Shea’s Performing Arts Center and The Lipke Foundation are proud to announce the winners of 24th Annual Kenny Awards, an endeavor that recognizes the talent, dedication, and efforts of our local high school youth.
Outstanding Orchestral Performance
Orchard Park High School – Into the Woods
Outstanding Technical Design
Starpoint High School – Disney’s Beauty & the Beast
Outstanding Choral Performance
Frontier High School – Disney’s The Little Mermaid
Outstanding Scenic Design
Orchard Park High School – Into the Woods
Outstanding Dramatic Performance
Maple Grove High School – Anything Goes
Outstanding Costume Design
Eden Jr/Sr High School – Shrek the Musical
Outstanding Dance Performance
Maple Grove High School – Anything Goes
The Blossom Cohan Award
Honors a performer who “Blossoms” in a role
Joseph Lotocki as Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid/Frontier High School
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble
“Lady in the Long Black Dress” in Sister Act/Sacred Heart Academy
Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role
Amelia Waddell as Grace in Cinderella/Mount St. Mary Academy
Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role
Jake Grear as LeFou in Beauty & the Beast/Starpoint High School
Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role
Grace Auer as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes/Maple Grove High School
Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role
Ian Hayes as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid/Frontier High School
Outstanding Musical Production
Maple Grove High School – Anything Goes
Since the inception of the program, over 150 outstanding musical productions in local high schools have been recognized and honored by the Kenny Awards. Now in its 24thyear, the Kenny Awards will again recognize local high school talent for excellence in producing and performing musicals with host DJ Anthony from Kiss 98.5.
Applications for this year’s Kenny Awards program were accepted in October and reviewed by the panel of Kenny adjudicators. From the applicant pool, 10 schools were selected to participate as finalists in this year’s ceremony. The finalists for the 2017 Kenny Awards are Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart – Sister Act, Eden Jr/Sr High School – Shrek the Musical, Frontier High School – Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Maple Grove High School – Anything Goes, Mount St. Mary Academy – Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Nardin Academy – Pippin, Orchard Park High School – Into the Woods, Royalton Hartland Central School – Thoroughly Modern Millie, St. Mary’s High School – Fame, and Starpoint High School – Disney’s Beauty & the Beast
The Kenny adjudicators viewed and evaluated the productions and determined the nominees and winners based on what they saw. There are 14 award categories, including “The Kenny” for Outstanding Musical Production in which the winning school receives a $5,000 grant from the Lipke Foundation to be used solely by the school’s theatre department. Other awards include individual performances in leading and supporting roles, as well as areas of technical production, orchestration, choreography, set design, and dance performance.
The Kenny Awards is one of more than 35 regional awards programs nationwide participating in the National High School Musical Awards Program, aka The Jimmy Awards, which will allow the selected Outstanding Leading Actress and Actor of the Kenny Awards to win an all-expenses-paid, week-long trip to New York City to compete in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in June, 2017. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will include rehearsals and coaching sessions with Broadway performers, performances, and other beneficial experiences. Participants in “The Jimmy Awards” will compete for various college scholarships.
For information on the Kenny Award Program, contact Shea’s Education Coordinator Holly Grant at (716) 829-1171 or hgrant@sheas.org.
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