz Liebkind in The Producers at LTVB

BEST SEASON SERIES

Little Theatre of Virginia Beach

Peninsula Community Theatre

Little Theatre of Norfolk

Generic Theater

Smithfield Little Theatre

Williamsburg Players