Jeff nominations give panoramic view of Chicago theater scene
BY HEDY WEISS Theater Critic/hweiss@suntimes.com August 30, 2011 11:59PM
“The Madness of George III” got nominations for best production (play) and best actor for its star, Harry Groener (center).
Updated: November 16, 2011 1:30AM
Sure, it is a list that boosts egos, careers and funding intiatives, and sets into play a lively but friendly artistic competition. But more than anything else, the annual announcement of Jeff nominations honoring excellence in the Chicago area’s large and midsize Equity theaters serves as a powerful reminder of the breadth, depth and exceptional variety of work produced on local stages within just a 12-month period.
Whether classics, adaptations or new works, the range of productions during the 2010-2011 season was remarkable, as was the artistry in many disciplines. And here’s one additional cheer: For the passionate and engaged audiences who supplied that all-essential element of theater — bodies in the seats.
The 43rd annual Jeff Awards celebration, open to the public, will be held Nov. 7 at the Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Pre-show appetizers and cash bar will begin at 6:00 p.m., with the ceremony, directed by Michael Weber, starting at 7:30 p.m., with a buffet and reception to follow. The ceremony will include musical numbers from nominated shows and video segments from nominated plays. Advance purchase tickets are $75 ($55 for various theater union members). For tickets visit www.jeffawards.org.
Following is a complete list of the 2011 Equity Jeff Award nominees:
PRODUCTION, PLAY (LARGE THEATER): “Chinglish” (Goodman Theatre); “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); “Heartbreak House” (Writers’ Theatre); “The Madness of George III” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); “The Outgoing Tide” (Northlight Theatre); “The Seagull” (Goodman Theatre); “Travels with My Aunt” (Writers’ Theatre).
PRODUCTION, PLAY (MIDSIZE THEATER): “The Big Meal” (American Theater Company); “Frost/Nixon” (TimeLine Theatre Company); “The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?” (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); “The Importance of Being Earnest” (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); “Scorched” (Silk Road Theatre Project); “To Master the Art” (TimeLine Theatre Company).
PRODUCTION, MUSICAL (LARGE THEATER): “42nd Street” (Marriott Theatre); “Candide” (Goodman Theatre and Shakespeare Theatre Company); “A Chorus Line” (Marriott Theatre); “Porgy and Bess” (Court Theatre); “Monty Python’s Spamalot” (Drury Lane Productions).
PRODUCTION, MUSICAL (MIDSIZE THEATER): “The King and I” (Porchlight Music Theatre); “Merrily We Roll Along” (The Music Theatre Company); “The Original Grease” (American Theater Company).
PRODUCTION, REVUE: “Shout!” (Marriott Theatre); “Sky’s the Limit (Weather Permitting)” (The Second City e.t.c.).
DIRECTOR, PLAY: James Bohnen, “The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?”; Dexter Bullard, “The Big Meal”; Stuart Carden, “Travels with My Aunt”; Louis Contey, “Frost/Nixon”; Robert Falls, “The Seagull”; BJ Jones, “The Outgoing Tide”; Pam MacKinnon, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; Penny Metropulos, “The Madness of George III”; Leigh Silverman, “Chinglish.”
DIRECTOR, MUSICAL: David H. Bell, “Hot Mikado” (Drury Lane Productions); Gary Griffin, “The Music Man” (Marriott Theatre); Michael Halberstam, “She Loves Me” (Writers’ Theatre); Mark Lococo, “A Chorus Line”; Charles Newell, “Porgy and Bess”; William Osetek, “Monty Python’s Spamalot”; Rachel Rockwell, “42nd Street”; Mary Zimmerman, “Candide.”
ENSEMBLE: “The Big Meal”; “A Chorus Line”; “Float” (About Face Theatre); “The Front Page” (TimeLine Theatre Company); “The Seagull”; “Sky’s the Limit (Weather Permitting)”; “Travels with My Aunt.”
ACTOR, PRINCIPAL ROLE, PLAY: Brad Armacost, “Shadowlands” (Provision Theater); Brad Armacost, “The Weir” (Seanachaí Theatre Company); Harry Groener, “The Madness of George III”; Terry Hamilton, “Frost/Nixon”; Tracy Letts, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; John Mahoney, “The Outgoing Tide”; Nick Sandys, “The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?”; Nick Sandys, “Blithe Spirit” (First Folio Theatre).
ACTOR, PRINCIPAL ROLE, MUSICAL: Joe Kinosian, “Murder for Two - A Killer Musical” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Michael Mahler, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (Theatre at the Center); Geoff Packard, “Candide”; Stephen Schellhardt, “Hot Mikado”; Alan Schmuckler, “Murder for Two - A Killer Musical.”
ACTRESS, PRINCIPAL ROLE, PLAY: Karen Aldridge, “The Trinity River Plays” (Goodman Theatre); Annabel Armour, “The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?”; Jennifer Lim (Xu Yan), “Chinglish”; Lois Markle, “Three Tall Women” (Court Theatre); Sandra Marquez, “26 Miles” (Teatro Vista and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble); Rondi Reed, “The Outgoing Tide”; Kathy Scambiatterra, “Sweet Bird of Youth” (The Artistic Home); Mary Ann Thebus, “The Piano Teacher” (Next Theatre Company); Karen Janes Woditsch, “To Master the Art.”
ACTRESS, PRINCIPAL ROLE, MUSICAL: Brianna Borger, “The King and I”; Elizabeth Lanza, “Meet John Doe” (Porchlight Music Theatre); Megan McGinnis, “Daddy Long Legs” (Northlight Theatre); Jessie Mueller, “Guys and Dolls” (Marriott Theatre); Jessie Mueller, “She Loves Me.”
ACTOR OR ACTRESS, REVUE: Tim Baltz, “Sky’s the Limit (Weather Permitting)”; Tammy Mader, “Shout!”; Sam Richardson, “South Side of Heaven” (The Second City).
SOLO PERFORMANCE: Barbara Robertson, “The Detective’s Wife” (Writers’ Theatre).
ACTOR, SUPPORTING ROLE, PLAY: Ira Amyx, “That Was Then” (Seanachaí Theatre Company); Lance Baker, “Speed-the-Plow” (American Theater Company); Marc Grapey, “At Home at the Zoo” (Victory Gardens Theater); Francis Guinan, “Rantoul and Die” (American Blues Theater); Mike Nussbaum, “Broadway Bound” (Drury Lane Productions); John Reeger, “Heartbreak House.”
ACTOR, SUPPORTING ROLE, MUSICAL: Sean Blake, “Porgy and Bess”; Matthew Crowle, “Monty Python’s Spamalot”; James Earl Jones II, “The Wiz” (Theatre at the Center); Ted Louis Levy, “Hot Mikado”; Larry Yando, “Candide.”
ACTRESS, SUPPORTING ROLE, PLAY: Annabel Armour, “At Home at the Zoo”; Tracey N. Bonner, “Home” (Court Theatre); Mary Beth Fisher, “Three Tall Women”; Diane Kondrat, “The Gospel According to James” (Victory Gardens Theater); Elizabeth Ledo, “The Homosexuals” (About Face Theatre); Diana Simonzadeh, - “Scorched.”
ACTRESS, SUPPORTING ROLE, MUSICAL: Kate Garassino, “The King and I”; Heidi Kettenring, “She Loves Me”; Gina Milo, ”Monty Python’s Spamalot”; Hollis Resnik, “Candide”; Bethany Thomas, “Porgy and Bess.”
NEW WORK, PLAY: William Brown and Doug Frew, “To Master the Art”; Darren Canady, “Brothers of the Dust” (Congo Square Theatre Company); Philip Dawkins - “The Homosexuals”; Bruce Graham, “The Outgoing Tide”; David Henry Hwang, “Chinglish”; Patricia Kane, “Float”; Dan LeFranc, “The Big Meal”; Caitlin Montanye Parrish with Erica Weiss, “A Twist of Water” (Route 66 Theatre Company).
NEW WORK, MUSICAL OR REVUE: Tim Baltz, Aidy Bryant, Matt Hovde, Brendan Jennings, Jessica Joy, Michael Lehrer, and Mary Sohn, “Sky’s the Limit (Weather Permitting)”; Edgar Blackmon, Billy Bungeroth, Holly Laurent, Timothy Edward Mason, Katie Rich, Sam Richardson, and Tim Robinson, “South Side of Heaven”; Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, “Murder for Two - A Killer Musical”; Robert Morris, Steven Morris, Joe Shane and Matte O’Brien, “White Noise.”
NEW ADAPTATION, PLAY OR MUSICAL: Amanda Dehnert, “Peter Pan (A Play)” (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Laura Eason, “Ethan Frome” (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Sean Graney, “The Comedy of Errors” (Court Theatre); Jon Jory, “Sense and Sensibility” (Northlight Theatre); Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, “Working”; Mary Zimmerman, ”Candide.”
CHOREOGRAPHY: David H. Bell, “Hot Mikado”; Tammy Mader, “42nd Street”; Tammy Mader, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”; Matt Raftery, “The Music Man”; Rachel Rockwell, “A Chorus Line.”
ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC: Jenny Giering, “As You Like It” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Andrew Hansen, “In Darfur” (TimeLine Theatre Company); Andrew Hansen, “To Master the Art”; Lindsay Jones, “Romeo and Juliet” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater).
MUSIC DIRECTION: Roberta Duchak, “Monty Python’s Spamalot”; David Kreppel, “The Music Man”; Michael Mahler, “Hot Mikado”; Ryan T. Nelson, “A Chorus Line”; Doug Peck, “42nd Street”; Doug Peck, “Candide”; Doug Peck, “Porgy and Bess.”
SCENIC DESIGN (LARGE THEATER): David Korins, “Chinglish”; Jaqueline and Richard Penrod, “The Last Act of Lilka Kadison” (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Keith Pitts, “Heartbreak House”; Collette Pollard, “Broadway Bound”; Todd Rosenthal, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
SCENIC DESIGN (MIDSIZE THEATER): Robert Groth & Jenniffer J. Thusing, “The Weir”; Tim Morrison, “The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?”; John Musial, “Float”; Jaqueline and Richard Penrod, “The Importance of Being Earnest”; Collette Pollard, “The Front Page.”
LIGHTING DESIGN (LARGE THEATER): Christopher Akerlind, “As You Like It”; John Culbert, “Romeo and Juliet”; Jesse Klug, “Monty Python’s Spamalot”; Jason Lyons, “White Noise”; Jaymi Lee Smith, “Orlando” (Court Theatre).
LIGHTING DESIGN (MIDSIZE THEATER): Brian Sidney Bembridge, “The Big Meal”; Jeff Glass, “Sweet Bird of Youth”; Sarah Hughey, “Scorched”; Nic Jones and Jesse Klug, “In Darfur”; Keith Parham, “Frost/Nixon.”
COSTUME DESIGN (LARGE THEATER): Mara Blumenfeld, “Candide”; Jacqueline Firkins, “The Comedy of Errors”; Jeremy W. Floyd, “Hot Mikado”; Susan E. Mickey, “The Madness of George III”; Nancy Missimi, “42nd Street.”
COSTUME DESIGN (MIDSIZE THEATER): Mina Hyun-Ok Hong, “Sunday in the Park with George” (Porchlight Music Theatre); Rachel Lambert, “Romeo and Juliet” (First Folio Theatre); Bill Morey, “The King and I”; Lindsey Pate, “The Front Page”; Melissa Torchia, “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
SOUND DESIGN (LARGE THEATER): Mikhail Fiksel, “Travels with My Aunt”; Andrew Hansen, “Heartbreak House”; Andrew Hansen, “The Outgoing Tide”; Andre Pluess, “Orlando”; James Savage, “Murder for Two - A Killer Musical.”
SOUND DESIGN (MIDSIZE THEATER): Barry Bennett, “Hickorydickory” (Chicago Dramatists); Joseph Fosco, “The New Electric Ballroom” (A Red Orchid Theatre); Andrew Hansen, “In Darfur”; Andrew Hansen, “To Master the Art”; Peter J. Storms, “Scorched.”
FIGHT/MOVEMENT DIRECTION: Matt Hawkins,; “Peter Pan (A Play)”; Nick Sandys, “Romeo and Juliet” (First Folio Theatre); Rick Sordelet, “Romeo and Juliet” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater).
PROJECTIONS/VIDEO DESIGN: John Boesche, “A Twist of Water”; Raj Kapoor, “White Noise”; Aaron Rhyne, “Working”; Mike Tutaj, “The Detective’s Wife”; Mike Tutaj, “Frost/Nixon”; Mike Tutaj, “In Darfur.”
ARTISTIC SPECIALIZATION: Tracy Otwell, Toy Theatre Design, (“The Last Act of Lilka Kadison”); Melissa Veal (Wig and Make-up Design), “The Madness of George III.”
