Theatre News Wire

Eleven world premiere plays and musicals seen first by Chicago audiences were among those receiving nominations by the Jeff Awards, announced today. A total of 192 nominations were made in 34 categories that honor Chicago Equity theatrical productions that opened between August 1, 2018 and July 31, 2019. During the 2018-19 season, Jeff Awards judges attended opening nights of 132 Equity productions offered by 43 producing organizations and from these openings, 112 productions were "Jeff Recommended" and eligible for award nominations.

This season, Porchlight Music Theatre led the theatre scoreboard with 17 nominations, followed by Paramount Theatre with 16 and Court Theatre with 15. Paramount Theatre's "The Producers" led all productions with nine nominations, followed by its production of "The Wizard of Oz" with seven nominations.

In the coveted Ensemble categories, five musical productions were nominated for Ensemble - Music or Revue, and eight plays were nominated in the Ensemble - Play category. Actors' Equity Association supports the Equity Jeff Awards by sponsoring these Ensemble awards.

The 51 st Annual Equity Jeff Awards ceremony honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the greater Chicago area will be held on Monday, October 21 st , at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.

This year's ceremony performances will again feature cast members from nominated musicals and plays. Pre-show appetizers and a cash bar will be offered from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, followed by the awards ceremony, directed by Steve Scott. A buffet reception will immediately follow the ceremony.

Advance purchase tickets, which include the ceremony and pre-/post-show parties, are $85 ($65 for members of Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Stage Managers' Association, IATSE, The Dramatists Guild of America, and the American Federation of Musicians). Tickets at the door, if available, will be an additional $10 per ticket. The evening is black tie optional, and the public is invited to attend. To purchase tickets, click here or visit the Jeff Awards website at www.jeffawards.org.

The Jeff Awards has been honoring outstanding theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968. With up to 55 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre (including producers, directors, actors, playwrights, designers, professors of theatre, entertainment lawyers and agents and theatre lovers), the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards and honors. Opening night judges include not only Jeff members but also the team of Artistic and Technical theatre volunteers (the "A/T Team") which is comprised of artistic directors, producers, directors from major Chicago theatres, actors and designers. The Jeff Awards fosters the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promotes educational opportunities, audience appreciation and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community. Each year, the Jeff Awards judges 300 theatrical productions and host two awards ceremonies. Originally chartered to recognize only Equity productions, the Jeff Awards established the Non-Equity Wing in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre.

2019 EQUITY JEFF AWARD NOMINEES

Production - Play - Large
"Downstate" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
"Indecent" - Victory Gardens Theater
"Photograph 51" - Court Theatre
"Radio Golf" - Court Theatre
"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" - Lookingglass Theatre Company

Production - Play - Midsize
"Frankenstein" - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
"Noises Off" - Windy City Playhouse
"On Clover Road" - American Blues Theater
"The Recommendation" - Windy City Playhouse
"Something Clean" - Sideshow Theatre Company and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble

Production - Musical - Large
"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" - Drury Lane Productions
"Next to Normal" - Writers Theatre
"The Producers" - Paramount Theatre
"Six" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
"The Wizard of Oz" - Paramount Theatre

Production - Musical - Midsize
"Caroline, or Change" - Firebrand Theatre i/a/w TimeLine Theatre Company
"A Chorus Line" - Porchlight Music Theatre
"A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" - Porchlight Music Theatre
"Gypsy" - Porchlight Music Theatre

Production - Revue
"Djembe! The Show" - Doug Manuel, Ashley DeSimone and TSG Theatricals
"Women of Soul" - Black Ensemble Theater
"You Can't Fake the Funk: A Journey through Funk Music" - Black Ensemble Theater

Ensemble - Play
"Familiar" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
"For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf" - Court Theatre
"Indecent" - Victory Gardens Theater
"Noises Off" - Windy City Playhouse
"Small Mouth Sounds" - A Red Orchid Theatre
"Twilight Bowl" - Goodman Theatre

Ensemble - Musical or Revue
"A Chorus Line" - Porchlight Music Theatre
"Million Dollar Quartet" - Marriott Theatre
"Queen of the Mist" - Firebrand Theatre
"Six" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
"You Can't Fake the Funk: A Journey through Funk Music" - Black Ensemble Theater

New Work - Play
David Auburn - "The Adventures of Augie March" - Court Theatre
David Catlin - "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Jenny Connell Davis - "Scientific Method" - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Ike Holter - "Lottery Day" - Goodman Theatre
Manual Cinema - "Frankenstein" - Court Theatre
Bruce Norris - "Downstate" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Jen Silverman - "Witch" - Writers Theatre
Mary Zimmerman - "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" - Lookingglass Theatre Company

New Work - Musical
David Cale - "We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time" - Goodman Theatre i/a/w The Public Theater
Michael Mahler and Jason Brett - "Miracle" - William A. Marovitz and Arny Granat
Daniel Zaitchik - "Darling Grenadine" - Marriott Theatre

Director - Play - Large
Gary Griffin - "Indecent" - Victory Gardens Theater
Pam MacKinnon - "Downstate" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Ron OJ Parson - "Radio Golf" - Court Theatre
Ron OJ Parson - "Too Heavy for Your Pocket" - TimeLine Theatre Company
Vanessa Stalling - "Photograph 51" - Court Theatre
Mary Zimmerman - "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" - Lookingglass Theatre Company

Director - Play - Midsize
Ian Frank - "Frankenstein" - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Halena Kays - "On Clover Road" - American Blues Theater
Jess McLeod - "Wolf Play" - The Gift Theatre
Scott Weinstein - "Noises Off" - Windy City Playhouse
Jonathan Wilson - "The Recommendation" - Windy City Playhouse

Director - Musical - Large
Jim Corti - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre
David Cromer - "Next to Normal" - Writers Theatre
Amber Mak - "The Wizard of Oz" - Paramount Theatre
Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage - "Six" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
William Osetek - "Mamma Mia!" - Drury Lane Productions
Alan Souza - "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" - Drury Lane Productions

Director - Musical - Midsize
Lili-Anne Brown - "Caroline, or Change" - Firebrand Theatre i/a/w TimeLine Theatre Company
Brenda Didier - "A Chorus Line" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Elizabeth Margolius - "Queen of the Mist" - Firebrand Theatre
Stephen Schellhardt - "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Michael Weber - "Gypsy" - Porchlight Music Theatre

Performer In A Principal Role - Play
Bradley Armacost (Arthur Kipps) - "The Woman in Black" - PW Productions and Pemberley Productions
Emily Berman (Lusia Weiss Pechenik) - "A Shayna Maidel" - TimeLine Theatre Company
Janet Ulrich Brooks (Maria Callas) - "Master Class" - TimeLine Theatre Company
Chaon Cross (Rosalind Franklin) - "Photograph 51" - Court Theatre
David Darlow (Andre) - "The Father" - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Lawrence Grimm (Martin Heidegger) - "Hannah and Martin" - Shattered Globe Theatre
Nicole Michelle Haskins (Chess) - "Hopelessly Devoted" - Piven Theatre Workshop
Wendy Robie (Queen Elizabeth I) - "Elizabeth Rex" - Oak Park Festival Theatre
Namir Smallwood (Lee) - "True West" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Meg Thalken (Peggy) - "Four Places" - The Den Theatre

Performer In A Principal Role - Musical
E. Faye Butler (Rose) - "Gypsy" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Matt Crowle (D'Ysquith Family) - "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Rashada Dawan (Caroline) - "Caroline, or Change" - Firebrand Theatre i/a/w TimeLine Theatre Company
Andres Enriquez (Monty Navarro) - "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Kelly Felthous (Audrey) - "Little Shop of Horrors" - Drury Lane Productions
Sean Fortunato (Miss Trunchbull) - "Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical" - Drury Lane Productions
Blake Hammond (Max Bialystock) - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre
Jacquelyne Jones (Percy Talbott) - "The Spitfire Grill" - American Blues Theater
Jake Morrissy (Leo Bloom) - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre
Barbara E. Robertson (Anna Edson Taylor) - "Queen of the Mist" - Firebrand Theatre

Solo Performance
David Cale (David) - "We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time" - Goodman Theatre i/a/w The Public Theater
Matt Crowle (Crumpet) - "The Santaland Diaries" - Goodman Theatre
Joe Foust (Solo Performer) - "The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey" - American Blues Theater
Ross Lehman (Solo Performer) - "Sentimental Journey" - Citadel Theatre Company
Alexis J. Roston (Lady Day) - "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" - Congo Square Theatre Company

Performer In A Supporting Role - Play
Patrick Agada (Joey) - "Something Clean" - Sideshow Theatre Company and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Janet Ulrich Brooks (Sister Clarissa) - "Over the Tavern" - Theatre at the Center
Kirsten Fitzgerald (Tracy) - "Sweat" - Goodman Theatre
Sean Fortunato (Malvolio) - "Twelfth Night" - Writers Theatre
K. Todd Freeman (Dee) - "Downstate" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Brian Keys (Dwight Barnes) - "The Recommendation" - Windy City Playhouse
James Vincent Meredith (Roosevelt Hicks) - "Radio Golf" - Court Theatre
Scott Parkinson (Sir Andrew Aguecheek) - "Twelfth Night" - Writers Theatre
Kelvin Roston, Jr. (Levee) - "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" - Writers Theatre
Alfred H. Wilson (Elder Joseph Barlow) - "Radio Golf" - Court Theatre

Performer In A Supporting Role - Musical
Dara Cameron (Shelby Thorpe) - "The Spitfire Grill" - American Blues Theater
Kyrie Courter (Natalie Goodman) - "Next to Normal" - Writers Theatre
Jose Antonio García (Herbie) - "Gypsy" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Emily Goldberg (Sibella Hallward) - "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Alex Goodrich (Oscar Lindquist) - "Sweet Charity" - Marriott Theatre
Marya Grandy (Louise) - "Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn" - Marriott Theatre
Donica Lynn (Oda Mae) - "Ghost The Musical" - Theatre at the Center
Sawyer Smith (Fastrada) - "Pippin" - Mercury Theater Chicago
Catherine Smitko (Hannah Ferguson) - "The Spitfire Grill" - American Blues Theater
Nat Zegree (Jerry Lee Lewis) - "Million Dollar Quartet" - Marriott Theatre

Performer In A Revue
Robin DaSilva (Mahalia) - "Mahalia Jackson: Moving Thru the Light" - Black Ensemble Theater
Rashada Dawan (Singer) - "Djembe! The Show" - Doug Manuel, Ashley DeSimone and TSG Theatricals
Rhonda Preston (Mature Nancy) - "Style and Grace: A Tribute to Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson" - Black Ensemble Theater
Aeriel Williams (Young Lena) - "Style and Grace: A Tribute to Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson" - Black Ensemble Theater

Scenic Design - Large
William Boles - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre
Kevin Depinet and Christopher Rhoton - "The Wizard of Oz" - Paramount Theatre
Kristen Robinson - "Familiar" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Todd Rosenthal - "How to Catch Creation" - Goodman Theatre
Todd Rosenthal - "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Arnel Sancianco - "Lottery Day" - Goodman Theatre
Arnel Sancianco - "Photograph 51" - Court Theatre

Scenic Design - Midsize
Jeffrey D. Kmiec - "Gypsy" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Jeffrey D. Kmiec - "Noises Off" - Windy City Playhouse
Angela Weber Miller - "All Childish Things" - First Folio Theatre
Lauren Nigri - "The Recommendation" - Windy City Playhouse
Arnel Sancianco - "Something Clean" - Sideshow Theatre Company and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Joe Schermoly - "This Bitter Earth" - About Face Theatre

Costume Design - Large
Hugh Durrant - "Nell Gwynn" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Rueben Echoles - "You Can't Fake the Funk: A Journey through Funk Music" - Black Ensemble Theater
Theresa Ham - "The Wizard of Oz" - Paramount Theatre
Ana Kuzmanic - "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Ryan Park - "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" - Drury Lane Productions
Jordan Ross - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre

Costume Design - Midsize
Rachel Boylan - "Pippin" - Mercury Theater Chicago
Jeff Hendry - "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Bill Morey - "Gypsy" - Porchlight Music Theatre

Sound Design - Large
Mikhail Fiskel - "Cambodian Rock Band" - Victory Gardens Theater
Jeffrey Levin - "A Shayna Maidel" - TimeLine Theatre Company
Ray Nardelli - "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" - Writers Theatre
Adam Rosenthal - "The Wizard of Oz" - Paramount Theatre
Rick Sims - "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Kyle Vegter and Ben Kauffman - "Frankenstein" - Court Theatre

Sound Design - Midsize
Eric Backus - "The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey" - American Blues Theater
Eric Backus - "Wolf Play" - The Gift Theatre
Christopher Kriz - "Frankenstein" - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Jeffrey Levin - "Small Mouth Sounds" - A Red Orchid Theatre
Matt Reich - "The Worst Mother in the World" - Halcyon Theatre

Lighting Design - Large
Tim Deiling - "Six" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Greg Hofmann - "The Wizard of Oz" - Paramount Theatre
Greg Hofmann and Jesse Klug - "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
William C. Kirkham - "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Jesse Klug - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre
Ryan O'Gara - "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" - Drury Lane Productions

Lighting Design - Midsize
Mike Durst - "Frankenstein" - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Denise Karczewski - "A Chorus Line" - Porchlight Music Theatre
John Kelly - "This Bitter Earth" - About Face Theatre
Alexander Ridgers - "Pinocchio" - The House Theatre of Chicago
Cat Wilson - "Queen of the Mist" - Firebrand Theatre

Choreography
Christopher Chase Carter - "A Chorus Line" - Porchlight Music Theatre
Brenda Didier - "Pippin" - Mercury Theater Chicago
Brenda Didier - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre
Denis Jones - "Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn" - Marriott Theatre
Alex Sanchez - "Sweet Charity" - Marriott Theatre

Original Music
Christopher Kriz - "Frankenstein" - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Andre Pluess and Amanda Dehnert - "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Rick Sims - "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Kyle Vegter and Ben Kauffman - "Frankenstein" - Court Theatre
Richard Woodbury - "The Winter's Tale" - Goodman Theatre

Music Direction
Roberta Duchak - "Six" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Robert Reddrick - "You Can't Fake the Funk: A Journey through Funk Music" - Black Ensemble Theater
Malcolm Ruhl - "The Spitfire Grill" - American Blues Theater
Andra Velis Simon - "Caroline, or Change" - Firebrand Theatre i/a/w TimeLine Theatre Company
Tom Vendafreddo - "The Producers" - Paramount Theatre

Fight Choreography
Jon Beal - "Cardboard Piano" - TimeLine Theatre Company
Matt Hawkins - "Hamlet" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Matt Hawkins - "Witch" - Writers Theatre
Ned Mochel - "True West" - Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Puppet Design
Lizi Breit and Drew Dir - "Frankenstein" - Court Theatre
Chicago Puppet Studio - "Pinocchio" - The House Theatre of Chicago
Chicago Puppet Studio - "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Stephanie Diaz - "Wolf Play" - The Gift Theatre
Phillip Huber - "Darling Grenadine" - Marriott Theatre

Projection Design
Anthony Churchill - "Scientific Method" - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Rasean Davonte Johnson - "Frankenstein" - Court Theatre
Kevan Loney - "The Wizard of Oz" - Paramount Theatre
G. "Max" Maxin IV - "The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey" - American Blues Theater
Mike Tutaj - "Hamlet" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Artistic Specialization
Kristy Leigh Hall - Makeup Design - "Frankenstein" - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Richard Jarvie - Wig & Make-up Design - "Nell Gwynn" - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Cassy Schillo and Wendy A. Huber - Properties Design - "All Childish Things" - First Folio Theatre