Monday, December 28, 2015

THE CLEVELAND CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS - 2015


 CLEVELAND CRITICS CIRCLE 2015 THEATER AWARDS
Awards Committee: Roy Berko, Mark Horning, Kerry Clawson, Bob Abelman, Art Thomas, Christine Howey and Andrea Simakis.

Note; Superior Achievement Awards are listed alphabetically (by first word or first name).

Best Musical Production: 
The Secret Garden, Great Lakes Theater

Superior Achievement:
A Little Night Music, Porthouse Theatre
American Idiot, Beck Center
Dogfight, Beck Center
Godspell, Cain Park
Violet, Porthouse Theatre
Violet, Lakeland Civic Theatre

Best Non-Musical Production
The Crucible, Cleveland Play House

Superior Achievement:
A Streetcar Named Desire, Mamai Theatre
Death of a Salesman, Ensemble Theatre
First Love, none too fragile
God of Carnage, none too fragile
Isaac’s Eye, convergence-continuum
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Karamu House
Our Town, Blank Canvas Theatre
Peter and the Starcatcher, Dobama Theatre
Slowgirl, Dobama Theatre
Superior Donuts, Dobama Theatre
The Mighty Scarabs!, Karamu House
The Three Sisters, Mamaí Theatre

Best Actor – Musical:
Pat Miller, Bat Boy The Musical, Blank Canvas Theatre

Superior Achievement:
Jared Dixon, Hairspray, Porthouse Theatre
Jared Dixon, Violet, Porthouse Theatre
Stephen Mitchell Brown, A Secret Garden, Great Lakes Theater
Warren Egypt Franklin III, Godspell, Cain Park

Best Actor – Non-Musical: 
Aled Davies, King Lear, Great Lakes Theater

Superior Achievement:
Andrew Narten, The Lonesome West, none too fragile
Bernard Bygott, Much Ado About Nothing, Ohio Shakespeare Festival
Brian Zoldessy, Einstein, Actors’ Summit
Esau Pritchett, The Crucible, Cleveland Play House
Geoff Knox, OR, Dobama  Theatre
Greg Violand, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Lakeland Civic Theatre
Greg White, Death of a Salesman, Ensemble Theatre
Michael May, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Karamu House
Prophet Seay, The Mighty Scarabs!, Karamu House
Rodney Freeman, The Mighty Scarabs!, Karamu House
Sean Derry, The Lonesome West, none too fragile

Best Actress – Musical:  
(tie) Neely Gevaart, Violet, Lakeland Civic Theatre and 
Amy Fritsche, Violet, Porthouse Theatre

Superior Achievement:
Giovanna Layne, The Secret Garden, Great Lakes Theater
Jillian Kates, The Secret Garden, Great Lakes Theater
Keri Rene Fuller, Dogfight, Beck Center
Lucy Anders, A Little Night Music, Porthouse Theatre
Neely Gevaart, The Spitfire Grill, Beck Center

Best Actress – Non-Musical: 
Lara Mielcarek, OR, Dobama

Superior Achievement:
Bernadette Clemens, A Streetcar Named Desire, Mamaí Theatre
Jen Klika, God of Carnage, none too fragile
Katrice Headd, The Mighty Scarabs!, Karamu
Lauren B. Smith, Tear It Off, convergence-continuum
Leighann Delorenzo, In A Forest Dark and Deep, none too fragile
Liz Conway, in a word, Cleveland Public Theatre
Lucy Bredeson-Smith, Tear It Off, convergence-continuum
Miranda Leann Scholl, Slowgirl, Dobama
Rachel Lee Kolis, Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys, Theater Ninjas

Best Director – Musical: 
Ian Wolfgang Hinz and Joanna May Hunkins, Godspell, Cain Park

Superior Achievement:
Sean Morrissey, A Little Night Music, Porthouse
Steven Anderson, Violet, Porthouse
Victoria Bussert, The Secret Garden, Great Lakes Theater

Best Director – Non-Musical
Laura Kepley, The Crucible, Cleveland Play House

Superior Achievement:
Beth Wood, in a word, Cleveland Public Theatre
Donald Carrier, Becky Shaw, Dobama Theatre
Leighann Delorenzo, Slowgirl, Dobama Theatre
Patrick Ciamacco, Our Town, Blank Canvas Theater
Sean Derry, God of Carnage, none too fragile
Stephen Wadsworth, A Comedy of Tenors, Cleveland Play House
Mathew Wright, The Call, Dobama Theatre

Best Choreographer: 
Martín Céspedes, American Idiot, Beck Center

Superior Achievement:
John R. Crawford, Hairspray, Porthouse Theatre
Terrence Greene, Dreamgirls, Karamu House

Best Musical Direction: 
Jonathan Swoboda, A Little Night Music, Porthouse

Superior Achievement:
Jennifer Korecki, Violet, Porthouse Theatre
Jonathan Swoboda, Hairspray, Porthouse Theatre
Larry Goodpaster, Mary Poppins, Beck Center


Best Scenic Design: 
Charlie Corcoran, A Comedy of Tenors, Cleveland Play House

Superior Achievement:
Bill Clarke, Voyna and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Cleveland Play House
Laura Carlson, Slow Girl, Dobama Theatre
Linda Buchanan, King Lear, Great Lakes Theater
Russell Metheny, Dial ‘M’ For Murder, Great Lakes Theater
Scott Bradley, The Crucible, Cleveland Play House

Best Lighting Design: 
Beth Wood/Benjamin Gantose/Sam Fisher, in a word, Cleveland Public Theatre

Superior Achievement:
C.J. Pierce, Isaac’s Eye, convergence-continuum
Paul Miller, King Lear, Great Lakes Theater
Rick Martin, The Tempest, Great Lakes Theater
Rob Peck, A Streetcar Named Desire, Mamaí

Best Projection Design: 
T. Paul Lowry, The Turing Machine, Theater Ninjas

Superior Achievement:
Adam Zeek and Douglas Puskas, American Idiot, Beck Center
Ian Hinz, Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo, Ensemble Theatre
Mike Tutaj, Mary Poppins, Beck Center
Ron Newell, Death of a Salesman, Ensemble Theatre

Best Costume Design: 
Lex Liang, The Crucible, Cleveland Play House

Superior Achievement:
Charlotte M. Yetman, The Secret Garden, Great Lakes Theater
Martha Hally, King Lear, Great Lakes Theater
S.Q. Campbell, A Little Night Music, Porthouse Theatre
Tesia Dugan Benson, OR, Dobama Theatre
William Ivey Long, A Comedy of Tenors, Cleveland Play House

Best Sound Design: 
Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen, King Lear, Great Lakes Theater

Superior Achievement:
Beau Reinker, Tear It Off, convergence-continuum
David Gotwald, The Secret Garden, Great Lakes Theater
Jeremy Dobbins, Slowgirl, Dobama Theatre
Joshua Horvath, A Comedy of Tenors, Cleveland Play House
Richard B. Ingraham, American Idiot, Beck Center
Sam Fisher, in a word, Cleveland Public Theatre

Best Touring Production: 
A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, Playhouse Square

Superior Achievement:
Cinderella, Playhouse Square
Kinky Boots, Playhouse Square
Pippin, Playhouse Square
The Wizard of Oz, Playhouse Square

Special Mention:
Baldwin-Wallace University, for establishing the Kyle Jean-Baptiste Memorial Scholarship in honor of the late Baldwin Wallace alumnus.

Cleveland Play House, for receiving the 2015 Tony Award for Regional Theatres.

Cleveland Play House’s Joel Grey: Up Close and Personal, for a splendid use of archival video, to help celebrate the theater’s 100th anniversary. 

The Kent State University School of Theatre and Dance, for staging the first full-production of My Heart Is The Drum.

Cornell Hubert Calhoun III, for drawing on his life in Cleveland to create the riveting, gritty original script The Mighty Scarabs!

The Musical Theater Project, for producing concert versions of shows, replete with background information and visuals provided by Bill Rudman.

Christine Howey and Scott Plate, for their development and production of Exact Change, which was selected by the New York Times as one of the “top ten plays to look for” at the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival.