The top resident theatre winner in the 23rd Annual Carbonell Awards, honoring the best of professional theatre in Southern Florida, was The Actor's Playhouse at The Miracle Theatre, earning seven awards for its staging of West Side Story.
The awards were announced Nov. 23 at a ceremony at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach's hip South Beach area.
West Side Story took Best Production of a Musical, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography, Best Musical Direction, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actor and Best Director .
The Caldwell Theatre Company of Boca Raton won six awards: Five for Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (Best Production of a Play, among others) and one for Len Cariou as Best Actor in a Play, for his portrayal of James Joyce in Himself.
The Awards are presented by South Florida Critics' Association and the Theatre League of South Florida. Resident awards for the season ending Labor Day were presented Nov. 23; nonresident awards in Road Show categories for a season ending Memorial Day were announced in June. The Actor's Playhouse in suburban Miami is something of a comeback tale: Its suburban theatre was heavily damaged in Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the company struggled there until 1995. The troupe moved into The Miracle Theatre, converting it from a movie palace to a three-theatre complex.
Best Actress of a Musical, Barbara Caskey, who won for Coconut Grove Playhouse's Berlin to Broadway With Kurt Weill, wowed the resident theatre crowd at the awards with a rendition of Brecht and Weill's "Pirate Jenny" in the South Beach ceremony.
Playwright Michael McKeever was given the award for Best New Work for The Garden of Hannah List at the Florida Stage, which also won for Best Scenic Design (Richard Crowell).
Director, producer and theatre administrator Barry Steinman won the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts for his role in the founding and early development of the Theatre League of South Florida.
The category of Best Sound Design was added this year and went to Steve Shapiro, who earned five nominations.
The awards, named for sculptor Manuel Carbonell, who designed the bronze and marble statuettes, were founded by the South Florida Critics' Association in 1976, and are administered with the Theatre League of South Florida. A 30-member panel of critics, academics and industry representatives choose the nominees and winners.
The Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami placed second in overall nominations with 19, including seven for the first large-scale regional production of the Off-Broadway musical No Way to Treat a Lady, and five for the world premiere of Goodbye, My Friduchita, a drama about artist Frida Kahlo, in its intimate, experimental space called the Encore Room. The Kahlo drama won Best Actress in a Play for Judith Delgado.
The eligibility period for the awards runs Labor Day 1997 to Labor Day 1998. Awards honoring road shows were announced in June for the traditional south Florida touring season that ends Memorial Day.
Winners in the following nomination list are in bold:
Best New Work (Play or Musical)(Award to author):
Ferris Wheel, by Janyce Lapore, Florida Shakespeare Theatre
The Garden of Hannah List, by Michael McKeever, Florida Stage
Goodbye, My Friduchita, by Dolores Sendler, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Himself, by Sheila Walsh, lyrics by Walsh and Jonathan Brielle, original music by Brielle (play with music), Caldwell Theatre Company
Plays
Best Production of a Play (Award to producer):
A Park In Our House, Florida Stage
Cloud Tectonics, New Theatre
Goodbye, My Friduchita, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
Himself, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Direction of a Play
Benny Sato Ambush, A Park In Our House, Florida Stage
Juan Cejas, Burn This, Florida Shakespeare Theatre
Rafael de Acha, Cloud Tectonics, New Theatre
Michael Hall, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Caldwell Theatre Company
Barbara Lowery, Goodbye, My Friduchita, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Best Actor in a Play
James Baldwin, Burn This, Florida Shakespeare Theatre
Len Cariou, Himself, Caldwell Theatre Company
J.C. Cutler, Private Eyes, Florida Stage
John Felix, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
Bill Hindman, Clarence Darrow, New Theatre
Best Actress in a Play
Judith Delgado, Goodbye, My Friduchita, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Jacqueline Knapp, Himself, Caldwell Theatre Company
Carmen Pelaez, Rum and Coke, Area Stage
Jessica K. Peterson, A Park In Our House, Florida Stage
Barbara Sloan, Burn This, Florida Shakespeare Theatre
Best Supporting Actor in a Play
Gordon Brode, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
John Felix, Himself, Caldwell Theatre Company
Israel Garcia, Cloud Tectonics, New Theatre
Peter Haig, Summer Shorts, City Theatre
Steve Wise, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Supporting Actress in a Play
Barbara Bradshaw, After-Play, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Suzanna Hay, To Kill A Mockingbird, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Delma Miranda, Goodbye, My Friduchita, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Kim Ostrenko, Simpatico, Florida Shakespeare Theatre
Lourelene Snedeker, Incorruptible, Florida Stage
Musicals
Best Production of a Musical (Award to producer):
Berlin To Broadway With Kurt Weill, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Hot `n' Cole, Florida Stage
No Way To Treat A Lady, Coconut Grove Playhouse
She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Best Direction of a Musical
Jack Allison, Berlin To Broadway With Kurt Weill, Coconut Grove Playhouse
David Arisco, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
David Arisco, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
J. Barry Lewis, Hot `n' Cole, Florida Stage
Jeffrey B. Moss, No Way To Treat A Lady, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Best Actor in a Musical
Mike Burstyn, Berlin To Broadway With Kurt Weill, Coconut Grove Playhouse
John Fionte, Mack and Mabel, Royal Palm Dinner Theatre
Timothy C. Johnson, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Barry J. Tarallo, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Lenny Wolpe, No Way To Treat A Lady, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Best Actress in a Musical
Irene Adjan, Mack and Mabel, Royal Palm Dinner Theatre
Kim Cozort, Hot `n' Cole, Florida Stage
Kim Cozort, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Marilyn Caskey, Berlin To Broadway With Kurt Weill, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Ruth Williamson, No Way To Treat A Lady, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Gary Marachek, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Peter Haig, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Terrell Hardcastle, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Francisco Padura, Das Barbecu, The Actor's Playhouse
James Puig, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
.
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
Ann Hurst, Milk and Honey, Royal Palm Dinner Theatre
Amy Langer, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Stephanie McNeil, Mack And Mabel, Royal Palm Dinner Theatre
Margot Moreland, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Connie SaLoutos, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Best Musical Direction
Tom Dillickrath, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Tom Dillickrath, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Scott Kasbaum, Hot `n' Cole, Florida Stage
John Mulcahy, No Way To Treat A Lady, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Susan Kingwill, Berlin To Broadway With Kurt Weill, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Best Choreography
Gwen Arment, Milk and Honey, Royal Palm Dinner Theatre
Pam Atha, Mack and Mabel, Royal Palm Dinner Theatre
Lynnette Barkley, Romance/Romance, Caldwell PCompany
Jim Hoskins, Hot `n' Cole, Florida Stage
Barbara LeGette, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Technical (Plays or Musicals)
Best Costume Design
Mary Lynne Izzo, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Mary Lynne Izzo, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Ellis Tillman, No Way To Treat A Lady, Coconut Grove Playhouse
Penny Koleos Williams, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
Penny Koleos Williams, Romance/Romance, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Lighting Design
Ginny Adams, Mack and Mabel, Royal Palm Dinner Theatre
Richard Crowell, The Garden of Hannah List, Florida Stage
Suzanne M. Jones, Hot `n' Cole, Florida Stage
Stuart Reiter, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Thomas Salzman, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Scenic Design
Michael Amico, Incorruptible, Florida Stage
Michael Amico, She Loves Me, The Actor's Playhouse
Tim Bennett, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
Richard Crowell, The Garden of Hannah List, Florida Stage
Dorset Noble, West Side Story, The Actor's Playhouse
Best Sound Design
Pascal Jacquelin, Simpatico, Florida Shakespeare Theatre
David Pair, Hot `n' Cole, Florida Stage
Steve Shapiro, Cloud Tectonics, New Theatre
Steve Shapiro, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Caldwell Theatre Company
Steve Shapiro, No Way To Treat A Lady, Coconut Grove Playhouse.
-- By Kenneth Jones
