Pittsburgh CLO and the University of Pittsburgh are proud to announce the nominees for the 25th Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater. The awards show will take place on Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh and will include a celebration of 25 years of this extraordinary program, which began in 1991 and has inspired over 30 programs of its kind across the country.
Over the past three months, a panel of 33 judges have attended the performances by the following 30 Allegheny County high schools: Avonworth, Baldwin, Bishop Canevin, Central Catholic, Chartiers Valley, Elizabeth Forward, Hampton Township, Keystone Oaks, McKeesport, North Hills, Northgate, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, Pittsburgh Allderdice, Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy, Pittsburgh Brashear, Pittsburgh CAPA, Pittsburgh Perry, Plum, Propel Braddock Hills, Quaker Valley, Riverview, Shady Side Academy, Springdale, St. Joseph, West Allegheny, West Mifflin, Winchester Thurston and Woodland Hills.
The judging panel was comprised of performing arts educators, arts administrators, entertainment professionals and performers. On May 1 these judges met and reviewed highlights from each high school performance. The scoring was then tabulated by Deloitte LLP.
The Nominees for the 2015 Gene Kelly Awards are:
Budget Level I
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
Pittsburgh Perry
Annie
Budget Level II
Northgate
Mary Poppins
Plum
Shrek the Musical
Quaker Valley
The Drowsy Chaperone
Budget Level III
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
Elizabeth Forward
Mary Poppins
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Budget Level I
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
The Addams Family
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
Budget Level II
Plum
Shrek the Musical
Quaker Valley
The Drowsy Chaperone
Riverview
The Addams Family
Budget Level III
Elizabeth Forward
Mary Poppins
Hampton
The Addams Family
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Budget Level I
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
The Addams Family
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
Budget Level II
North Hills
Footloose
Plum
Shrek the Musical
Quaker Valley
The Drowsy Chaperone
Budget Level III
Elizabeth Forward
Mary Poppins
West Allegheny
Chicago
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
Hampton
The Addams Family
Pittsburgh Allderdice
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
West Mifflin
Shrek the Musical
Gavin Carahan
Bishop Canevin
Godspell
"Telly/Gavin"
Alexander Conte
Springdale
Anything Goes
"Moonface Martin"
Peter Heres
Quaker Valley
The Drowsy Chaperone
"Man in Chair"
Mitchell McDermott
Chartiers Valley
Beauty and the Beast
"Lumiere"
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
"Man in Chair"
Dan Schall
St. Joseph
Jesus Christ Superstar
"Pontius Pilate"
Hampton
The Addams Family
"Alice Beineke"
Susie George
Bishop Canevin
Godspell
"Celisse/Susie"
Campbell Kurlander
Pittsburgh Allderdice
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
"Smitty"
Samantha Selleck
Christina Trocchio
Quaker Valley
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Addams Family
"Mrs. Tottendale"
"Pugsley Addams"
Erin Witt
Keystone Oaks
Return to the Forbidden Planet
"Science Officer"
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
North Hills
Footloose
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
Plum
Shrek, the Musical
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
North Hills
Footloose
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
Quaker Valley
The Drowsy Chaperone
West Allegheny
Chicago
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Best Execution of Choreography
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
North Hills
Footloose
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
Plum
Shrek the Musical
West Allegheny
Chicago
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Plum
Shrek the Musical
Quaker Valley
The Drowsy Chaperone
West Allegheny
Chicago
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Best Execution of Music Direction
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
North Hills
Footloose
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Plum
Shrek the Musical
West Allegheny
Chicago
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Justin McCord
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
"John Jasper/Mr. Clive Paget"
Larry McKay
Pittsburgh Allderdice
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
"J. Pierrepont Finch"
Noah Pepmeyer
North Hills
Footloose
"Ren McCormack"
Adam Rayan
Penn Hills
Leap of Faith
"Jonas Nightingale"
Logan Smith
Plum
Shrek the Musical
"Shrek"
Terry Terhune
Plum
Shrek the Musical
"Lord Farquaad"
Emily Matisko
Plum
Shrek the Musical
"Princess Fiona"
Leah Prestogeorge
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
"Edwin Drood/Miss Alice Nutting"
Marnie Quick
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
"Orange Girl"
Maria Scherer
Hampton
The Addams Family
"Wednesday Addams"
Kaylie Wallace
West Allegheny
Chicago
"Roxie Hart"
Danielle Wolfson
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
"Janet Van De Graaf"
Best Musical
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
The Addams Family
Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy
SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Pittsburgh CAPA
Aida
North Hills
Footloose
Plum
Shrek the Musical
Quaker Valley
The Drowsy Chaperone
Baldwin
The Drowsy Chaperone
West Allegheny
Chicago
Woodland Hills
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress will be competing for the opportunity to represent Pittsburgh CLO's Gene Kelly Awards in the seventh-annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City on Monday, June 29. For more information on the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, visit www.nhsmta.com.
In addition to the more than 20 Kelly Awards presented at the event, several cash and university scholarships will be awarded. These scholarships are made possible through the generous donations of Paul Block, Virginia S. Nicklas, the CLO Ambassadors, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and participating colleges. Winners will be announced at the ceremony on May 30. More information is available at pittsburghCLO.org.
The Gene Kelly Awards are co-presented by the University of Pittsburgh with additional support provided by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, PNC Bank, Virginia S. Nicklas and the CLO Ambassadors. The official results are tabulated by Deloitte.
The 25th Annual Gene Kelly Awards will be held at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets on sale May 12. Call 412-456-6666.
Since 1946, the Pittsburgh CLO has been the driving force behind live musical theater in Pittsburgh and the entire Southwestern Pennsylvania region. Under the direction of Van Kaplan since 1997, this not-for-profit arts organization appreciates the support of nearly 200,000 patrons each year and produces a subscription series, educational programs, national tours and develops and invests in new works, including 20 Broadway shows (25 Tony Awards®) featuring the current productions of Cinderella, Kinky Boots and Matilda. Its dedication to the musical theater art form extends to include such programs as the CLO Academy, the CLO Mini Stars, the Gene Kelly Awards, the Richard Rodgers Award, the National High School Musical Theater Awards, the Construction Center for the Arts and the CLO Cabaret.
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