Schools
No Gene Kelly Awards for Pine-Richland This Year
PRHS was nominated for Best Actress and Best Direction for 'The Wedding Singer.'
For the first time in years, Pine-Richland High School was shut out of the Pittsburgh CLO's Gene Kelly Awards, which were announced Saturday night.
The school's spring musical, received two nominations. Abby Dionise was nominated for the best actress honor and the play was in the running for best direction.
Pittsburgh CLO and the University of Pittsburgh presented the 22nd annual Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater Saturday night. The event, held at the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh, selected performers from 32 participating high schools that produced a spring musical.
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The award, named for iconic Hollywood movie star and Pittsburgh native Gene Kelly, was given to promote excellence in high school musical theater. Kelly is most notably remembered for “Singin' in the Rain,” the titular song in the classic musical comedy, Singing in the Rain.
Pine-Richland, Woodland Hills, North Hills, Moon, Chartiers Valley, Plum, St. Joseph, Quaker Valley, Brashear and Baldwin were a few of the schools that were nominated.
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Like many televised award shows—such as the Emmys, Oscars and Tonys—one big musical number is performed by each of the schools nominated for Best Musical.
The cast of Bishop Canevin opened the show with “Lot of Livin’ to Do” from Bye Bye Birdie.
Baldwin High School performed “Show People,” a popular ditty from Curtains. The same song was later reprised by the Woodland Hills cast’s interpretation. The song extols the virtues of performing, declaring that people from all walks of life dream of becoming actors, dancers, singers and other performers:
“We're a special kind of people known as show people. We live in a world of our own; our days are tied to curtains. They rise and they fall. We're born every night, at half-hour call.”
Truer words were never sung. The audience, mostly cast and crew from participating high school musicals around western Pennsylvania, was energized by the evening’s events.
Other musical numbers included North Hills cast of My Fair Lady performing “Get Me to the Church on Time,” Our Lady of Sacred Heart’s rendition of “Brotherhood of Man” from How to Succeed in Business, Pittsburgh Barack Obama Academy's rendition of “Footloose” from the eponymous musical, Quaker Valley performance of “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” from Guys and Dollsand Avonworth's performance of the “Finale” from Sweeney Todd.
There was also a grand finale number, “Eyes on the Goal,” which was composed of performers from each of the participating schools.
Patricia Ward Kelly, widow of Gene Kelly, was a presenter at the event. She spoke fondly of her husband and his talents. This year's award ceremony marks Kelly's 100th birthday. Ward Kelly discussed her husband's humble beginnings.
"He and his brother Fred performed dance routines in local talent contests around Pittsburgh. He never took his fame for granted and he believed that the pursuit of excellence is a good thing … a very good thing. Don’t just be good, be the best. I can’t think of a better birthday present for him.”
The recipients of the 2012 Gene Kelly Awards are:
Budget Level I: Quaker Valley
Budget Level II: Avonworth
Budget Level III: Woodland Hills
Budget Level I: St. Joseph
Budget Level II: Hampton
Budget Level III: Winchester Thurston
Budget Level I: Quaker Valley
Budget Level II: Avonworth
Budget Level III: Woodland Hills
Moon
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Benjamin Torisky of Quaker Valley for his performance as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Emma Baker of Avonworth for her portrayal of Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd
Avonworth
Nathan Pool of Avonworth for his depiction of Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd
Brooke Tate of Avonworth for her rendition of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd
Budget Level I: Quaker Valley for Guys and Dolls
Budget Level II: Avonworth for Sweeney Todd
Budget Level III: Baldwin for Curtains
Other awards and scholarships were doled out during the evening. West Allegheny Middle School won the Charles Gray Award for Special Achievement in Arts Education in recognition of its enduring commitment to arts education.
Pittsburgh CLO awarded more than $87,000 in scholarships to several college-bound seniors at the ceremony.
Point Park University’s Musical Theater Department presented Adrianne Knapp and Brandon Martin with a $5,000 per year, four-year scholarship to attend Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts for musical theater.
Pittsburgh CLO awarded Gene Kelly Cash Scholarships totaling $10,000 were presented to two high school seniors who have applied and been accepted to a school for the performing or technical arts. This year’s recipients are Elizabeth Faux and Zander Lyons.
The Pittsburgh CLO Ambassadors awarded $5,000 in scholarships to two college-bound students who will be pursuing a major outside of the arts. The 2012 Ambassadors’ Scholarship winners were Hannah Devlin and David Kline.
The Pittsburgh CLO Guild also awarded $4,000 scholarships to eight students who are pursuing a college education in the theater arts. The Guild presented scholarships to Tyler Harper, Alyssa Abraham, Gabrielle Bricker, Zander Lyons, Olivia Meyer, Savannah Spratt, Alexa Anderson and Rebecca Love.
The winners for Best Actor and Best Actress, Pool and Tate, will be competing for the opportunity to represent Pittsburgh CLO’s Gene Kelly Awards in the third-annual National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City on June 25.
For more information on the National High School Musical Theater Awards, please visit www.nhsmta.com.
