Pearl River Student Earns Metro Acting Award

Rianna LeHane’s magnificent stage presence recently earned her a Metropolitan High School Theater (“Metro”) Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. LeHane, a recent graduate of the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, New Jersey, was honored for her charming portrayal of Lady Larken in Once upon a Mattress.

“Winning the Metro was very exciting,” LeHane said the day after the award ceremony. “I definitely did not expect it because you can never tell who will win in any given category.

“I have been so fortunate to end my AHA theater career on such a positive note. Playing Lady Larken was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had thus far. It would not have been the same, however, if I did not have such wonderful cast members to work with. It was really my peers who set me up for success. They gave me so much to act off of.”

LeHane’s Metro Award arrived shortly after the Foxy Award she received for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedic Stage Adaptation of a Literary Work or Film. Montclair State University presented LeHane with the Foxy for her work as Molly Aster in AHA’s fall production of Peter and the Starcatcher.

Last year, LeHane’s role of Brenda Strong in Catch Me if You Can garnered a Metro Award nomination for Best Female Vocal Performance. This spring, her Lady Larken drew nominations for both the Metro Award and a Paper Mill Rising Star Award.

“[LeHane] has been incredibly dedicated to the theater program at Holy Angels, and her passion and talent are a huge part of our success and recognition,” said Katie Collins, the award-winning director and chair of the AHA Music and Theater departments. “[Winning] the Metro Award for Best Supporting Actress for her final show at AHA is something that I hoped would happen for her, and something that I know she will look back on fondly as she graduates and moves on to her college career.”

During her four years at Holy Angels, LeHane was inducted into the Thespian Honor Society, the National Honor Society, the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, and Rho Kappa (the National Social Studies Honor Society). This fall, she will enter The George Washington University, where she will study international affairs. Although she will not be majoring in the performing arts, LeHane indicated that she plans to involve herself in the Washington, D.C. theater scene as much as possible.

This Pearl River resident loves the limelight, but she is also a down-to-earth young woman who is committed to serving others. Last year, she and her classmate Catherine Bagin (AHA ’19) founded the non-profit organization Fiesta4Hope to help Puerto Rico recover from the far-reaching impact of Hurricane Maria. Bagin and LeHane recently spoke about their work on WABC’s Tiempo, a Sunday morning news show hosted by Joe Torres. During the summer, Fiesta4Hope will return to Puerto Rico with a group of volunteers to continue their on-site recovery effort.

The Academy of the Holy Angels
315 Hillside Ave.
201-768-7822