Lake County Gazette

Coal City Theatre Department's production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" has earned two nominations for the Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards (IHSMTA)--Best Production and Best Performer in an Actor Role.

The awards aim to recognize and celebrate high school students involved in musical theatre productions, highlighting their talent and dedication to the craft.

Nominated in the best actor category is senior Mason Natyshok for his portrayal of Beadle Bamford. Mason is one of 12 nominees in the actor category.

Mason said about his nomination, "It’s really wild! I worked really hard at my role, but it’s not very often that someone gets nominated for a role with as little stage time as mine. I think it’s really a testament that you don’t need stage time to make an impression, just passion and an idea of what you want to do with the character. "

The musical theater awards presented by Broadway in Chicago recognize excellence in high school theatre throughout Illinois. Each year, 24 performers--12 actors and 12 actresses--are selected to participate in the program, with two students moving on to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards known as the Jimmy Awards.

The 24 performers were selected from over 315 students from 85 participating schools. Each has been invited and will participate in the awards program in Chicago. The ceremony will feature a student group number and Broadway workshop supported by cast members from the current Chicago production of "Titaniqūe. " Each of the nominees will perform for a panel of judges made up of industry professionals to adjudicate and select the top six finalists--three actors and three actresses. The top two will then advance to The Jimmy Awards being held this June in New York City.

As he heads into the awards program, Mason said, "I hope to find further enjoyment out of theatre! I always love meeting people who do theatre who don’t come from my environment, so I’m very excited to meet my fellow nominees and create friendships with them. I’m hoping the awards just illustrate to the world why it is I perform and who I do it for. "

Mason's list of stage credits includes school and community productions. He has been part of three high school premiere productions with Coal City Theatre Department--"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: High School Edition," "Hadestown: Teen Edition," and "Alice by Heart. " He has also been in his school's productions of "Mary Poppins," "Anastasia," "Holes," "Phantom of the Opera," "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," and "Frozen, Jr. " He appeared in Small Town Theatrics productions of "Grease" and "Newsies," and he has been part of two Illinois Theatre Festival All-State Productions--"Shrek The Musical" in 2023 and "The Prom" earlier this year.

The son of Nick and Andrea Natyshok, Mason recently committed to Illinois State University's School of Theatre and Dance where he will be double majoring in musical theatre and dance.

Since entering the awards program in 2014, Coal City students have earned 14 IHSMTA Best Actor or Actress nominations. Previous nominees include Jackie McCollough, Tyler Rogers, Gavin Williams, Sophia Jakubowski, Riley Nevin, Aiden Kostbade, Chloe Peacock, Collin Dames, Izzy Kostbade; with two-time nominees Derek Carlson and Stephen Byers Jr. In 2021 Riley Nevin was named among the three best actors for his performance as Shakespeare in "Something Rotten. " Three of those nominees like Mason have decided to pursue acting as a career-- Nevin Carlson and Byers.

Overall Coal City Theatre Department has earned 27 IHSMTA nominations--the second-highest since IHSMTA began in 2012. Coal City has earned nominations in categories such as Best Performance by an Actor or Actress Best Scenic Design Best Direction and Best Production. The program received two wins in Best Scenic Design based on sets designed by Celeste Sheridan; Coal City theater director Jack Micetich was awarded Best Direction in 2023 for his work on "Anastasia. "

This year's Best Production nomination is the fourth consecutive for the program highlighting it as one of the five best overall productions in Illinois Micetich shared "This is no easy feat Art is subjective which is why I always tell students we can’t focus on accolades but rather create high-caliber productions for our audiences If we continue doing that we’ve already won "

"Sweeney Todd" was led by Mason Hamilton Melody Kinder Theo Fritz Olivia Sage Brody D’Orazio Logan Hausman Madison Wilson Martin Ramirez Maxx Kramer Julian Micetich Alec Waliczek Eliana Chernesky Bella Byers Aubrey Grunwald Austin Harding Leo Mcants Jordan Olson Anthony Royster Gianna Savarino Sam Vota Evelyn Wills Cora Armstrong Bella Bartholomew Ethan Donnelly Wyatt Chase Caroline Childers Gavin Clubb Kyah Hawkins Isabella Palacios Anastasia Papach Kyle Odam Jack Steinhouse Gabby Vanduyne Charlotte Banks Gianna Carver Lexi Dearth Jolene Jones Victorya Morales Brady Pierson

Contributing crew members included Cade Poyner Hunter Gill Abby Kodat Gavin Berger Mason Garner Cooper Morris Talen Vandewerken Gavin Vestal Ben Watson Bridget Feeney Gabriel Hamilton Jimmy Norris Tyler Phillips

The 14th Annual Broadway Chicago IHSMTA Awards sponsored by NBC5 will be presented at Broadway Playhouse Monday May12