VOTE: BroadwayWorld Awards highlight CCM excellence
Students, faculty & alums are featured prominently in this year’s nominations; voting closes Dec. 31
Story by CCM Graduate Assistant Lucy Evans
Each year, the BroadwayWorld Awards honor excellence in the performing arts. This year's nominations acknowledge CCM excellence on stage, in the pit and behind the scenes.
This year in the Cincinnati BroadwayWorld Awards, CCM students and faculty are nominated 20 times in 11 categories —including Best Musical, Best Opera, Best Choreography, Best Sound Design and more!
CCM alumni and faculty members also earned nominations in nine different categories of the Off-Broadway BroadwayWorld Awards. These include multiple CCM-affiliated nominations for the Off-Broadway productions of Walking with Bubbles and A Musical About Star Wars.
Voting is free and open to the public through Dec. 31, 2023. You can vote for CCM's student and faculty nominees in the 2023 BroadwayWorld Cincinnati Awards here and vote for our alumni and faculty nominees in the 2023 BroadwayWorld Off-Broadway Awards here.
Below, check out the students, alumni and faculty who are nominated for this year. The awards honor productions which had their first performance between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2023.
BroadwayWorld Cincinnati Award Nominees
CCM's production of Spring Awakening (directed by Hannah Ryan, guest artist) and CCM’s production of Fellow Travelers (co-directed by former CCM Opera Professor Greg Eldridge and CCM student Daria Zholnerova) both received nominations for Best Ensemble, Best Music Direction, Best Direction and Best Scenic Design. CCM's production of Something Rotten! (directed and choreographed by CCM Musical Theatre professor Diane Lala) received a nomination for Best Choreography of a Play or Musical.
Best Ensemble
- Spring Awakening; learn more about CCM's production
- Fellow Travelers; learn more about CCM's production
Best Musical
- Spring Awakening
Best Production of an Opera
- Fellow Travelers
Best Music Direction & Orchestra Performance
- Julie Spangler+, Musical Director for Spring Awakening
- William Langley, Alumni Guest Conductor for Fellow Travelers
Best Performer in a Musical
- Erik Nordstrom*, who played Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers
- Henry Benson*, who played Timothy Laughlin in Fellow Travelers
- Logan Wagner*, who played Timothy Laughlin in Fellow Travelers
- Michael Pandolfo, Alumni Guest Artist who played Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers
Best Direction of a Musical
- Hannah Ryan, Director of Spring Awakening
- Greg Eldridge and Daria Zholnerova*, Co-Directors of Fellow Travelers
- Brant Russell+, Director of As You Like It at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; view the production website
Best Choreography of a Play or Musical
- Diana Lala+, Director and Choreographer of Something Rotten!; learn more about CCM's production
Best Scenic Design of a Play or Musical
- Mark Halpin+, Scenic Designer for Fellow Travelers
- Charlie Calvert+, Scenic Designer for Spring Awakening
Best Costume Design of a Play or Musical
- Brittanie McKenna Travis*, Costume Designer for Fellow Travelers
Best Lighting Design of a Play or Musical
- Baron Leon*, Lighting Designer for Fellow Travelers
Best Sound Design of a Play or Musical
- Kaitlin Barnett*, Sound Designer for Fellow Travelers
*CCM Student
+ CCM Faculty
BroadwayWorld Off-Broadway Award Nominees
CCM alumni and faculty members were also included in BroadwayWorld's award nominations for Off-Broadway productions. Those nominations include:
Best Direction of a Musical
- Professor Emeritus Richard Hess, Director of Walking With Bubbles at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best Lighting Design
- Aiden Bezark~, Lighting Designer on A Musical About Star Wars at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best New Book of a Musical
- Jessica Hendy~, Walking With Bubbles at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best New Musical
- Walking With Bubbles at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best New Score of a Musical
- Brianna Barnes~, Walking With Bubbles at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best Production of a New Musical
- A Musical About Star Wars at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best Scenic Design
- Mark Halpin+, Walking With Bubbles at AMT Theater; view the production website
- Mark Halpin+, A Musical About Star Wars at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best Solo Performance (Non-Cabaret)
- Jessica Hendy~, Walking With Bubbles at AMT Theater; view the production website
Best Performance in a Musical (Off-Broadway)
- Stone Mountain~, A Musical About Star Wars at AMT Theater; view the production website
- Jessica Hendy~, Walking With Bubbles at AMT Theater; view the production website
+ CCM Faculty
~ CCM Alumni
There's More To Explore!
Watch CCM alum Stone Mountain discuss his role in A Musical About Star Wars and his experience at CCM on the Walk N Talk With Gerald YouTube program.
Share Your Story
Are you a CCM alum in a Broadway World Award-nominated show not featured on this page? Let us know by filling out our CCM Village News Tips form.
Lucy Evans
CCM Graduate Assistant, Marketing + Communications
Lucy Evans is an artist diploma student studying Opera-Vocal Performance at CCM. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and was recently an Apprentice Artist with the Santa Fe Opera.
Featured image at the top: CCM's production of Fellow Travelers. Photo by Mark Lyons.
Additional Contacts
Curt Whitacre | Director of Marketing/Communications | UC College-Conservatory of Music
whitaccp@ucmail.uc.edu | 513-556-2683
Tags
- College-Conservatory of Music
- Performances and Public Events
- Make-up and Wig Design
- Lighting Design and Technology
- Opera and Voice
- Stage Management
- Experience-based Learning
- Musical Theatre
- Arts Administration
- Student Experience
- Dance
- Technical Production
- Arts & Culture
- Stage Design, Props and Scenic Arts
- Faculty Staff
- In The News
- Theatre Series
- Acting
- Next Lives Here
- Costume Design and Technology
- Sound Design
- Theatre Design and Production
Related Stories
The future, decoded. UC scholars reveal what’s next
May 20, 2026
The University of Cincinnati’s NEXT Innovation Scholars presented Gen Z-fueled insights on possible future trends at the Futures Forum 2026. Here’s what they see ahead.
CCM welcomes new film and media scoring faculty member J.R. Paredes
May 20, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of J.R. Paredes as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Film and Media Scoring. His faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2026. Paredes is a composer, music producer and audio post-production specialist whose work spans film, television and commercial music. His credits include original scores for feature films and series distributed on platforms such as Apple TV+ and Prime Video, as well as extensive work in sound design and mixing for film and media.
Materials scientist gains valuable research experience
May 20, 2026
The opportunities at the College of Engineering and Applied Science are what attracted Ananth Balasubramanian to the University of Cincinnati. He came to UC as a master's student and after two years, transitioned to a direct PhD program in materials science and engineering. Here, he works in the Digital Fabrication Laboratory and recently was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by CEAS.