Actors Douglas Sills and Austin Pendleton were among the honored thespians at the L.A. Drama Critics Awards, but the big winner was the Greenway Court Theatre's adaptation of They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, which took home seven awards for their eight nominations. Sills won for his turn as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at South Coast Repertory Theatre, while Pendleton was honored for his play, Orson's Shadow, which shared Best Production kudos with Horses and the Deaf West Theater's Big River.

A complete list of winners follows:

Best Direction
Jeff Calhoun, Big River
Rick Sparks, They Shoot Horses, Don't They

Best Musical Direction
Steven Landau, Big River

Best Writing
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo at South Coast Repertory Theatre
Austin Pendleton, Orson's Shadow
Best Adaptation
Jeff Calhoun, Big River
Mark Savage, Pinafore! at Celebration Theatre

Best Lead Performance
Gretchen German, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Robert Machray, Orson's Shadow
Maria O'Brien, Mrs. Feurstein at 2100 Square Feet
Douglas Sills, Much Ado About Nothing at South Coast Repertory Theatre
Jeff Sugarman, Orson's Shadow

Best Featured Performance
Clinton Derricks-Carroll, Central Avenue at Fountain Theater
Kevin Earley, 1776 at the Freud Playhouse
Leslie Hicks, A Little Night Music at Interact Theatre
Gregory Itzin, The Birthday Party
Eileen T'Kay, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Best Scenic Design
Ray Klausen, Big River

Best Lighting Design
Kathi O'Donohue, The Night of the Iguana at the Fountain Theater
Robert L. Smith, A Mislaid Heaven at Road Theater

Best Costume Design
Gregg Barnes, Flower Drum Song at the Mark Taper Forum
Shon LeBlanc, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Best Sound Design
John Epperson, Lypsinka! The Boxed Set at the Tiffany Theatre

Best Choreography
Jeff Calhoun, Big River
Art Manke, Much Ado About Nothing

Best Makeup/Hair/Wig Design
Stephn Ratliff, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Special kudos were to South Coast Repertory for Sustained Excellence in Theatre; to Amy Freed's The Beard of Avon for World Premiere of an Oustanding New Play; to Beth Kennedy for Emerging Comic Actress; and to Pacific Resident Theater for Excellent Season in a Small to-Midsize Theater. The Bob Z Award for Lifetime Achievement in Set Design goes to Dwight Richard Odle and the Angstrom Award for Lifetime Achievement in Stage Lighting to Kim Killingsworth.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards were held April 1 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.

— By Christine Ehren