Kenneth and Linda Leedy P'92 Gift to Help Revitalize LVC's Leedy Theater
Leedy Family Provided Original Funding to Launch Theater
Annville, PA (11/25/2019) — Kenneth and Linda Leedy P'92 announced a generous pledge to support the revitalization of Lebanon Valley College's Leedy Theater. The 200-seat space is home to the College's Wig and Buckle Theater Company, which was founded in 1935, as well as numerous visiting productions, entertainers, speakers, and other student performances and events.
Kenneth, retired president of New Penn Motor Express Inc., and his wife, Linda, made the initial gift to create Leedy Theater in the Allan W. Mund College Center in the early 1990s. The first student production in the new Leedy Theater was Godspell, performed in April 1994. The Leedys made the original gift in honor of their son, Gregory R. Leedy, LVC Class of 1992, and his wife, Kathleen Ryan Leedy, LVC Class of 1990. Their granddaughter, Claire M. Leedy '21, performs with and is a lighting designer for Wig and Buckle.
The modernization of the theater, partially funded by the Leedys, will include new seating, flooring, lighting, audio equipment (including new speakers), and communication systems, the latter which will improve communication between the audio booth, backstage, ticket booth, and green room. Also, all painted and wood surfaces will be refreshed with a new coordinated color scheme that will tie the seating and flooring with the walls.
Work will be completed on Leedy Theater during the winter break and in time for the first student performance Jan. 31, 2020. That show, Almost Maine, which runs through Feb. 2, will be directed by Chiara Meyers '22, a double major in creative writing and English.
"I am extremely grateful to the Leedy family and Lebanon Valley College for implementing these critical sound, lighting, and aesthetic improvements," said Dr. Kevin Pry, associate professor of English and director of LVC's music theater minor. "Their support will steward the theater for generations of Valley students to come," added Pry, who also serves as Wig and Buckle's director and dramaturge.
About Lebanon Valley College
Lebanon Valley College offers bachelor's degrees in the arts and humanities, business and communications, education, health professions, social sciences and psychology, and science, technology, engineering, and math. Advanced health professions degrees include a master of athletic training, master of counseling psychology (fall 2020), master of speech-language pathology, and a doctor of physical therapy. Online and graduate programs include an MBA with six concentrations and a general option offered on-campus or partially or fully online, a Master of Science in STEM Education, an Integrative STEM Education Certificate, a Master in Music Education, and a Modern Band Certificate. In 2018, the College was listed as #1 in the country for graduate job placement by the career guidance site Zippia.com, using federal data. The 357-acre campus is in Annville, Pa.