On Friday, April 26, 2025, the Cappies organization announced that the Spongebob Musical, the drama department’s spring production, earned 24 Cappies nominations for the 2024-2025 school year. The production tied for the most number of Cappie nominations for Highlands, previously set in 2016 by Godspell.
Going into the awards, people must remain skeptical but also hopeful because, like any other awards show, it can be very unpredictable in terms of winning.
Director and theater teacher Claire LaNicca knows this and makes sure to keep it in mind as the production heads into the awards ceremony on May 28.
“The thing about Cappies is that they are unpredictable. But I definitely felt that Jake Hagerty (11) and Emil Sztanyo (9) had a great shot at getting recognized and the show as a whole. We had a really good show. I love the set, our marketing publicity team crushed it.”
Some of the awards Highlands is up for include Best Musical, Best Male Lead (Emil Sztanyo (9)), Best Female Lead (Eva Sarakatsannis (12)), Best Ensemble, and seven crew nominations. This is Sztanyo’s first year being up for a Cappies nomination.
“I think that it can help me with future auditions and future shows…I feel excited, and I feel like it can really help in future auditions, and I’m really excited for all of the other categories that we got nominated for,” Sztanyo said.
The crew worked tirelessly for days, perfecting their individual work to make the production run smoothly. The nomination for the set was uniquely given because of the stationary set, but deserved all together due to its unique and creative creation.
“I’m extremely excited that I got nominated, because with stationary sets it’s harder for them to get nominated because they aren’t as complex as other ones that have moving parts,” Shreya Vaghela (12) said.
A big role in the crew for The SpongeBob Musical was the technical director. The technical director for the musicals at Highlands High School is in charge of everything that happens on stage and how the show looks in its final form.
“I feel super excited and I really want to win, and I’m so proud of all my friends that have been nominated,” Jack Langlinais (12) said.
The cast and crew from The SpongeBob Musical will be attending the Gala on May 28 at the Aronoff Center, where it will be revealed who will win Cappies for their school’s musicals and play productions.
