Several special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2010 were previously announced.

The L.A. production receiving the most nominations (five) was King Lear by The Antaeus Company.

Four award recipients were named "by acclamation" on Jan. 25: Lin-Manuel Miranda for his music and lyrics for the national tour of In the Heights; Chris Bell for his special effects for the Grand Guignolers' Absinthe, Opium & Magic; and Matthew W. Mungle and Waldo Warshaw for their special effects and prosthetic effects in the Mark Taper Forum's The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

The 2010 LADCC special award recipients are as follows:

The Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an outstanding new play will be awarded to Del Shores for Yellow. The award is accompanied by an offer to publish and a $1,000 check funded by Samuel French, Inc. The Polly Warfield Award for an excellent season in a small to mid-size theatre will be awarded to The Antaeus Company. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by the Nederlander Organization.

The Bob Z Award for sustained achievement in set design will be awarded to Francois-Pierre Couture. The award is accompanied by a $500 check.

The Angstrom Award for career achievement in lighting design will be awarded to Dan Weingarten. The award is accompanied by a $1,000 check, funded by Angstrom Lighting.

The Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theatre will be awarded to City Garage. The award is accompanied by a $500 check.

The Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre will be awarded to Matt Walker. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by David Elzer/Demand PR.

The Milton Katselas Award for career or special achievement in direction will be awarded to Simon Levy. The award is accompanied by a $1,000 check, funded by Camelot Artists.

The 2010 LADCC eligibility year is Dec. 1, 2009-Nov. 30, 2010. Visit www.ladramacriticscircle.com.

The nominees for the 2010 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for theatrical excellence are as follows:

Production

Four Places, Rogue Machine
King Lear, The Antaeus Company
Opus, The Fountain Theatre
The Ballad of Emmett Till, The Fountain Theatre
The Twentieth-Century Way, The Theatre@Boston Court
Wit, Actors Co-op
Yellow, JD3atrical Productions

McCulloh Award for Revival (shows between 1920 and 1980)

Awake And Sing!, A Noise Within
Orpheus Descending, Theatre/Theater
South Pacific, Bob Boyett, NETworks Presentations, LLC, Bob Bartner/Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group, Roger Berlind and Thomas L. Miller; Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre

Direction

Bart DeLorenzo, King Lear
Shirley Jo Finney, The Ballad of Emmett Till
Michael Michetti, The Twentieth-Century Way
Marianne Savell, Wit
Matt Shakman, Forgiveness, Black Dahlia Theatre
August Viverito, Amadeus, The Production Company

Writing

Michael Hollinger, Opus
Tom Jacobson, The Twentieth-Century Way
Joel Drake Johnson, Four Places

Writing (Adaptation)

Luis Alfaro, Oedipus El Rey, The Theatre@Boston Court
Jeffrey Hatcher, Cousin Bette, The Antaeus Company

Musical Direction

Eric Heinly, A Wither's Tale, Troubadour Theatre Company
David O, See What I Wanna See, The Blank Theatre
Steve Orich, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Reprise Theatre Company

Choreography

Allison Bibicoff, The Who's Tommy, Chance Theatre (Anaheim)
Andy Blankenbuehler, In the Heights
Ayana Cahrr, Neighbors, Matrix Theatre Company

Musical Score

Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights — Award Recipient

Lead Performance

Lorenz Arnell as Emmett Till in The Ballad Of Emmett Till
Anne Gee Byrd as Peggy in Four Places
Joanna Daniels as Becky Foster in Becky's New Car, Pacific Resident Theatre
Nike Doukas as Cousin Bette
Harry Groener as King Lear
Nan McNamara as Vivian Bearing in Wit
Bonnie McNeil as Mabel Davies in Supernova, Elephant Theatre Company
Chris Pine as Padraic in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Center Theatre Group/Taper
Patrick Stafford as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus
Matt Walker as Leontes in A Wither's Tale
Norbert Weisser as Biedermann in The Arsonists, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

Featured Performance

Eileen Galindo as Matilde in The Clean House, International City Theatre
Gregory Itzin as the Earl of Kent in King Lear
Matthew Scott Montgomery as Kendall Parker in Yellow
Agatha Nowicki as Susie in Parasite Drag, Elephant Theatre Company
Alan Rosenberg as the Director of the World Bank in Influence, Katselas Theatre Company
Edward Tournier as Gash in Futura, The Theatre@Boston Court
Time Winters as Smythic in The Good Book of Pedantry And Wonder, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Circle X Theatre Company

Ensemble Performance

A Wither's Tale
Four Places
Opus
The Ballad of Emmett Till
The Twentieth-Century Way

Set Design

John Arnone, Nightmare Alley, Geffen Playhouse
Brian Sidney Bembridge, The Good Book of Pedantry And Wonder
Tom Buderwitz, The Autumn Garden, The Antaeus Company

Lighting Design

Brian Sidney Bembridge, The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder
James L. Moody, Wit
KC Wilkerson, The Who's Tommy

Costume Design

Julie Keen, Awake And Sing!
Naila Alladin Sanders, Neighbors
Paul Tazewell, Ruined, Geffen Playhouse and Intiman Theatre

Sound Design

Peter Bayne, Opus
Sean Kozma, The Arsonists
John Zalewski, King Lear

Solo Performance

Ed Harris, Wrecks, Geffen Playhouse
Leslie Uggams, Uptown Downtown, Pasadena Playhouse

CGI/Video

Hana Sooyeon Kim, Futura
KC Wilkerson, The Who's Tommy

Specialty

Chris Bell for special effects, Absinthe, Opium & Magic, The Grand Guignolers — Award Recipient

Matthew W. Mungle and Waldo Warshaw for special effects and prosthetic effects, The Lieutenant Of Inishmore — Award Recipients