The 2007 ceremony that honors excellence in Chicago Equity recognized (in the New Musical category) the Next Theatre's highly acclaimed chamber musical The Adding Machine, written by Joshua Schmidt and Jason Loewith, and, for New Adaptation, Mary Zimmerman's Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts at Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Argonautika begins an engagement this week at Berkeley Rep in California with most of the original cast.
Steppenwolf Theatre led all play recipients with six awards for the sardonic epic of a dysfunctional family in Oklahoma. Awards to Steppenwolf's August included Production-Play, Ensemble, Principal Actress Deanna Dunagan, Director Anna D. Shapiro, Scenic Designer Todd Rosenthal and New Work-Play for playwright Tracy Letts.
Previews at Broadway's Imperial begin Oct. 30 toward a Nov. 20 opening. All but two of the original Steppenwolf cast members will be seen in the Broadway engagement, which will run 16 weeks.
Goodman Theatre snagged three awards for Mirror of the Invisible World for Costume Design (Mara Blumenfeld), Lighting Design (John Culbert), and Original Incidental Music (Michael Bodeen). In the musical honors, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago led with five awards, including four for Ragtime, which transferred for an extended run to the Apollo Theatre.
Sara R. Sevigny received the Supporting Actress-Musical honor for her performance in Porchlight's Assassins.
A rare tie in the Solo Performance category resulted in two recipients: Matt Sax, the hip-hop principal in Lookingglass Theatre's Clay, and Lance Stuart Baker in Thom Pain (based on nothing) produced by Theater Wit.
Jackie Taylor, Black Ensemble Theater's founding executive director, received a Special Award for her lifetime of dedicated leadership in celebrating the contributions of African-Americans through theatre and related arts.
The 39th Annual Jeff Awards represented theatrical productions that opened between Aug. 1, 2006, and July 31, 2007.
For more information visit www.jeffawards.org.
The list of 2007 Jeff Award nominees and recipients follows. Recipients are in boldface and marked with an asterisk.
Production – Play
Another Part of the Forest, Writers' Theatre
Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, Lookingglass Theatre Company
*August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
The Best Man, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Come Back, Little Sheba, Shattered Globe Theatre
Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Congo Square Theatre Company
Production – Musical
Assassins, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
Oklahoma!, American Theater Company
*Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Shenandoah, Marriott Theatre
Production – Revue
*The All Night Strut!, Marriott Theatre
Fire on the Mountain, Northlight Theatre
Forever Plaid, Drury Lane Oakbrook
Ensemble
Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, Lookingglass Theatre Company
*August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Execution of Justice, About Face Theatre in association with Jan Kallish and Rachel Weinstein
Fire on the Mountain, Northlight Theatre
Forever Plaid, Drury Lane Oakbrook
Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Congo Square Theatre Company
Shenandoah, Marriott Theatre
New Work – Play
Alice Austen, Water, Chicago Dramatists
J. Nicole Brooks, Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten, Lookingglass Theatre Company
*Tracy Letts, August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Jeffrey Sweet, Court-Martial at Fort Devens, Victory Gardens Theater
Craig Wright, Lady, Northlight Theatre
New Work – Musical
*Joshua Schmidt & Jason Loewith, The Adding Machine, Next Theatre Company
Jon Steinhagen, The Teapot Scandals, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Michael Smith & Frank Galati, The Snow Queen, Victory Gardens Theater
New Adaptation
Claudia Allen, I Sailed with Magellan, Victory Gardens Theater
William Brown, She Stoops to Conquer, Northlight Theatre
David Rice, The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story, First Folio Shakespeare Festival
*Mary Zimmerman, Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, Lookingglass Theatre Company
Director – Play
William Brown, Another Part of the Forest, Writers' Theatre
David Cromer, Come Back, Little Sheba, Shattered Globe Theatre
Derrick Sanders, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Congo Square Theatre Company
*Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Mary Zimmerman, Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, Lookingglass Theatre Company
Director – Musical
David H. Bell, Shenandoah, Marriott Theatre
David Cromer, The Adding Machine, Next Theatre Company
Damon Kiely, Oklahoma!, American Theater Company
Dominic Missimi, Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
*L. Walter Stearns, Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Michael Weber, Assassins, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Director – Revue
Randal Myler, Fire on the Mountain, Northlight Theatre
Paul Pement, Forever Plaid, Drury Lane Oakbrook
*Marc Robin, The All Night Strut!, Marriott Theatre
Marc Warzecha, Pratfall of Civilization, The Second City e.t.c.
Actor in a Principal Role – Play
*Ben Carlson, Hamlet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Anthony Fleming III, Denmark, Victory Gardens Theater
David Girolmo, Talley's Folly, Oak Park Festival Theatre
John Judd, Come Back, Little Sheba, Shattered Globe Theatre
Kevin McKillip, Richard III, First Folio Shakespeare Festival
Larry Neumann, Jr., The Puppetmaster of Lodz, Writers' Theatre
Nick Sandys, The Real Thing, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Actor in a Principal Role – Musical
Jayson Brooks, Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Matthew Brumlow, Oklahoma!, American Theater Company
Joseph Anthony Foronda, The King and I, Drury Lane Oakbrook
Joel Hatch, The Adding Machine, Next Theatre Company
*David Hess, Shenandoah, Marriott Theatre
Actress in a Principal Role – Play
*Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Michele Graff, Landscape of the Body, The Artistic Home
Danai Gurira, In the Continuum, Primary Stages/Perry Street Theatre/Goodman Theatre
Amy Morton, August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Linda Reiter, Come Back, Little Sheba, Shattered Globe Theatre
Claire Elizabeth Saxe, The Diary of Anne Frank, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Tiffany Scott, Beast on the Moon, Provision Theater Company
Mary Ann Thebus, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Gift Theatre
Actress in a Principal Role – Musical
Charissa Armon, Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Mary Ernster, The King and I, Drury Lane Oakbrook
*Ernestine Jackson, Raisin, Court Theatre
Susan Moniz, Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
Vikki Omega Stokes, Don't Shed a Tear (The Story of Billie Holiday), Black Ensemble Theater
Solo Performance
TIE!
*Lance Stuart Baker, Thom Pain (based on nothing), Theater Wit
*Matt Sax, Clay, About Face Theatre and Lookingglass Theatre Company
Actor in a Supporting Role – Play
Anthony Chisholm, Radio Golf, Goodman Theatre
*Maury Cooper, The Price, Shattered Globe Theatre
Allen Gilmore, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Congo Square Theatre Company
Timothy Edward Kane, Uncle Vanya, Court Theatre
Michael Shannon, The Pillowman, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Actor in a Supporting Role – Musical
Larry Adams, Cats, Theatre at the Center
Casey Campbell, Oklahoma!, American Theater Company
Juan Chioran, The Three Musketeers, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
*Aaron Graham, Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Cameo Performance
James Harms, Hamlet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Dennis Letts, August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
*Douglas Vickers, The Best Man, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Actress in a Supporting Role – Play
Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Flyin' West, Court Theatre
Elizabeth Ledo, Uncle Vanya, Court Theatre
Linda Reiter, The Price, Shattered Globe Theatre
Tiffany Scott, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
*Penny Slusher, Another Part of the Forest, Writers' Theatre
Actress in a Supporting Role – Musical
Brandy McClendon, Grease, Marriott Theatre
Brandy McClendon, Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
Susie McMonagle, Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
Liz Pazik, Something's Afoot, Drury Lane Oakbrook
*Sara R. Sevigny, Assassins, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Amy Warren, The Adding Machine, Next Theatre Company
Actor in a Revue
Roger Anderson, Ben Bagley's The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter, Light Opera Works
*Mississippi Charles Bevel, Fire on the Mountain, Northlight Theatre
Andy St. Clair, Disposable Nation, The Second City e.t.c.
Actress in a Revue
*Molly Andrews, Fire on the Mountain, Northlight Theatre
Rebecca Finnegan, Ben Bagley's The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter, Light Opera Works
Niki Lindgren, Pratfall of Civilization, The Second City e.t.c.
Choreography
Brenda Didier, Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Stacey Flaster, Cats, Theatre at the Center
Stacey Flaster, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Theatre at the Center
*Marc Robin, Beverly Durand, Mark Stuart Eckstein, Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi & Sasha Vargas, The All Night Strut!, Marriott Theatre
Rachel Rockwell, The King and I, Drury Lane Oakbrook
Scenic Design
Brian Sidney Bembridge, Ten Little Indians, Drury Lane Oakbrook
Kevin Hagan, Come Back, Little Sheba, Shattered Globe Theatre
Kevin Hagan, The Price, Shattered Globe Theatre
Daniel Ostling, Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, Lookingglass Theatre Company
Jacqueline & Richard Penrod, Oklahoma!, American Theater Company
*Todd Rosenthal, August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
James Schuette, Oedipus Complex, Goodman Theatre
Walt Spangler, King Lear, Goodman Theatre
Costume Design
*Mara Blumenfeld, Mirror of the Invisible World, Goodman Theatre
Linda Cho, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Rachel Anne Healy, Another Part of the Forest, Writers' Theatre
Nancy Missimi, Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
Mariann Verheyen, The Three Musketeers, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Sound Design
Cecil Averett, Into the Woods, Marriott Theatre
Victoria DeIorio, Frozen, Next Theatre Company
Lindsay Jones, Troilus and Cressida, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
André Pluess, Kevin O'Donnell, & Michael Griggs, Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten, Lookingglass Theatre Company
André Pluess & Ben Sussman, Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, Lookingglass Theatre Company
*Richard Woodbury, King Lear, Goodman Theatre
Lighting Design
John Culbert, Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, Lookingglass Theatre Company
*John Culbert, Mirror of the Invisible World, Goodman Theatre
Brian Sidney Bembridge, Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten, Lookingglass Theatre Company
Keith Parham, The Adding Machine, Next Theatre Company
Michael Philippi, King Lear, Goodman Theatre
Robert Wierzel, Troilus and Cressida, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Diane Ferry Williams, The All Night Strut!, Marriott Theatre
Musical Direction
*Eugene Dizon, Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Doug Peck, The All Night Strut!, Marriott Theatre
Doug Peck, Shenandoah, Marriott Theatre
Malcolm Ruhl, Oklahoma!, American Theater Company
Jimmy Tillman, Don't Shed a Tear (The Story of Billie Holiday), Black Ensemble Theater
Jimmy Tillman, Memphis Soul (The Story of Stax Records), Black Ensemble Theater
Original Incidental Music
Todd Barton, Oedipus Complex, Goodman Theatre
*Michael Bodeen, Mirror of the Invisible World, Goodman Theatre
Andrew Hansen, She Stoops to Conquer, Northlight Theatre Josh Horvath & Ray Nardelli, Flyin' West, Court Theatre
Andy Jones, Execution of Justice, About Face Theatre in association with Jan Kallish and Rachel Weinstein
André Pluess & Kevin O'Donnell, Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten, Lookingglass Theatre Company
George Stiles, Troilus and Cressida, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Other
Kevin Asselin, Fight Coordinator, The Three Musketeers, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
John Boesche, Projections Design, Vigils, Goodman Theatre
Stephan Mazurek, Projections Design, Sonia Flew, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Meredith Miller of Blair Thomas and Company, Puppet Design, The Snow Queen, Victory Gardens Theater
*Michael Montenegro, Puppet Design, The Puppetmaster of Lodz, Writers' Theatre
Mike Tutaj, Projections Design, I Sailed with Magellan, Victory Gardens Theater
