2026 BLUMEY AWARDS
CHARLOTTE — Cabarrus County students were among the Charlotte region's top high school theater performers this year, earning dozens of finalist nominations across nearly every major acting category at the 2026 Blumey Awards and bringing home a prestigious individual honor.
Leading the way was Cox Mill High School senior Abigail Woerner, who won the Blumey Award for Best Student Costume Designer for her work on the school's production of Seussical during the annual awards ceremony presented by Blumenthal Arts at Belk Theater. The award capped a remarkable year for Cox Mill's theater department. The school's production of Seussical earned seven Blumey nominations, placing it among the top six productions in multiple categories out of 59 participating schools from across the Charlotte region.
Cox Mill received nominations for Best Musical Tier 2, Best Direction, Best Ensemble and Best Choreography Execution. Individual nominations included Jackson Hicks for Best Actor as Horton the Elephant, Griffin Harris for Best Featured Performer as a Wickersham Brother and Woerner's winning nomination for costume design.
The production was directed by Victoria Grelecki, with Jennifer Cook serving as music director and Lindsay Blackburne as choreographer.
While Woerner was the county's lone winner, Cabarrus schools dominated the finalist lists in the performance categories.
Central Cabarrus High School's Mimi McLean was named one of six finalists for Best Actress for her portrayal of Danielle in Bring It On: The Musical. The school also earned recognition through Allison Petraske, who was one of only two students selected through audition to perform in the Blumey Awards pit orchestra alongside professional musicians during the ceremony.
The production was directed by Drew Coley with Ethan Price serving as music director.
Across the county, students from Central Cabarrus, Concord, Cox Mill, Hickory Ridge, Northwest Cabarrus and West Cabarrus earned finalist recognition.
Best Actor finalists included Lucas Werner of Central Cabarrus, Micheal Burpeau of Concord, Jackson Hicks of Cox Mill, Isaac Tate of Hickory Ridge, Joseph Hedrick of Northwest Cabarrus and Zion Richardson of West Cabarrus.
Best Actress finalists included Mimi McLean of Central Cabarrus, Dasha Jackson of Cox Mill, Ava Medina of Hickory Ridge and Mia Cortes of Northwest Cabarrus.
Best Featured Performer finalists included Regis Miakoundoba of Central Cabarrus, Madyson Andreolas of Concord, Griffin Harris of Cox Mill, Lauren Cheung of Hickory Ridge, Ian Conelly of Northwest Cabarrus and Jayden Fejeran-Smith of West Cabarrus.
Best Supporting Actor finalists included Luke Schelling of Concord, Ellie Konieczny of Hickory Ridge, Zachary Triece of Northwest Cabarrus and Elijah Vines of West Cabarrus.
Best Supporting Actress finalists included Autumn Billings of Central Cabarrus, Milani Slanton Sanchez of Concord, Finn Chandry of Cox Mill, Evelyn Grace of Hickory Ridge, Joselyn Kearns of Northwest Cabarrus and Alex Hall of West Cabarrus.
Several other local schools also participated in this year's competition, including A.L. Brown High School, Cannon School, Concord Academy and Christ the King Catholic High School.
The Blumey Awards celebrate excellence in high school musical theater throughout the Charlotte region and recognize achievement in performance, direction, design, choreography, music and production.
The evening's highest honors went to Weddington High School, whose production of Legally Blonde: The Musical won Best Musical Tier 1, and North Lincoln High School, which captured Best Musical Tier 2 for Hadestown: Teen Edition.
North Lincoln's Harold Garcia was named Best Actor for his portrayal of Orpheus, while Carmel Christian School's Anna Jernigan won Best Actress honors for her performance as Ariel Moore in Footloose.
Garcia and Jernigan will advance to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, known as the Jimmy Awards, in New York City.
2026 Blumey Award Winners
• Best Musical — Tier 1: Weddington High School, Legally Blonde: The Musical
• Best Musical — Tier 2: North Lincoln High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Best Actor: Harold Garcia, North Lincoln
High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Best Actress: Anna Jernigan, Carmel Christian School, Footloose
• Best Supporting Actor: Wiley Seago, Northwest School of the Arts, Head Over Heels
• Best Supporting Actress: Andie Jones, Northwest School of the Arts, Head Over Heels
• Best Featured Performer: Alexander Stetson, Weddington High School, Legally Blonde: The Musical
• Best Direction: North Lincoln High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Best Ensemble: Weddington High School, Legally Blonde: The Musical
• Best Choreography Execution: North Lincoln High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Best Student Orchestra: Central Academy of Technology and Arts, Pippin (2013 Revival)
• Best Student Costume Designer: Abigail Woerner, Cox Mill High School, Seussical
• Best Student Set Designer: David Archie, Catawba Ridge High School, Mamma Mia!
• Best Student Stage Manager: Spencer Angel, Northwest School of the Arts, Head Over Heels
• Best Student Reporter: Richard Hughes, Catawba Ridge High School
Cabarrusarea schools participating in the 2026 Blumey Awards
• A.L. Brown High School — Footloose
• Cannon School — Mean Girls School Edition
• Central Cabarrus High School — Bring It On: The Musical
• Christ the King Catholic High School — Hadestown: Teen Edition
• Concord Academy — Shrek the Musical
• Concord High School — Legally Blonde: The Musical
• Cox Mill High School — Seussical
• Hickory Ridge High School — Disney's The Little Mermaid
• Northwest Cabarrus High School — Matilda the Musical
• West Cabarrus High School — Disney's The Little Mermaid
