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2023 Gene Kelly Award Nominations

Nominees for the 2023 Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater, representing 32 Allegheny County schools, were announced today. The annual awards ceremony and showcase will be Saturday, May 27, at the Benedum Center. 

Presented by Pittsburgh CLO, the Kellys also are an opportunity for students to be awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships. This year, CLO and the Kellys have added the award of Outstanding Student Artist(s), given to individuals or groups who may not fit into the recognition given in previous categories.

Three-time Gene Kelly Award nominee Tyler Guinto-Brody of Elizabeth Forward High. (Archie Carpenter)

The top actors from both the Kellys and the Henry Mancini Awards – recognizing student performances in Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties – have the opportunity to compete on the national level at the Jimmy Awards, hosted this year by Corbin Bleu at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, home of The Lion King.

This year marks the third top actor nomination for two-time winner Tyler Guinto-Brody of Elizabeth Forward. His school experienced a devastating fire in its auditorium, but with the support of the community — including Kelly competitors — the show went on at

The Kellys ceremony features group performances by students from participating schools, and medleys from the nominees for Best Actor and Actress. 

Participating schools are: Avonworth, Baldwin, Bishop Canevin, Carlynton, Chartiers Valley, Eden Christian Academy, Elizabeth Forward, Gateway Pittsburgh CAPA, Hampton, Keystone Oaks, McKeesport, Montour, Moon Area, North Hills, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, Pittsburgh Allderdice, Pittsburgh CAPA, Plum, Quaker Valley, Redeemer Lutheran, Riverview, Serra Catholic, Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy, Springdale, St. Joseph, Thomas Jefferson, West Allegheny, Westinghouse Arts Academy and Woodland Hills.

The 2022 Gene Kelly Awards ceremony at the Benedum Center. (Archie Carpenter)

THE 2023 GENE KELLY AWARD NOMINEES ARE:

BEST MUSICAL

Budget Level I

McKeesport Area, All Shook Up

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart,, Big Fish

Budget Level II

Avonworth, Grand Hotel: The Musical

Westinghouse Arts Academy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Budget Level III

Elizabeth Forward, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Riverview, Young Frankenstein

Budget Level IV

Hampton, Something Rotten!

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

BEST SCENIC DESIGN

Budget Level I

McKeesport Area, All Shook Up

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Big Fish

Serra Catholic, Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway Version)

Budget Level II

Carlynton, Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Quaker Valley, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Westinghouse Arts Academy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Budget Level III

Elizabeth Forward, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Moon Area, Something Rotten!

Riverview, Young Frankenstein

Budget Level IV

Hampton, Something Rotten!

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Woodland Hills, Seussical

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Budget Level I

McKeesport Area, All Shook Up

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Big Fish

Redeemer Lutheran, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Original)

Budget Level II

Avonworth, Grand Hotel: The Musical

Carlynton, Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Westinghouse Arts Academy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Budget Level III

Elizabeth Forward, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Moon Area, Something Rotten!

Riverview, Young Frankenstein

Budget Level IV

Hampton, Something Rotten!

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Woodland Hills, Seussical

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

Budget Level I

McKeesport Area, All Shook Up

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Big Fish

Serra Catholic, Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway Version)

Budget Level II

Avonworth, Grand Hotel: The Musical

Chartiers Valley, 9 to 5 the Musical

Westinghouse Arts Academy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Budget Level III

Elizabeth Forward, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Riverview, Young Frankenstein

Shady Side Academy, Chicago: Teen Edition

Budget Level IV

Hampton, Something Rotten!

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Woodland Hills, Seussical

BEST VOCAL ENSEMBLE

Budget Level I

McKeesport Area, All Shook Up

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Big Fish

Serra Catholic, Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway Version)

Budget Level II

Avonworth, Grand Hotel: The Musical

Pittsburgh CAPA, The Prom

Westinghouse Arts Academy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Budget Level III

Elizabeth Forward, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Moon Area, Something Rotten!

Riverview, Young Frankenstein

Budget Level IV

Hampton, Something Rotten!

Plum, Fiddler on the Roof

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

BEST DANCE ENSEMBLE

Budget Level I

McKeesport Area, All Shook Up

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School, Big Fish

Sewickley Academy, Big Fish School Edition

Budget Level II

Pittsburgh CAPA, The Prom

Quaker Valley, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Westinghouse Arts Academy Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Budget Level III

Elizabeth Forward, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Moon Area, Something Rotten!

Riverview, Young Frankenstein

Budget Level IV

Hampton, Something Rotten!

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Woodland Hills, Seussical

BEST CREW/TECHNICAL EXECUTION

Budget Level I

McKeesport Area, All Shook Up

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Big Fish

Sewickley Academy, Big Fish School Edition

Budget Level II

Avonworth, Grand Hotel: The Musical

Bishop Canevin, Freaky Friday

Westinghouse Arts Academy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Budget Level III

Elizabeth Forward, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Moon Area, Something Rotten!

Shady Side Academy, Chicago: Teen Edition

Budget Level IV

Hampton, Something Rotten!

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Woodland Hills, Seussical

BEST STUDENT ORCHESTRA

Avonworth, Grand Hotel: The Musical

Moon Area, Something Rotten!

Pittsburgh CAPA, The Prom

Shady Side Academy, Chicago: Teen Edition

Thomas Jefferson, Anything Goes (2022 Revision)

Westinghouse Arts Academy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

OUTSTANDING STUDENT ARTIST

Anna Boothby (Student Lighting Op/On-stage Role Replacement), Avonworth 

Charlotte Kinslow (Understudy and Cast), Chartiers Valley

Linz Thomas (Technical Lighting Designer), Elizabeth Forward 

David Poirier and Kulthoom Fatema Dinani (Documentarians), Hampton

Jack Cipriani (Advertisement Coordinator/Director), Moon Area

Alexa Custer (Assistant Music Director), Pittsburgh CAPA, 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Brooks Brady (Thomas Nostradamus, Something Rotten!), Hampton

Primo Brodt-Jenkins (Harry Bright, Mamma Mia!), Gateway

Avi Chetlin (Trent Oliver, The Prom), Pittsburgh CAPA, 

David Keller (Simeon, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Westinghouse Arts Academy

Hayden Krupp (Moonface Martin, Anything Goes), Thomas Jefferson 

Eli Wynn (Thernardier,  Les Misérables), Pittsburgh Allderdice

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Ashley Caldwell (Erma, Anything Goes), Thomas Jefferson

Annelise Hanson (Mayzie Labird, Seussical), Woodland Hills 

Kenzie Heidenreich (Jan, Grease), West Allegheny

Lila Kelley (Zinnia Wormwood, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical), Baldwin

Lucia Palmer (Portia, Something Rotten!), Moon Area

Natalie Whitfield (Rosie, Mamma Mia!), Gateway

BEST ACTOR

Jack Cipriani (Nick Bottom, Something Rotten!), Moon Area 

Amerik Cirota (Joseph, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Westinghouse Arts Academy

Tyler Guinto-Brody (Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Elizabeth Forward 

Nathan Marks (Dom Claude Frollo,The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Elizabeth Forward 

Ben Stolarz (Jean Valjean, Les Misérables), Pittsburgh Allderdice

Kai Suyama (Nick Bottom, Something Rotten!) Hampton 

BEST ACTRESS

Felicity Dicken (Judy Bernly, 9 to 5 the Musical), North Hills

Isabella Gricar (Narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Westinghouse Arts Academy

Brylee Hendry (Hodel, Fiddler on the Roof), Plum

Kaitlyn Majewski (Natalie Heller/Ed, All Shook Up) McKeesport Area 

Rachael Parsons (Hope Harcourt,  Anything Goes), Thomas Jefferson 

Ava Sandstrom (Eponine, Les Misérables), Pittsburgh Allderdice 

Tickets and details: https://www.pittsburghclo.org/education/gene-kelly-awards



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