.
FORT WORTH, Texas (May 11, 2026) – On Friday, May 8, Casa Mañana celebrated the 26th Annual Betty Lynn Buckley Awards Ceremony. The ceremony, led by host Quinn VanAntwerp, included live performances from nominees and the distribution of awards in Acting, Design and overall Excellence categories.
Casa Mañana developed the Betty Lynn Buckley Awards to recognize the achievements of Tarrant County’s high school musical theatre programs. The program was then expanded to include full-length plays and to reach programs in Collin, Denton, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker and Wise counties.
The Betty Lynn Buckley Awards are named after Tony Award-winning Best Actress, FWISD and Casa Mañana alumna, Betty Lynn Buckley. Buckley made her professional stage debut at age 15 in Casa Mañana’s production of Gypsy. After moving to New York City, she auditioned for and landed her first job creating the role of Martha Jefferson in the Broadway musical 1776. She later won a Tony Award for her performance as Grizabella in CATS and has been nominated for a host of other awards.
The night’s host, Quinn VanAntwerp, spent 8 years playing the iconic songwriter Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys on Broadway and on tour. He currently stars as Gordy Jackson on the 1st National Tour of Shucked after being an original company member of the Broadway production. Other credits include: Broadway: Jersey Boys, The Play That Goes Wrong, and Shucked. TV: Better Call Saul, FBI, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, Elementary, The Affair, I'm Dying up Here & Others. FILM: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Four Christmases.
The winners of the 26th Annual Betty Lynn Buckley Awards are as follows:
Excellence in Scenic Design: Jack Layton; Moon Over Buffalo; Richland High School
Excellence in Lighting Design: Jenna Dyer & Sam Springston; Matilda; Byron Nelson High School
Herb Silverberg & Stan Kolker Youth Orchestra Award: Matilda; Byron Nelson High School
Excellence in Sound Design: Peyton Meyer; Matilda; Byron Nelson High School
Bobbie Wygant Scholarship Award: Malachi Cooks
Excellence in Costume Design: Addy McKinley & Elizabeth Graybiel; Sunset Boulevard; Flower Mound High School
Excellence in Choreography: Emma Brown, Bryanna Coffee & Ella Jaymes Saltzgiver; Hadestown: Teen Edition; Weatherford High School
Excellence in Stage Management: Elisa Kelly, Caitlin Benedict & Grayson Zimmerman; Matilda; Byron Nelson High School
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor (Play): Ramon Hernandez as “Howard” in Moon Over Buffalo; Richland High School
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress (Play): Kylie Martin as “Nick Bottom” in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Birdville High School
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor (Musical): Spencer Ritsema as “Robert Martin” in The Drowsy Chaperone; Waxahachie High School
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress (Musical): Emma Hurd as "Carmen Bernstein” in Curtains; Liberty Christian School
Best Performance by a Leading Actor (Play): Oliver Morgan as “George Hay” in Moon Over Buffalo; Richland High School
Best Performance by a Leading Actress (Play): Ava Martin-Sanchez as “Toinette” in The Imaginary Invalid; Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
Karen & Stanley Pirzchalski Award: Isabella Green
Best Performance by a Leading Actor (Musical): Benjamin Kegg as “Joe Gillis” in Sunset Boulevard; Flower Mound High School
Best Performance by a Leading Actress (Musical): Hadley Hill as “Matilda Wormwood” in Matilda; Byron Nelson High School
Outstanding Educator Award: Brian Ketcham; Keller High School
Excellence in a Play: Moon Over Buffalo; Richland High School
Excellence in a Musical: Freaky Friday; Liberty Christian School
About Casa Mañana
Casa Mañana Theatre has produced professional Broadway and Children's Theatre in Fort Worth for over 65 years. As a performing arts organization, Casa Mañana strives to create, nurture and advance live professional theatre unparalleled in artistic excellence for the enrichment and education of its diverse community and its future generations of artists and patrons. Casa Mañana’s Broadway, Children’s Theatre and Reid Cabaret Theatre productions are seen by nearly 110,000 people annually and over 45,000 school children attend its Children’s Theatre productions each year. Learn more at www.casamanana.org.
