Performers and Presenters Ready for L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards

By Ernio Hernandez
07 Mar 2006

Performers and presenters have been announced for the upcoming Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony to be held at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, California, March 13.
As previously announced, Jason Graae (Grand Hotel, Fully Committed) will perform and, with Back Stage West critic Wenzel Jones, co-hosts the 37th Annual L.A.D.C.C. Awards which honor excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2005.

Broadway-bound Jay Johnson (Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!) is among the presenters which also include Alan Vincent and Vicky Evans (star and restaging/artistic tour manager of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake), last year's award winners Morlan Higgins (Exits and Entrances), William Dennis Hurley (Exits and Entrances) and writer L. Trey Wilson (Stage Directions) as well as previous multiple winners songwriting team Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin (The Big Voice and The Last Session), director Jessica Kubzansky (Toys in the Attic) and Tim Dang (artistic director of East West Players).

Joining Graae on the performer lineup will be cast members of Pacific Resident Theatre's revival of Happy End, Reece Holland, Roger Befeler, and Paul Keith of A Man of No Importance and nominee Bets Malone (On The Town).

Awards will be given in fifteen categories and six special awards will also be bestowed to theatre artists for outstanding achievements.

The nominees for the 2005 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards are as follows:

PRODUCTION

  • Pera Palas, The Theatre@Boston Court & Antaeus Company
  • Play Without Words, Center Theatre Group
  • Stuff Happens, Center Theatre Group
  • The Drowsy Chaperone, Center Theatre Group
  • The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Center Theatre Group
  • The Paris Letter, Center Theatre Group
  • The Wild Party, Blank Theatre Company
  • Yellowman, Bennett Bradley and The Fountain Theatre

    T.H. McCULLOH AWARD FOR REVIVAL

  • Happy End, Pacific Resident Theatre
  • Mother Courage and Her Children, Antaeus Theatre Company
  • On The Town, Reprise! Broadway’s Best
  • Private Lives, Pasadena Playhouse

    DIRECTION

  • Michael Michetti, Pera Palas
  • Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
  • Stefan Novinski and Hassan Christopher, J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera, Stella Adler Theatre
  • Warner Shook, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?
  • Pat Towne, Gorey Stories, Sacred Fools Theater

    MUSICAL DIRECTION

  • Graham Jackson, Gorey Stories
  • David O,The Wild Party
  • Phil Reno, The Drowsy Chaperone
  • Gerald Sternbach, On the Town

    WRITING

  • Edward Albee, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?
  • David Hare, Stuff Happens
  • Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone
  • Dael Orlandersmith, Yellowman

    ADAPTATION/TRANSLATION

  • Joanne Gordon, Love, Bukowski, California Repertory Company
  • KOAN Ensemble, Kafka Thing, Odyssey Theatre
  • Simon Levy, What I Heard About Iraq, The Fountain Theatre

    MUSICAL SCORE

  • David Aldrich, Gorey Stories
  • Michael John LaChiusa, The Wild Party
  • Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone

    LEAD PERFORMANCE

  • Michael Arden, Pippin, Reprise! Broadway’s Best
  • Chris Butler, Yellowman
  • Deidrie N. Henry, Yellowman
  • Beth Hogan, Kafka Thing
  • Brian Kerwin, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?
  • Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone
  • Lisa Tharps, Medea
  • Trieu D. Tran, Equus, East/West Players

    FEATURED PERFORMANCE

  • Frank Ashmore, National Pastime, Fremont Centre Theatre
  • Nathan Lee Graham, The Wild Party
  • Daren A. Herbert, The Wild Party
  • Beth Leavel, The Drowsy Chaperone
  • Bets Malone, On the Town
  • Jeff Marlow, Medea
  • Kirsten Potter, Honour, Matrix Theatre Company

    ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

  • Gorey Stories
  • Kafka Thing
  • Love, Bukowski
  • Pera Palas

    SCENIC DESIGN

  • Evan A. Bartoletti, Floyd Collins, West Coast Ensemble
  • Tom Buderwitz, Pera Palas
  • David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone

    LIGHTING DESIGN

  • Mike Durst, Kafka Thing
  • Cricket Sloat, Gorey Stories
  • Steven Young, J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera

    COSTUME DESIGN, HAIR, WIGS & MAKEUP

  • Ann Closs-Farley (costumes, hair, wigs & makeup), Gorey Stories
  • Mary Vogt (costumes), Private Lives
  • Gerald Altenburg (hair, wigs & make-up), The School for Scandal, CTG

    SOUND DESIGN

  • Cricket Meyers, Floyd Collins
  • Kurt Thum, Kafka Thing
  • John Zalewski, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, EvidEnce Room

    CHOREOGRAPHY

  • Matthew Bourne and the company, Play Without Words, CTG
  • Hassan Christopher, J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera
  • Lee Martino, On the Town

    The 2005 special award recipients are as follows:

    The Margaret Harford Award
    (for sustained excellence in theater)
    Musical Theatre Guild.

    The Ted Schmitt Award
    (for world premiere of an outstanding new play)
    Jon Robin Baitz for The Paris Letter

    The Bob Z Award
    (for career achievement in set design)
    Donna Marquet

    The Angstrom Award (for career achievement in lighting design)
    Jeremy Pivnick

    The Polly Warfield Award (for an excellent season in a small to mid-size theater)
    California Repertory Company

    The Joel Hirschhorn Award
    (for outstanding achievement in musical theatre)
    Eric Anderson

    Multiple nominees include:
    The Drowsy Chaperone - 8
    Gorey Stories - 6
    Kafka Thing - 5
    The Wild Party - 5
    The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? - 4
    On The Town - 4
    Pera Palas - 4
    Yellowman - 4
    J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera - 3
    Floyd Collins - 2
    Play Without Words - 2
    Stuff Happens - 2
    Love, Bukowski - 2
    Medea - 2
    Private Lives - 2

    For tickets ($35) to the show, at the El Portal Theatre, located at 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA, call (818) 754-4419 for a reservation then send a check made out to the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, to Dany Margolies, P.O. Box 641127, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Doors open at 6:30 PM for a catered reception (with no-host bar) and silent auction (bring your checkbooks, no credit cards accepted). The show starts at 7:30 PM.