Buffalo Academy For Visual And Performing Arts To Receive $10,000 Kenny Award Grant

On Wednesday, May 22, 2019, Shea's Performing Arts Center and The Lipke Foundation will present a check for $10,000 to the theatre program of Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (BAVPA) in recognition of their Kenny Award for Outstanding Musical Production for their production of Les Misérables, which ran at BAVPA from March 27 - March 30, 2019. Expected attendees include Mayor Byron W. Brown, Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Shea's Performing Arts Center President Michael G. Murphy, and Lipke Foundation representative/Kenny Awards Director Carlisle Lipke Mitchell.

Ms. Jody Covington, principal of BAVPA, will open the ceremony at 1:30 pm, followed with remarks by Andrew Kottler (Director), Rebecca Bateson-Brown (Choreographer), and Linda Appleby (Music Director). The cast of Les Misérables will perform a medley of scenes from their production, and then Mayor Brown, Dr. Cash, Assembly Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes, Michael Murphy, and Carlisle Lipke Mitchell will speak. The event will conclude with a presentation of medals and a $10,000 check from Carlisle Lipke Mitchell of the Lipke Foundation, to be used solely for the expansion of BAVPA's theatre program.

In addition to the Outstanding Musical Production honor, BAVPA also received the Kenny Award for Outstanding Dramatic Performance. Individual student acknowledgement includes Rising Star: Special Recognition (Samuel Parker as Gavroche), Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role (Tallulah Gordon as Madame Thénardier), and Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role (Matthew Wilson as Jean Valjean). In June, Matthew Wilson will travel to New York City with Penelope Sergi, recipient of the Kenny for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role (Legally Blonde/West Seneca West High School), to participate in the prestigious 2019 Jimmy Awards at the Minskoff Theatre on Monday, June 24 at 7:30 pm. The Jimmys, presented by the Broadway League Foundation, will be livestreamed.

Since the inception of the program in 1993, the Kenny Awards has honored dozens of outstanding musical productions in local high schools and has awarded $125,000 to high school theatre programs across Western New York. Now in its 26th year, the Kenny Awards continues to recognize local high school talent for excellence in producing and performing musicals. The 2019 winners were announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday, May 11 at 6:00 pm at Shea's Buffalo Theatre.

The Kenny Awards is one of 43 regional awards programs nationwide participating in the National High School Musical Awards Program, aka The Jimmy Awards, which gives the Kenny Awards' Outstanding Leading Actress and Actor winners an all-expenses-paid, week-long trip to New York City to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in June 2019. 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 and make their Broadway debut performing on stage at the Minskoff Theatre.

Full 2019 Kenny Awards list:

Outstanding Orchestral Performance

Niagara Wheatfield High School - Sister Act

Outstanding Technical Design

Nardin Academy - The King and I

Outstanding Choral Performance

West Seneca West Senior High School - Legally Blonde

Outstanding Scenic Design

Tonawanda High School - Mamma Mia!

Outstanding Dramatic Performance

Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts - Les Misérables

Outstanding Costume Design

St. Mary's High School - The Addams Family

Outstanding Dance Performance

West Seneca West Senior High School - Legally Blonde

The Showstopper Award

"Lay All Your Love on Me" from Mamma Mia!/Sweet Home High School

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble

Ciara Shockley and Haylee Morris as Tanya and Rosie in Mamma Mia!/Tonawanda High School

Rising Star: Special Recognition

Jacob Dutka as The Mayor of Munchkinland in The Wizard of Oz at John F. Kennedy High School

Johnny Kiener as Prince Chulalongkorn in The King and I at Nardin Academy

Samuel Parker as Gavroche in Les Misérables at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts

Jonah Williams as Les in Newsies at Cleveland Hill School

The Blossom Cohan Award

(Honors a performer who "Blossoms" in a role. Includes complimentary registration to Artpark's Summer Theatre Academy.)

Abby Poczciwinski as Sister Mary Lazarus in Sister Act/Niagara Wheatfield High School

Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role

(Includes complimentary registration to Camp Broadway's The Next Step at Shea's.)

Tallulah Gordon as Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables/Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts

Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role

(Includes complimentary registration to Camp Broadway's The Next Step at Shea's.)

Marten Linnan as Lucas in The Addams Family/St. Mary's High School

Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role

Penelope Sergi as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde/West Seneca West Senior High School

Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role

Matthew Wilson as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables/Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts

Outstanding Musical Production

Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts - Les Misérables