Hampton High School spring musical receives 9 Kelly Award nominations

The Hampton High School spring musical production, “Into the Woods,” has received nine Gene Kelly Award nominations, including Andrew Kaehly as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of “Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf.”

Other nominations are for Best All-Student Orchestra and in the award’s Budget Level II category: Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Scenic Design, Best Vocal Ensemble, Best Dance Ensemble, Best Crew and Technical Execution and Best Musical.

The Best Musical nomination gives the entire cast of this production the opportunity to perform a song from “Into the Woods” onstage at the Benedum Center on May 28. Additionally, the following students were selected as semifinalists before nominations were announced and will also perform with the full group of supporting and lead actor/actress semifinalists: Andrew Kaehly, Lindsay Liebro, Leah McConnell, Kai Suyama and Lillian Ketler.

“Our students work incredibly hard and put high expectations on themselves to create successful shows that do not really feel like normal high school theatre,” Jennifer Lavella, musical choreographer and co-director, said.

About 85 students participated in the spring musical, directed by Daniel Franklin. They began planning for the spring musical in September and October when initial meetings and auditions were held. Rehearsals began in December, and students typically put in anywhere from 10 to 30 hours a week in rehearsals.

The entire set was built and painted by students, and the orchestra was nearly all students, as well. Students led all the departments and ran refresher rehearsals, developed blocking, and created choreography. During actual performances, the technical work was run only by students who called and executed all of lighting, sound, and set cues.

“‘Into the Woods’ was very complex across the board for our actors, crew and musicians, alike, and it was evident that they not only worked exceptionally hard individually, but they became a cohesive unit that was in tune with one another and created a truly magical show,” Lavella said. “We are so proud that that all of the pieces of our show were recognized by the nominations that Into the Woods received from the Gene Kelly Awards, and we cannot wait to see our kids perform on the Benedum Stage.”

The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater are presented yearly by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and the University of Pittsburgh. The award was founded in 1991 and celebrates excellence in the musicals of the Pittsburgh area’s high schools.