Pittsburgh Schenley's "Return to the Forbidden Planet," Chartiers Valley's "The Wedding Singer" and Woodland Hills' "The Wizard of Oz" each won 2009 Gene Kelly Awards for Best Musical.
They are among 15 awards given Saturday at the 19th annual Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater ceremony at Benedum Center, Downtown. Best Musical awards are conferred in three budget divisions, with Level I as the lowest.
The ceremony included live performances by the nine Best Musical nominees, along with the six Best Actor/Actress nominees.
Named for performer and Pittsburgh native Gene Kelly and patterned after the Tony Awards, the annual celebration emphasizes the importance of arts education and recognizes the time, energy and dedication that high schools devote to musical productions each spring. This year, 28 Allegheny County high schools participated.
Elizabeth Bailey of Pittsburgh CAPA received the Best Actress award for her performance as Anna Karenina in "Anna Karenina," and Kian McCollum from Chartiers Valley received the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Robbie Hart in "The Wedding Singer."
Bailey and McCollum will represent the Gene Kelly Awards at the first-ever National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City on June 29.
They will be among winners recognized by 16 professional theater organizations from 11 states, to participate in five days of musical theater rehearsals, master classes, private coaching and interviews with theater professionals.
Two of the participants will be chosen by a panel of experts as winners of The Jimmy Awards, named in honor of Broadway theater owner and producer James M. Nederlander.
During Saturday's Gene Kelly Awards:
• Shannon Knox from the Avonworth High School and Joseph Paulina from Pine-Richland High School received Gene Kelly Scholarships totaling $5,000.
• Sean Thomas from Schenley High School and Andrew Gentilore of Riverview High School received 2009 CLO Ambassadors' Scholarships totaling $3,000.
• Chris Williams from Central Catholic High School received a $20,000, four-year scholarship from Point Park University to attend its Conservatory of Performing Arts as a dance major.
• Nico Satryan from Winchester Thurston received the Kelly Critics Award for excellence in writing theatrical critiques.
• Propel Montour Charter School received the Charles Gray Award for Special Achievement in Arts Education and $3,000 for arts programs. The award recognizes the school's integration of creative arts classes as a required part of its curriculum.
2009 Gene Kelly Awards recipients
Best Musical budget Level I: Pittsburgh Schenley for "Return to the Forbidden Planet"
Best Musical budget Level II: Chartiers Valley for "The Wedding Singer"
Best Musical budget Level III: Woodland Hills for "The Wizard of Oz"
Best Actress: Elizabeth Bailey of Pittsburgh CAPA for Anna Karenina in "Anna Karenina"
Best Actor: Kian McCollum from Chartiers Valley for Robbie Hart in "The Wedding Singer"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Arielle Katcher from Pine-Richland for "Carrie" in "Carousel"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Teddy McKenna from Pittsburgh CAPA for Constantine in "Anna Karenina"
Best Scenic Design: Woodland Hills for "The Wizard of Oz"
Best Costume Design: Pittsburgh CAPA for "Anna Karenina"
Best Lighting Design: Woodland Hills for "The Wizard of Oz"
Best All-Student Orchestra: Pittsburgh Schenley for "Return to the Forbidden Planet"
Best Ensemble: Pittsburgh Schenley for "Return to the Forbidden Planet"
Best Crew/Technical Execution: Woodland Hills for "The Wizard of Oz"
Best Choreography: Pine-Richland for "Carousel"
Best Direction: Woodland Hills for "The Wizard of Oz"
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