Two L.A. world premieres were among the year's top productions: romantic musical Justin Love (Celebration Theatre) and the contemporary spin on a French classic, Cyrano (co-produced by Deaf West Theatre and The Fountain Theatre). Also winning Best Production were The Book of Mormon (Anne Garefino and Scott Rudin, Pantages Theatre) and War Horse (Center Theatre Group, Bob Boyett, National Theatre of Great Britain, Ostar Productions and Ken Gentry at Ahmanson Theatre). 

In recognition of this year's theme, "Theatre Everywhere," representatives of theatre companies based within the geographic beat covered by members of the Circle joined Stewart and Circle members to present awards in 17 competitive categories.

Center Theatre Group took home a total of ten competitive plaques for its various venues. Artistic director Michael Ritchie accepted a special award for a season that included the Ahmanson's War Horse, honored for production, lighting design and puppetry. 

Already-voted-upon awards were presented to Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for Handspring Puppet Theatre, in recognition of the design, fabrication, and direction of the puppets of War Horse at the Ahmanson Theatre; and to David McCormick and Kelly Todd for their fight direction of West Side Story at the Chance Theatre in Anaheim. In addition, a special plaque was awarded to Center Theatre Group for an excellent season.

The Los Angeles Theatre Center is located at 514 S. Spring Street in downtown L.A. For more information on the ceremony, visit LADramaCriticsCircle.com. The 2012 LADCC special award recipients follow:

The Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an outstanding new play will be presented to Evelina Fernández for A Mexican Trilogy, whose world premiere took place at the awards venue, the Los Angeles Theatre Center. The award is accompanied by an offer to publish from Samuel French, Inc.

The Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theatre will be presented to Celebration Theatre. The award is accompanied by an honorarium funded by FootLights Publishing, Inc.

The Polly Warfield Award for an excellent season in a small to mid-size theatre will be presented to The Fountain Theatre. The award is accompanied by an honorarium funded by the Nederlander Organization.

The Bob Z Award for sustained achievement in set design will be presented to Stephen Gifford. The award is accompanied by an honorarium funded by Bitter-Lemons.com.

The Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre will be presented to David O. The award is accompanied by an honorarium funded by an anonymous donor.

The Milton Katselas Award for career or special achievement in direction will be presented to Elina de Santos. The award is accompanied by an honorarium funded by Beverly Hills Playhouse.

The nominees for the 2012 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for theatrical excellence follow (winners names are in bold preceded by an asterisk):

Production
Bad Apples, Tim Wright and Jennifer A. Skinner, Circle X Theatre at Atwater Village Theatre
*Cyrano, The Fountain Theatre and Deaf West Theatre at The Fountain Theatre
Jitney, South Coast Repertory’s production at The Pasadena Playhouse
*Justin Love, David Elzer, Peter Schneider, and Justin Rush Productions, LLC, in association with Celebration Theatre at Celebration Theatre
Silence! The Musical, Theater Mogul/Oskar Eiriksson and MagicSpace Entertainment at The Hayworth Theatre
*The Book of Mormon, Anne Garefino and Scott Rudin, Pantages Theatre
The Grönholm Method, Baby Tiger Productions, Daniel Wallace and Trish Whitehurst in association with Falcon Theatre at Falcon Theatre
*War Horse, Center Theatre Group, Bob Boyett, National Theatre of Great Britain, Ostar Productions and Ken Gentry at Ahmanson Theatre

McCulloh Award for Revival (of shows between 1920 and 1980)
Heartbreak House, Theatricum Botanicum
*Waiting for Godot, Center Theatre Group at Mark Taper Forum
West Side Story, Chance Theater

Lead Performance
Pascale Armand, The Convert, Center Theatre Group at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Linda Gehringer, How to Write a New Book for the Bible, South Coast Repertory Rafael Goldstein, Hamlet, Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre
*Troy Kotsur, Cyrano, The Fountain Theatre and Deaf West Theatre at The Fountain Theatre
*Christine Lakin, Silence! The Musical, Theater Mogul/Oskar Eiriksson and MagicSpace Entertainment at The Hayworth Theatre
*Alan Mandell, Waiting for Godot, Center Theatre Group at Mark Taper Forum
Marco Naggar, New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation, Amsterdam, July 27, 1656, West Coast Jewish Theatre at Pico Playhouse
JoBeth Williams, The Fall to Earth, The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble at Odyssey Theatre

Featured Performance
*Larry Bates, Jitney, South Coast Repertory’s production at The Pasadena Playhouse
William Dennis Hunt, Heartbreak House, Theatricum Botanicum
Lesli Margherita, Man of La Mancha, Musical Theatre West at The Carpenter Performing Arts Center
*Michael A. Newcomer, The Bungler, A Noise Within
Jonica Patella, Hamlet, Zombie Joe’s Underground Theater
Charlie Robinson, Jitney, South Coast Repertory’s production at The Pasadena Playhouse
*Ellis E.Williams, Jitney, South Coast Repertory’s production at The Pasadena Playhouse

Ensemble Performance
42nd Street, Musical Theatre West at The Carpenter Performing Arts Center
*In the Red and Brown Water, The Fountain Theatre
The Color Purple, Celebration Theatre
*The New Electric Ballroom, Rogue Machine at Theatre/Theater
*The Savannah Disputation, The Colony Theatre
The Treatment, The Theatre @ Boston Court in Collaboration with Theatre Movement Bazaar at The Theatre @ Boston Court
*Waiting for Godot, Center Theatre Group at Mark Taper Forum

Solo Performance
Mona Golabek, The Pianist of Willesden Lane, The Geffen Playhouse and Hershey Felder at The Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at Geffen Playhouse
*John Hurt, Krapp’s Last Tape, Center Theatre Group, Gate Theatre Dublin’s production at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Leslie Jordan, Fruit Fly, Celebration Theatre in association with Reaction Productions at Celebration Theatre

Writing
Bill Cain, How to Write a New Book for the Bible, South Coast Repertory
*Danai Gurira, The Convert, Center Theatre Group in association with McCarter Theatre Center and Goodman Theatre at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Michael Hollinger, Ghost-Writer, International City Theatre at Long Beach Performing Arts Center
David Ives, New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation, Amsterdam, July 27, 1656, West Coast Jewish Theatre at Pico Playhouse
Jim Leonard, Bad Apples, Circle X Theatre at Atwater Village Theatre

Writing (Adaptation)
*Stephen Sachs, Cyrano, The Fountain Theatre and Deaf West Theatre at The Fountain Theatre
Troubadour Theater Company, Two Gentlemen of Chicago, Troubadour Theater Company at Falcon Theatre

Musical Score
Ryan Johnson, Stoneface, The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton, Sacred Fools Theater Company at Sacred Fools Theater.
*Jon Kaplan & Al Kaplan, Silence! The Musical, Theater Mogul/Oskar Eiriksson and MagicSpace Entertainment at The Hayworth Theatre
*Robert Lopez, Matt Stone, and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon, Anne Garefino and Scott Rudin at Pantages Theatre
*Lori Scarlett (music and lyrics) and David Manning (music), Justin Love, David Elzer, Peter Schneider, and Justin Rush Productions, LLC, in association with Celebration Theatre at Celebration Theatre
Beth Thornley and Rob Cairns, Bad Apples, Circle X Theatre at Atwater Village Theatre

Music Direction
Michael Borth, 42nd Street, Musical Theatre West at The Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Eric Heinly, A Christmas Westside Story, Troubadour Theater Company at Falcon Theatre
*Gregory Nabours, The Color Purple, Celebration Theatre
*Stephen Oremus, The Book of Mormon, Anne Garefino and Scott Rudin at Pantages Theatre

Choreography
*Christopher Gattelli, Silence! The Musical, Theater Mogul/Oskar Eiriksson and MagicSpace Entertainment at The Hayworth Theatre
*Bill T. Jones, Fela!, Center Theatre Group, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth & Stephen Hendel, Fela Broadway LLC in association with The National Theatre of Great Britain at Ahmanson Theatre
Tina Kronis, The Treatment, The Theatre @ Boston Court in Collaboration with Theatre Movement Bazaar at The Theatre @ Boston Court
Janet Roston, The Color Purple, Celebration Theatre

Direction
*Michael Arabian, Waiting for Godot, Center Theatre Group at Mark Taper Forum
*Shirley Jo Finney, In the Red and Brown Water, The Fountain Theatre
Christopher Gattelli, Silence! The Musical, Theater Mogul/Oskar Eiriksson and MagicSpace Entertainment at The Hayworth Theatre
*Simon Levy, Cyrano, The Fountain Theatre and Deaf West Theatre at The Fountain Theatre
Kent Nicholson, How to Write a New Book for the Bible, South Coast Repertory
Ron OJ Parson, Jitney, South Coast Repertory’s production at The Pasadena Playhouse
Elissa Weinzimmer, Tape, Identity Productions at ArtWorks Theatre and Theatre Asylum

Set Design
Edward E. Haynes Jr., Fraternity, Ebony Repertory Theatre at Nate Holden Performing Arts Center
*John Iacovelli, Waiting for Godot, Center Theatre Group at Mark Taper Forum
David Mauer and Hazel Kuang, Dirty Filthy Love Story, Rogue Machine at Theatre/ Theater
Desma Murphy, The Water’s Edge, The Road Theatre Company at Historic Lankershim Arts Center

Lighting Design
Lap Chi Chu, The Convert, Center Theatre Group at Kirk Douglas Theatre
*Paule Constable (original) and Karen Spahn (additional and adaptation), War Horse, Center Theatre Group, Bob Boyett, National Theatre of Great Britain, Ostar Productions and Ken Gentry at Ahmanson Theatre
Jeremy Pivnick, Bad Apples, Circle X Theatre at Atwater Village Theatre
Dan Weingarten, No Good Deed, Furious Theatre Company at [Inside] the Ford

Costume Design
Angela Balogh Calin, Cymbeline, A Noise Within
*Ellen McCartney, The Treatment, The Theatre @ Boston Court in Collaboration with Theatre Movement Bazaar at The Theatre @ Boston Court
Val Miller, Heartbreak House, Theatricum Botanicum
*Leah Piehl, Intimate Apparel, The Pasadena Playhouse

Sound Design
*Ben Williams, Gatz, Elevator Repair Service at REDCAT
John Zalewski, Macbeth, The Antaeus Company at Deaf West Theatre
John Zalewski, The Treatment, The Theatre @ Boston Court in Collaboration with Theatre Movement Bazaar at The Theatre @ Boston Court

CGI/Video
*Anthony Beckman and Ben Rock, Stoneface, The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton, Sacred Fools Theater Company at Sacred Fools Theater
Tei Blow, In Paris, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Dmitry Krymov Laboratory, The AG Foundation in association with the Korjaamo Culture Factory at The Broad Stage
Greg Sowizdrzal, The Pianist of Willesden Lane, The Geffen Playhouse and Hershey Felder at The Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at Geffen Playhouse
Jason H. Thompson, No Good Deed, Furious Theatre Company at [Inside] the Ford

*

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle was founded in 1969. It is dedicated to excellence in theatrical criticism, and to the encouragement and improvement of theatre in Greater Los Angeles.

The 2012 membership consisted of Pauline Adamek (LA Weekly; ArtsBeatLA.com), F. Kathleen Foley (Los Angeles Times), Shirle Gottlieb (Gazette Newspapers; stagehappenings.com), Hoyt Hilsman (Back Stage, The Huffington Post), Mayank Keshaviah (LA Weekly), Amy Lyons (Back Stage, LA Weekly), Dany Margolies (ArtsinLA.com), Terry Morgan (LAist.com; Daily Variety), Steven Leigh Morris (LA Weekly), David C. Nichols (Los Angeles Times, Back Stage), Sharon Perlmutter (TalkinBroadway.com), Melinda Schupmann (Back Stage; ShowMag.com; ArtsinLA.com), Madeleine Shaner (Park La Brea News/Beverly Press; Back Stage), Les Spindle (Frontiers; Theatremania; EDGE LA), Bob Verini (Daily Variety; ArtsinLA.com), Neal Weaver (LA Weekly; Back Stage).