Buffalo, NY – Shea’s Performing Arts Center announces the ten finalists for the 2020 Kenny Awards, which will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 6:00 pm at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. The Kenny Awards, presented by Shea’s Performing Arts Center and The Lipke Foundation, and now in its 27th year, celebrates excellence in high school musical theatre in Western New York. The Lipke Foundation will provide a $10,000 grant to the theatre program that receives the award for Outstanding Musical Production.
The ten finalist schools for the 2020 Kenny Awards are:
Akron High School (Akron, NY)
Disney’s High School Musical
March 6-7, 2020
Amherst Central High School (Amherst, NY)
Titanic
February 6-8, 2020
Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart (Amherst, NY)
Matilda the Musical
November 15-17, 2020
Cardinal O’Hara High School (Tonawanda, NY)
Shrek the Musical
March 12-15, 2020
Eden High School (Eden, NY)
42nd Street
March 5-8, 2020
Fillmore Central School (Fillmore, NY)
Bye Bye Birdie
April 1-4, 2020
Lewiston-Porter High School (Youngstown, NY)
Mamma Mia!
February 13-16, 2020
Lockport High School (Lockport, NY)
Hello, Dolly!
April 3-5, 2020
Maple Grove Jr./Sr. High School (Beamus Point, NY)
Matilda the Musical
March 27-29, 2020
Niagara Wheatfield Senior High School (Sanborn, NY)
Mary Poppins
March 6-8, 2020
Finalists are eligible for the following award categories: Outstanding Musical Production, Outstanding Orchestral Performance, Outstanding Technical Design, Outstanding Choral Performance, Outstanding Scenic Design, Outstanding Dramatic Performance, Outstanding Costume Design, Outstanding Dance Performance, The Showstopper Award, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble, The Blossom Cohan Award, Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role, and Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role. The 2019 Outstanding Musical Production Award recipient was Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, for their production of Les Misérables.
Recipients of the Outstanding Leading Actress and Actor awards will travel to New York City to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmy Awards) produced by the Broadway League Foundation at the Minskoff Theatre. Penelope Sergi of West Seneca West High School (Legally Blonde) and Matthew Wilson of Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (Les Misérables) represented Western New York at the 2019 Jimmy Awards.
