Posted on January 25, 2010 at 9:49 pm

Kenneth Jones’s article can be found here.

L.A. Drama Critics Circle Nominees Include Parade, Birkenhead, Strouse, Metcalf and More
By Kenneth Jones
Playbill, 25 Jan 2010

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle announced nominees and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2009.

The 41st Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony, hosted by Jason Graae, will take place on March 22 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank. The co-host will be critic Wenzel Jones.

Awards will be given in 20 categories, honoring excellence in theatre over the past year. Eight special awards will also be given, including an award honoring Kirk Douglas for his lifetime contribution to Los Angeles theatre.

Among the titles nominated in the Production category are Life Could Be a Dream, Munched, No Man’s Land, Parade, Stick Fly, The Happy Ones and The Pain and the Itch.

Broadway songwriters Susan Birkenhead and Charles Strouse were nominated for the score to the Broadway-aimed Minsky’s.

Broadway and TV actress Laurie Metcalf (“Roseanne,” November) was nominated in the Lead Performance category for her work in Voice Lessons.

The 2009 Special Award recipients are:

The Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an outstanding new play will be awarded to Julie Marie Myatt for The Happy Ones. The award is accompanied by an offer to publish and a $1,000 check funded by Samuel French, Inc.

The Polly Warfield Award for an excellent season in a small to mid-size theatre will be awarded to Celebration Theatre. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by the Nederlander Organization.

The Bob Z Award for career achievement in set design will be awarded to Sybil Wickersheimer.

The Angstrom Award for career achievement in lighting design will be awarded to Luke Moyer. The award is accompanied by a $1,000 check, funded by Angstrom Lighting.

The Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater will be awarded to the Rubicon Theatre Company. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by Disney Theatricals.

The Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre will be awarded to Jason Robert Brown. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by David Elzer/Demand PR.

The Milton Katselas Award for career or special achievement in direction will be awarded to Richard Israel. The award is accompanied by a $1,000 check, funded by Camelot Artists.

A Special Award for Lifetime Contribution to Los Angeles Theatre will be awarded to Kirk Douglas.

Awards will also be given in the following categories:

Solo Performance
Danny Hoch, Taking Over, Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

Makeup Design
Ann Closs-Farley, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater

Puppet Design
Wes Crain, Lena Garcia, Lynn Jeffries, Elizabeth Luce, and Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater

The nominees for the 2009 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for theatrical excellence are:

Production
Life Could Be a Dream, David Elzer, Peter Schneider & Crooning Crabcakes, LLC, Hudson Mainstage
Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company, El Centro Theatre
No Man’s Land, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Odyssey Theatre
Parade, Center Theatre Group and the Donmar Warehouse, Mark Taper Forum
Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre Company, Matrix Theatre
The Happy Ones, South Coast Repertory, South Coast Repertory
The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company, Theatre @ Boston Court

McCulloh Award for Revival (shows between 1920 and 1980)
Equus, The Production Company, Chandler Studio Theatre
Hair, Chance Theater, Chance Theater
The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre, Pacific Resident Theatre

Direction
Sean T. Cawelti, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Duane Daniels, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Shirley Jo Finney, Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
Marilyn Fox, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
Oanh Nguyen, Hair, Chance Theater

Writing
Julie Hébert, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre—LA at [Inside] the Ford
Bruce Norris, The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company at the Theatre @ Boston Court
Kim Porter, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Brian Christopher Williams, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins, West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Writing (Adaptation)
Kitty Felde, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Meryl Friedman, The Wasps, Stinger Productions at The Lost Studio

Music Direction
Brent Crayon, Songs for a New World, International City Theatre
David O, The Wasps, The Lost Studio
Michael Paternostro, Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Phil Reno, Minsky’s, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre
Bill Strongin, Hair, Chance Theatre

Choreography

Matthew Bourne, Stephen Mear, and Geoffrey Garratt, Mary Poppins, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh at the Ahmanson Theatre

Ameenah Kaplan, Altar Boyz, Celebration Theatre

Kelly Todd, Hair, Chance Theater

Musical Score

Susan Birkenhead and Charles Strouse, Minsky’s, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre

Anthony Bollas, Stranger, Bootleg Theater

Erin Kamler, Divorce! The Musical, Hudson Mainstage

Lead Performance

Sam Anderson, The Bird and Mr. Banks, The Road Theatre Company at the Lankershim Arts Center

Johnny Clark, Blackbird, VS. Theatre Company at the Elephant Studio Space

Jade Dornfeld, Blackbird, VS. Theatre Company at the Elephant Studio Space

Bruce French, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre

Jim Hanna, Equus, The Production Company at The Chandler Studio Theatre

Deidrie Henry, Coming Home, The Fountain Theatre

William Dennis Hurley, Shining City, The Fountain Theatre

Michael Kostroff, The Producers, Musical Theatre West at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center

Alan Mandell, No Man’s Land, Odyssey Theatre

Laurie Metcalf, Voice Lessons, Zephyr Theater

Darin Singleton, The Unseen, The Road Theatre Company at the Lankershim Arts Center
Samantha Sloyan, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre

Featured Performance
Hugo Armstrong, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater
Chuma Gault, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre—LA at [Inside] the Ford
P.J. Griffith, Setup & Punch, The Blank Theatre Company at the 2nd Stage Theatre
Andrea Hutchman, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Heather Lee, No Way to Treat a Lady, Colony Theatre
Sally Smythe, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
Greg Watanabe, The Happy Ones, South Coast Repertory
Jacqueline Wright, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre—LA at [Inside] the Ford

Ensemble Performance

Hair, Chance Theater
Hunter Gatherers, Furious Theatre Company at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre
Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Our Mother’s Brief Affair, South Coast Repertory
Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company at the Theatre @ Boston Court

Set Design
John Iacovelli, Stick Fly, The Matrix Theater
Jeff McLaughlin, A Skull in Connemara, Theatre Tribe
Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, Treefall, Rogue Machine at Theatre/Theater

Lighting Design

Lap-Chi Chu, Our Mother’s Brief Affair, South Coast Repertory
Haylee Freeman, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
David Lander, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
Dan Weingarten, Stranger, Bootleg Theater

Costume Design
Gregg Barnes, Minsky’s, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre
Ann Closs-Farley, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater
Shigeru Yaji, Peace, The Getty Villa

Sound Design

Ron Klier, Blackbird, Elephant Theatre Lab
John Nobori, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Ken Sawyer, Dracula, Noho Arts Center

CGI/Video

John MacDonald, Hair, Chance Theater
Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater

Fight Choreography
Brian Danner, Macbeth, Theater Banshee
Victor Warren, Stranger, Bootleg Theater

*

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.

For tickets, visit LADCC’s website, at www.ladramacriticscircle.com.