Liana Wisniewski, left, and Kelsey Whipple won Kenny Awards Saturday from Shea's Performing Arts Center and the Lipke Foundation for their performances in Tonawanda Middle/High School's production of "Matilda the Musical." (Photo by Larry Austin/Tonawanda City School District)
The Tonawanda City School District congratulates the cast, crew, and directors of the Tonawanda Middle/High School production of "Matilda the Musical" for winning three Kenny Awards from Shea's Performing Arts Center and the Lipke Foundation.
At an awards ceremony on Saturday, May 21, "Matilda" won two performance awards. Liana Wisniewski, a Tonawanda Middle School seventh-grader who acted in the lead role of Matilda, won the Rising Star Award, and Kelsey Whipple, a Tonawanda High School senior, won Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Female Role as Mrs. Phelps. "Matilda" also won for Outstanding Scenic Design.
"The entire production staff could not be more proud of our students," said Tonawanda Middle/High School Theatre Producer Dan Lynch. "Their support for one another and ability to celebrate their learning through theater is evidence of the importance of the performing arts in schools."
The Kenny Awards, presented by Shea's Performing Arts Theater and the Lipke Foundation, honor schools in Western New York that present a full-length musical production. “The Kenny” was created in 1993 in honor of the late Dr. Ken Lipke, a patron of the arts and the founder of Gibraltar Steel. According to Shea's website, The Kenny Awards "recognize, reward, and encourage student talent and achievement in high school musical theatre productions. We aim to highlight student effort, skill, and talent, not the efforts and abilities of the professionals guiding them."
Tonawanda Theatre of Tonawanda Middle/High School staged "Matilda" on March 17, 18, 19, and 20. The production received seven Kenny Award nominations overall. In addition to Outstanding Scenic Design and the award for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Female Role won by Whipple, the show was nominated for Outstanding Technical Design, Outstanding Hair and Makeup, Outstanding Dance Performance, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (the "Little Kids" ensemble), and Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Male Role for Madi Feng as Sergei.
Lynch said the Kenny Awards on Saturday was a 12-hour experience of theater education that began with a variety of workshops and performance activities and continued with a group dinner at the Hotel Lafayette. The awards ceremony at Shea's in the evening brought together 16 schools in the Western New York region to celebrate middle and high school performing arts.
See a video of the nomination announcement here. See photos and news about the show on the district website posted in March here.