In the wake of nominations for film awards such as the Oscars and the Screen Actors Guild prizes, other films that came out in 2025 — featuring three Lancaster County natives — are nominated for some upcoming movie awards.
“A Nice Indian Boy,” a rom-com that played in area theaters in spring 2025 and co-stars Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor (and Ronks native) Jonathan Groff, is nominated for both a GLAAD Media Award and a Dorian Award.
“Kiss of the Spider Woman,” the big-screen musical starring Jennifer Lopez, features a performance by Lancaster native and Broadway actor Eliseo Román. The film, which premiered in theaters in October 2025, was also nominated for both GLAAD and Dorian awards.
And Conestoga Valley High School alumna Katie McCarty is one of the stars of “A Brooklyn Love Story,” a 2024 film now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, which is nominated for a 2026 “Film Threat Awards This!” prize for best indie romantic comedy.
“A Nice Indian Boy,” in which Groff plays a white man raised by Indian parents who becomes the love interest of an Indian doctor, is nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the category of Outstanding Film — Limited Theatrical Release.
The GLAAD awards strive to honor a variety of media for fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ+ community and issues affecting it.
“Kiss of the Spider Woman,” the film based on a Tony Award-winning Broadway show, is nominated for a GLAAD award in the Outstanding Film — Wide Theatrical Release. In an email to LNP | LancasterOnline, Román said his role was “an actual dancer/singer in a few of the scenes and production numbers … quite a remarkable experience.”
Román said in the email it was “thrilling working with so many Latino actors and friends and creatives.” The musical film, based on both Manuel Puig novel and the John Kander-Fred Ebb stage musical, tells the story of two men surviving confinement in an Argentine jail in very different ways.
The original, nonmusical “Spider Woman” film in 1985 starred William Hurt and Raul Julia.
Román, a McCaskey High School graduate, performed on Lancaster County stages before appearing on Broadway in such shows as “In the Heights” and “On Your Feet!” and on TV in NBC’s “Annie Live!” — among many other projects.
The GLAAD Media Awards will be given out March 5 in a Los Angeles ceremony.
Both “… Spider Woman” and “A Nice Indian Boy” are also nominated for Dorian Film Awards in the same category — Unsung LGBTQ Film of the Year. The awards will be given on March 3 by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.
Conestoga Valley High School alumna Katie McCarty appears in a scene from the film “A Brooklyn Love Story,” now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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McCarty’s film, “A Brooklyn Love Story,” has been nominated for best indie romantic comedy in the Awards This! awards program sponsored by the Film Threat movie-review and marketing website. The awards, which honor independent film, will be given Jan. 31.
The film, in which McCarty portrays Honey Caputo, is about a widower who runs a family produce store in Brooklyn and tries to prevent developers from gentrifying his neighborhood. McCarty’s character falls for the store owner — and vice versa — despite working for the developers.
McCarty has a long list of film and TV acting credits including “Just For Showmance,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Blacklist,” “Younger” and the new NBC sitcom “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.”
“My family all still live in Lancaster and it’s a place close to my heart and that I visit often,” McCarty said in an email.
McCarty, formerly of Leola, and Groff acted together on the high school stage at Conestoga Valley.
Conestoga Valley High School alumna Katie McCarty appears in a scene from the film “A Brooklyn Love Story,” now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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Groff is in the final two months of his Tony-nominated run in the Broadway musical “Just in Time,” in which he portrays 1960s pop singer, actor and activist Bobby Darin. On Thursday, Jan. 22, it was announced that Jeremy Jordan (“Newsies,” “The Great Gatsby”) will take over the Darin role in April after Groff finishes his yearlong run March 29.
The cast album for “Just in Time” is nominated for a Grammy Award; that ceremony is Feb. 1.
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “A Nice Indian Boy” are both available to rent or buy on such streaming services as Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
In addition, the filmed version of Groff’s Tony-winning performance in the Stephen Sondheim Broadway revival of the musical “Merrily We Roll Along” has just become available for rent or purchase on such streaming services as Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Groff is also known for his appearances in “Hamilton” and “Spring Awakening” on Broadway; “Mindhunter,” “Glee” and “Looking” on TV, and, in film, “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Knock at the Cabin” and the animated “Frozen” films.