A Tony Awards Honor
It was a proud moment back in 2015 when Joe Manganiello (Mt. Lebanon High School Class of 1995) appeared on Broadway’s Tony Awards telecast to present the inaugural Excellence in Theater Education Award. That moment became unforgettable for Lebo drama kids and parents when Manganiello gave a nationwide shoutout to his own favorite educator, legendary high school theater teacher
Cindy Schreiner.
The Excellence in Theater Education Award links back to Pittsburgh in other ways: It’s co-presented by Carnegie Mellon University and its world-class drama school. This year’s award has a special, very local connection: Among more than 700 applicants, Billy Hartung, executive director of the Center for Theater Arts, was one of a handful of teachers to receive an honorable mention.
“I am very proud,” said Hartung. “We just wanted to exhale after the pandemic, and then this happened. It’s a massive compliment to our board.”