Revivals of Tracy Letts play, ‘Cabaret’ win Jeff Awards

• Reprints

Updated: September 29, 2011 12:27AM

Redtwist Theatre’s riveting revival of “Man from Nebraska,” the searing, pre-“August: Osage County” drama by Tracy Letts that follows an ordinary man through an extreme midlife crisis, was named best production of a play for the 2010-11 season as the non-Equity Jeff Awards were announced Monday night at Park West.

At the same time, the Hypocrites, for years one of the pillars of edgy, out-of-the-box work on a variety of Chicago stages, won the award for best musical production of the season for its revival of “Cabaret.” The show’s director (Matt Hawkins), principal actress (Jessie Fisher), supporting actress (Kate Harris) and costume designer (Alison Siple) also picked up awards.

“Cabaret” edged out another musical favorite of the season: the clever and intimate Theo Ubique take on “Cats,” which nevertheless garnered well-deserved awards for choreographer Brenda Didier, costume designer Matt Guthier and makeup designer Izumi Inaba.

Redtwist, the formidable storefront operation with a permanent home in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, has a history of powerful revivals of modern dramas. Its “Man from Nebraska” production garnered an award for best principal actor — Chuck Spencer, for his remarkable portrayal of a seemingly bland Midwestern man who dramatically shakes up his life. Another actor, Brian Parry, won the best supporting actor award for his work in Redtwist’s production of the Conor McPherson play “Shining City.”

But the awards were distributed widely among many theaters in the ever-fertile non-Equity segment of the Chicago theater scene. The ever artful and quirky Strange Tree Group received attention for its ingenious production of Emily Schwartz’s “The Three Faces of Dr. Crippen,” which was named best “new work.” Jimmy McDermott, who directed “Crippen,” tied with James Palmer, who staged the Red Tape Theatre production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s “The Love of the Nightingale.”

In another interesting tie, the dynamic emerging talent Caroline Neff (in Steep Theatre’s “The Brief History of Helen of Troy”) shared the principal actress award with veteran actress Nicole Wiesner (in Trap Door Theatre’s “The First Ladies”).

The elaborate parade of very original robots in Sideshow Theatre’s “Heddatron” also got attention, with a special award for the large team of designers who dreamed them up and set them in motion.

Following is a complete list of the 2011 Non-Equity Jeff Award recipients:

PRODUCTION, PLAY: “Man from Nebraska,” Redtwist Theatre.

PRODUCTION, MUSICAL: “Cabaret,” The Hypocrites.

DIRECTOR, PLAY (Tie): Jimmy McDermott, “The Three Faces of Dr. Crippen” (The Strange Tree Group) and James Palmer, “The Love of the Nightingale” (Red Tape Theatre).

DIRECTOR, MUSICAL: Matt Hawkins, “Cabaret.”

ENSEMBLE:“Shakespeare’s King Phycus” (The Strange Tree Group with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men).

ACTOR IN PRINCIPAL ROLE, PLAY: Chuck Spencer, “Man from Nebraska.”

ACTOR IN PRINCIPAL ROLE, MUSICAL: Andrew Mueller, “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (Bohemian Theatre Ensemble).

ACTRESS IN PRINCIPAL ROLE, PLAY (Tie): Caroline Neff, “The Brief History of Helen of Troy” (Steep Theatre Company) and Nicole Wiesner, “The First Ladies” (Trap Door Theatre).

ACTRESS IN PRINCIPAL ROLE, MUSICAL: Jessie Fisher, “Cabaret.”

ACTOR IN SUPPORTING ROLE, PLAY: Brian Parry, “Shining City” (Redtwist Theatre).

ACTOR IN SUPPORTING ROLE, MUSICAL: Courtney Crouse, “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

ACTRESS IN SUPPORTING ROLE, PLAY: Sara Pavlak, “Agnes of God” (Hubris Productions).

ACTRESS IN SUPPORTING ROLE, MUSICAL: Kate Harris, “Cabaret.”

NEW WORK: Emily Schwartz, “The Three Faces of Dr. Crippen.”

NEW ADAPTATION: Robert Kauzlaric, “Neverwhere” (Lifeline Theatre).

CHOREOGRAPHY: Brenda Didier, “Cats” (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre with Michael James).

ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC: Chris Gingrich, Henry Riggs, Thea Lux and Tara Sissom, “That Sordid Little Story” (The New Colony).

MUSIC DIRECTION: Austin Cook, “Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein” (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre with Michael James).

SCENIC DESIGN: Alan Donahue, “Neverwhere.”

LIGHTING DESIGN: Jared Moore, “No Exit” (The Hypocrites).

COSTUME DESIGN (Tie): Matt Guthier, “Cats,” and Alison Siple, “Cabaret.”

SOUND DESIGN: Mikhail Fiksel, “Neverwhere.”

FOR ROBOT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING: Glen Aduikas, Rick Buesing, Mike Fletcher, Salvador Garcia, Stuart Hecht, David Hyman, Terry Jackson, Don Kerste, Bruce Phillips, Al Schilling, Lisi Stoessel and Eddy Wright for “Heddatron” (Sideshow Theatre Company).

FOR MAKEUP DESIGN: Izumi Inaba, “Cats.”