4th Kravis Dream Award Winners Announced

2023 Dream Awards Outstanding Lead Actor (Lucas Brown) and Outstanding Lead Actress (Maya Sharma)
(Photos courtesy of Mary Stucchi)

(PRESS RELEASE)_​(West Palm Beach, FL) – Drum roll please! The winners of the fourth annual Kravis Center’s Dream Awards have been announced. Over 135 students from 15 high schools throughout Palm Beach County competed for the opportunity to make it to the Broadway stage. Maya Sharma from Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton won the Outstanding Female Actress award and Lucas Brown from West Boca Raton Community High School won the Outstanding Male Actor award.
 
Sharma and Brown will go on to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards®, to represent Palm Beach County in New York City. They will participate in an all-expenses-paid, weeklong field studies in preparation for their performances on the Minskoff Theatre stage on Broadway on June 26, 2023.

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​"We take immense pride in Maya, Lucas and the other students who took part in the yearlong adjudication program, earning them the chance to showcase their talents at the Dream Awards," stated Tracy C. Butler, the Director of Education at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. "The Dream Awards exemplify how the arts can propel young artists to new heights, and the Kravis Center is privileged to back local arts educators and their students. This program illuminates the exceptional performing artists of the next generation within our community."
 
The winners recognized for their achievement in musical theater productions in the other award categories included McKayla Martin from The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Outstanding Lead Actress Alternate; Antonio Saladino from Boca Raton Community High School, Outstanding Lead Actor Alternate; Devyn Humble from A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Outstanding Stage Management; Leah Harrison from A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Outstanding Lighting Design; Ryaan Peel from A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Outstanding Costume Design; Celia Mason from The King’s Academy, Outstanding Supporting Actress; Alejandro Quinones from Boca Raton Community High School, Outstanding Supporting Actor; Marni Gass from West Boca Community High School, Outstanding Ensemble Actress; Aiden Zeitchick from West Boca Community High School, Outstanding Ensemble Actor; Capri Bold from A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Outstanding Featured Female Dancer; Austin Bailly from A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Outstanding Featured Male Dancer; and Stephanie Nixdorf from Boca Raton Community High School, Inspiring Theater Educator Award. And, the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts received the Outstanding Musical Award for its production of Pippin.
 
Judges at this year’s Dream Awards included Crista Moore, Broadway, TV and Film Actress, Singer, Dancer starring two-time Tony Award® nominee; Lloyd Culbreath, Choreographer and Veteran Fosse Dancer as well as Lead Instructor for Fosse Master Class Series sanctioned by the Verdon Fosse Estate; and Kevin Covert, Broadway Actor and Chair of Musical Theatre at Shenandoah Conservatory. The event featured our 15-piece Dream Awards orchestra under the direction of Broadway Musical Director, Steve Freeman.
 
Sponsored by Ricki Gail Conway and The Doris & Stanley Tananbaum Foundation, the Kravis Center launched this performing arts education initiative for high school students during the 2017-2018 school year. For the past four years, the Kravis Center has hosted the Dream Awards, inviting public and private high schools in Palm Beach County to participate in the yearlong program. Schools must choose from an approved list of productions to be considered.
 
The Kravis Center is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. The Center’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality, by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home for local and regional arts organizations to showcase their work; and by providing an economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County.
 
For more information on the Kravis Center and its education programs, please visit www.kravis.org/education-community.