By SHARON EBERSON
Pittsburgh CLO’s 34th annual Gene Kelly Awards, a celebratory ceremony of recognition for excellence in high school musical theater, has crowned the 2025 winners among 34 participating schools in Allegheny County.
Top honors for best musical in the four budget categories went to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School, Westinghouse Arts Academy, North Hills High School and Hampton High School. North Hills High’s production of Alice By Heart took home six awards among the nearly three dozen bestowed on Saturday.
The Kellys’ Outstanding Actor and Actress, Eamonn McElfresh of Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 and Mariana Mangual of Seton LaSalle Catholic High School, will represent PCLO’s Kellys at the Jimmy Awards, the national competition held June 23, 2025, at Broadway’s Minskoff Theater.
The performance-packed ceremony is based on the Tony Awards but with a much higher audience decibel level. On Saturday, May 24, 2025, the Benedum Center shook from the eruptions of cheering students, faculty and families, and applauded heartfelt tributes in memory of Charles Gray, a champion of arts education and the founding force behind the awards as former executive director of Pittsburgh CLO (1982-1996).
Presenters such as the Honorable Debra Todd, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and Jason Coll, creative director and associate artistic director of Pittsburgh CLO from 1999-2008, recalled how “Charlie” enriched their lives. Todd and Christine Kobus told the origin story of the Kelly Awards – the first in the nation, spawning 55 other regional high school musical theater awards and the national competition – under Gray’s leadership.
The annual Charles Gray Award for Special Achievement in Arts Education was presented to Northside Catholic Assumption Academy, in recognition of its arts education program.
Patricia Ward Kelly, the widow of Pittsburgh native and Hollywood legend Gene Kelly, glided onto the stage to present the final award of the night, for Outstanding Musical. In her inspirational speech this year, she told of hearing from Dr. Arielle Katcher, a doctor of gynecological oncology in Delaware and a Pine-Richland alum who was a Kelly winner for supporting actress in 2009. Dr. Katcher began, “You might not remember me but …” and proceeded to tell her not only how musical theater and the Kellys had enriched her life, but that she had recently discovered a colleague who also was a Kelly nominee.
The list of others went on, with Patricia Ward Kelly concluding that talented teens at the Benedum Center on Saturday should remember to embrace the life lessons learned while participating in theater, no matter what paths they might choose. And, she added, yes, she will always remember the Kelly participants she meets along the way, and please, keep in touch.
Participating schools in 2025 were:
Avonworth High School, Baldwin High School, Bishop Canevin High School, Brentwood High School, Carlynton Junior-Senior High School, Central Catholic & Oakland Catholic High Schools, Chartiers Valley High School, Deer Lakes High School, Elizabeth Forward High School, Gateway High School, Hampton High School, Keystone Oaks High School, McKeesport Area High School, Montour High School, North Hills High School, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School, Penn Hills High School, Pine-Richland High School, Pittsburgh Allderdice High School, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, Quaker Valley High School, Redeemer Lutheran School, Riverview Jr/Sr High School, Saint Joseph High School, Serra Catholic High School, Seton LaSalle Catholic High School, Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy Senior School, Springdale Jr./Sr. High School, Thomas Jefferson High School, Upper St. Clair High School, West Allegheny High School, Westinghouse Arts Academy, and Woodland Hills Senior High School.
The ceremony included the presentation of scholarships totaling $70,000, part of the $2.1 million in scholarships awarded during the Kelly Awards 34 years. Receiving scholarships in 2025 were college-bound seniors Hallie Cantola and Jessica Moles (Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts); Quinlan Catanzaro (Robert Morris University); and Gianna Sotereanos (Seton Hill University). Gene Kelly Cash Scholarships were awarded to seniors Carmella DeVore, Kennedy Edwards and Ava Stropkaj, who have been accepted to schools for the performing or technical arts. The Pittsburgh CLO Ambassadors awarded scholarships to Braeden Bungard and Marisa Cancilla, who will be pursuing a major outside of the arts.
2025 GENE KELLY AWARDS WINNERS
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:
Budget Level I
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School – Children of Eden
Budget Level II
- Westinghouse Arts Academy – The SpongeBob Musical
Budget Level III
- North Hills High School – Alice By Heart
Budget Level IV
- Woodland Hills Senior High School – Hairspray
OUTSTANDING CREW/TECHNICAL EXECUTION:
Budget Level I
- Avonworth High School – Sweeney Todd: School Edition
Budget Level II
- Elizabeth Forward High School – Hadestown: Teen Edition
Budget Level III
- North Hills High School – Alice By Heart
Budget Level IV
- Hampton High School – Hadestown: Teen Edition
OUTSTANDING DANCE ENSEMBLE:
Budget Level I
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School – Children of Eden
Budget Level II
- Westinghouse Arts Academy – The SpongeBob Musical
Budget Level III
- Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Budget Level IV
- Pine-Richland High School – 42nd Street
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN:
Budget Level I
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School – Children of Eden
Budget Level II
- Westinghouse Arts Academy – The SpongeBob Musical
Budget Level III
- North Hills High School – Alice By Heart
Budget Level IV
- Hampton High School – Hadestown: Teen Edition
OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN:
Budget Level I
- Carlynton Jr/Sr High School – Hadestown: Teen Edition
Budget Level II
- Central & Oakland Catholic High Schools – Newsies
Budget Level III
- North Hills High School – Alice By Heart
Budget Level IV
- Hampton High School – Hadestown: Teen Edition
OUTSTANDING VOCAL ENSEMBLE:
Budget Level I
- Avonworth High School – Sweeney Todd: School Edition
Budget Level II
- Westinghouse Arts Academy – The SpongeBob Musical
Budget Level III
- North Hills High School – Alice By Heart
Budget Level IV
- Hampton High School – Hadestown: Teen Edition
OUTSTANDING STUDENT ORCHESTRA:
- Pine-Richland High School – 42nd Street
OUTSTANDING STUDENT ARTIST:
- Spencer Callaghan, Student Director, Elizabeth Forward High School’
KELLY CRITICS AWARD
- Jake Johnson, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Wyatt Bernardini, Old Prince Bolkonsky, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Harmony Karwoski, Johanna, Sweeney Todd: School Edition, Avonworth High School
OUTSTANDING ACTOR
- Eamonn McElfresh, Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS
- Mariana Mangual, Ella, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version), Seton LaSalle Catholic High School
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL:
Budget Level I
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School – Children of Eden
Budget Level II
- Westinghouse Arts Academy – The SpongeBob Musical
Budget Level III
- North Hills High School – Alice By Heart
Budget Level IV
- Hampton High School – Hadestown: Teen Edition
The Gene Kelly Awards are presented by the Michael J. Kara Family with additional support provided by Deloitte, The Gismondi Family Foundation, Point Park University, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, PNC Bank, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and the CLO Ambassadors. Deloitte Consulting, LLP is the official auditor for the Gene Kelly Awards.
NOTE: Sharon Eberson is a judge for the Henry Mancini and Gene Kelly Awards Outstanding Actor and Actress finalist.
Categories: Arts Education, Feature Stories, National and Local Awards, Our Posts
Thank you! George