New Audience Choice Awards voted by invitation

DC Theatre Scene’s Audience Choice Awards, now in its fourth year, are the only awards to cover the Washington area’s professional theatrical season – which begins and ends in August – and which allows audiences to make the final decision as to who receives the final awards, based on nominations by the DCTS writers and staff.

Aug 27, 2010 —  The 2009-2010 DC Theatre Scene Audience Choice Awards yielded some surprising results which tended to confirm the warm place which small theaters hold in the hearts of DC Theatre Scene readers. (read more here).

DC Theatre Scene’s Audience Choice Awards for the 2009-2010 season

Favorite Play

Angels in America, Part I, Millennium Approaches, Forum Theatre
Burn Your Bookes, Taffety Punk
Antony and Cleopatra, Synetic Theater and Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Favorite Musical

Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia
Rent, Keegan Theatre
[title of show], Signature Theatre

Favorite Family Show

The Dancing Princesses, Imagination Stage and The Snow Queen, Synetic  Family Theater
How I Became a Pirate, Imagination Stage

Favorite Touring Show

Avenue Q
Jersey Boys
A Streetcar Named Desire

Favorite Actor in a Play

Daniel Flint as Edward Kelley, Burn your Bookes, Taffety Punk
Philip Fletcher as Iago, Othello, Synetic Theater
Michael Hayden as Henry V, Henry V, Shakespeare Theatre

Favorite Actress in a Play

Irina Tsikurishvili as Cleopatra, Antony and Cleopatra, Synetic Theater
Holly Twyford as Aunt Bella, Lost in Yonkers, Theater J
Tyne Daly as Maria Callas, Master Class, Kennedy Center

Favorite Actor in a Musical

Edward Gero as Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre
James Gardiner, as Hunter, [title of show], Signature Theatre
Parker Drown as Angel, Rent, Keegan Theatre

Favorite Actress in a Musical

Sherri L. Edelen as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre
Celia Blitzer as Tracy Turnblad, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia
Jenna Sokolowski as Susan [title of show], Signature Theatre

Favorite Touring Performance

Cate Blanchett as Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire
Helen Mirren as Phèdre, Phèdre
Laurence Fishburne as Thurgood Marshall, Thurgood

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Aug 20, 2010 — The 16 DCTS nominators have seen 788 performances of this season’s 239 eligible productions and have given 222 nominations to the works of 42 area theatre companies and 118 performers and an additional 25 nominations for touring, (non-resident produced) shows.

Voting is underway. Our thanks to everyone who registered to vote in this year’s Awards. If you received our invitation to vote, and have not yet made your final choices, the full list of nominees is below.  Your deadline is Thursday, August 26th by 8pm. We will announce the results on Friday, August 27th.

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Nominees for the 2010 Audience Choice Awards
as nominated by the staff and writers of DC Theatre Scene

FAVORITE PLAYS

A Lovely Sunday at Creve Coeur, Quotidian Theatre
American Buffalo, Studio Theatre
Angels in America, Part I, Millennium Approaches, Forum Theatre
Antony and Cleopatra, Synetic Theater
Around the World in 80 Days, Round House Theatre
As You Like It, Shakespeare Theatre
Black Pearl Sings!, Ford’s Theatre
Burn Your Bookes, Taffety Punk
Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Disco Pigs, Solas Nua
El Retablillo de Don Cristobal, GALA Hispanic Theatre
Full Circle, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Gruesome Playground Injuries, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Harvey, Bay Theatre
Hysteria, Rep Stage
In Darfur, Theater J
Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Synetic Theater
Legends!, Studio Theatre
Master Class, Kennedy Center
Mauritius, Bay Theatre
Much Ado About Nothing, Folger Theatre
New Jerusalem, Theater J
Noises Off, Keegan Theatre
Orestes, A Tragic Romp, Folger Theatre
Othello, Synetic Theater
Permanent Collection, Round House Theatre
Richard II, Shakespeare Theatre
The Glass Menagerie, Rep Stage
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia, Rep Stage
The Liar, Shakespeare Theatre
The Lisbon Traviata, Kennedy Center
The Miser, Washington Shakespeare Company
The Quality of Life, Arena Stage
Three Days of Rain, 1^st Stage
Three Sisters, Constellation Theatre Company
Wittenberg, Rep Stage
Yours, Isabel, Fringe Wattage

FAVORITE MUSICALS

A Man of No Importance, Keegan Theatre
Adding Machine: A Musical, Studio Theatre
Camelot, Olney Theatre Center
Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
Evil Dead the Musical, Landless Theatre
First You Dream, Signature Theatre
Forever Plaid, Olney Theatre Center
Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Columbia
High Fidelity, Landless Theatre
Little Shop of Horrors, Ford’s Theatre
Mahalia: A Gospel Musical, MetroStage
Passing Strange, Studio Theatre
Perez Hilton Saves the Universe (or at least the greater Los Angeles area), Landless Theatre
Porgy and Bess, Washington National Opera
Rent, Keegan Theatre
Striking 12, Arena Stage
Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre
The Fantasticks, Arena Stage
The Light in the Piazza, Arena Stage
WAM! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, InSeries
[title of show], Signature Theatre

FAVORITE FAMILY SHOWS

Barrio Grrrl!  Kennedy Center
Comedy of Errors … at Colonus, Lumina Studio Theater
Ferdinand, the Bull, Imagination Stage
How I Became a Pirate, Imagination Stage
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, Kennedy Center
Stand Up! Sit Down, Discovery Theater and National Museum of American History
Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe, Kennedy Center
The Dancing Princesses, Imagination Stage
The Little Engine That Could, Adventure Theatre
The Red Balloon, Adventure Theatre
The Snow Queen, Synetic  Family Theater

FAVORITE TOURING (Non-Resident) SHOWS

700 Sundays
A Streetcar Named Desire
August: Osage County
Avenue Q
Jersey Boys
Mary Poppins
The 39 Steps
Thurgood
Phèdre
Zero Hour

FAVORITE ENSEMBLE

A Lovely Sunday at Creve Couer, Quotidian Theatre
A Man of No Importance, Keegan Theatre
Angels in America, Part I, Millennium Approaches, Forum Theatre
Angels in America, Part II, Perestroika, Forum Theatre
Antony and Cleopatra, Synetic Theater
Around the World in 80 Days, Round House Theatre
Camille: A Tearjerker, Washington Shakespeare Company
Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
Eclipsed, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
El Retablillo de Don Cristobal, GALA Hispanic Theatre
Forever Plaid, Olney Theatre Center
Full Circle, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Columbia
Little Shop of Horrors, Ford’s Theatre
Noises Off, Keegan Theatre
Passing Strange, Studio Theatre
Rent, Keegan Theatre
Sycamore Trees, Signature Theatre
The Miser, Washington Shakespeare Theatre
The Trip to Bountiful, Quotidian Theatre
Three Sisters, Constellation Theatre
Triumph of Love, Olney Theatre Center

FAVORITE ACTOR IN A PLAY

Peter Allas as Teach, American Buffalo, Studio Theatre
Tayo Aluko as Paul Robeson, Calling Mr. Robeson, DC Arts Center
Ian Armstrong as Harpagon, The Miser, Washington Shakespeare Theatre
Ryan Artzberger as Greg, Reasons to be Pretty, Studio Theatre
Ro Boddie as Belize, Angels in America, Part II, Forum Theatre
Jeffrey Carlson as Bellini, The Golden Age, Kennedy Center
Jim Chance as Elwood, Harvey, Bay Theatre
Rex Daugherty as Stitch, Johnny Meister and the Stitch, Solas Nua
Christopher Dinolfo as Johnny, Johnny Meister and the Stitch, Solas Nua
John Epperson as Leatrice, Legends!, Studio Theatre
Philip Fletcher as Iago, Othello, Synetic Theater
Daniel Flint as Edward Kelley, Burn your Bookes, Taffety Punk
Rick Foucheux as R. Buckminster Fuller, R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe, Arena Stage
Rich Foucheux as Stephen Douglas, The Rivalry, Ford’s Theatre
Tim Getman as Capt Braid, How I Became a Pirate, Imagination Stage
Tim Getman as Doug, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
John Glover as Mendy, The Lisbon Traviata, Kennedy Center
Jay Hardee as Marguerite Gauthier, Camille: A Tearjerker, Washington Shakespeare Company
Michael Hayden, Henry V, Henry V, Shakespeare Theatre
Michael Hayden as Richard II, Richard II, Shakespeare Theatre
Dan Istrate as Federico Garcia Lorca, Beauty of the Father, GALA Hispanic Theatre
Jim Jorgensen as Roy Cohn, Angels in America, Part I, Forum Theatre
Jim Jorgensen as Roy Cohn, Angels in America Part II, Forum Theatre
Des Keough as Da, Da, Olney Theatre Center
James Konicek as Lord Arthur, Lord Savile’s Crime, Washington Stage Guild
James Lescene as Sylvia Glenn, Legends!, Studio Theatre
Chris Mancusi as Ky, 60 Miles to Silver Lake, Studio Theatre
Karl Miller as David, The Four of Us, Theater J
Karl Miller as Prior Walter, Angels in America, Part I, Forum Theatre
Karl Miller as Prior Walter, Angels in America, Part II, Forum Theatre
Alex Mills as Spirit, Antony and Cleopatra, Synetic Theater
John Milosich as Gregor, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Synetic Theatre
Hugh Neese as Charlie, Dirty Blonde, Signature Theatre
Bruce Nelson as Martin, The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?, Rep Stage
Howard Overshown as Benedick, Much Ado About Nothing, Folger Theatre
Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln, The Rivalry, Ford’s Theatre
Nigel Reed as Sterling, Mauritius, Bay Theatre
Seth Reichgott as Dr. John Faustus, Wittenberg, Rep Stage
J. Fred Shiffman in multiple roles, Dirty Blonde, Signature Theatre
Michael Stebbins as Martin Luther, Wittenberg, Rep Stage
Alexander Strain as Asher Lev, My Name is Asher Lev, Round House Theatre
Alexander Strain as Baruch de Spinoza, New Jerusalem, Theater J
Craig Wallace as Sterling North, Permanent Collection, Round House Theatre

FAVORITE ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Charlotte Akin as Dottie, Noises Off, Keegan Theatre
Sara Barker as Lulu, Lulu, Washington Shakespeare Company
Madeleine Carr as Runt, Disco Pigs, Solas Nua
Brigid Cleary as Mary O’Brien, The Savannah Disputation, Olney Theatre Center
Tyne Daly as Maria Callas, Master Class, Kennedy Center
Johanna Day as Jeannette, The Quality of Life, Arena Stage
Catherine Deadman as Masha, Three Sisters, Constellation Theatre
Jessica Frances Dukes as Maima, Eclipsed, Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Gabriella Fernandez-Coffey as Kayleen, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Melissa Flaim as Sophie Treadwell, Treadwell, American Century Theater
Morgaine Gooding as The Snow Queen, The Snow Queen, Synetic  Family Theater
Heather Haney as Frosine, The Miser, Washington Shakespeare Company
Erika Imhoof as Bodie, A Lovely Sunday at Creve Couer, Quotidian Theatre
Nanna Ingvarsson as Olga, Three Sisters, Constellation Theatre
Martha Karl as Mercy Lott, Humble Boy, 1^st Stage
Rana Kay as Jackie, Mauritius, Bay Theatre
Rana Kay as Carla, Lie with Me, Charter Theatre
Jennifer Mendenhall, multiple roles, Angels in America, Part II, Forum Theatre
Jennifer Mendenhall as Bev/Kathy, Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Lucinda Merry-Brown as Veta, Harvey, Bay Theatre
Marni Penning as Mysterious Woman, Hysteria, Rep Stage
Tonya Pinkins as Pearl, Black Sing Sings!, Ford’s Theatre
Casie Platt as Sara Jane in Dear Sara Jane, Hub Theatre
Erika Rose as Hawa, In Darfur, Theater J
Raushana Simmons as Oya, In the Red and Brown Waters, Studio Theatre
Emily Skinner as Jo/Mae West, Dirty Blonde, Signature Theatre
Jane Squier Bruns as Carrie Watts, The Trip to Bountiful, Quotidian Theatre
Mundy Spears as Zelda, Zelda at the Oasis, Venus Theatre
Emily Townley as Stevie, The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?, Rep Stage
Irina Tsikurishvili as Cleopatra, Antony and Cleopatra, Synetic Theater
Holly Twyford as Aunt Bella, Lost in Yonkers, Theater J
Holly Twyford as Electra, Orestes, A Tragic Romp, Folger Theatre
Arianne Warner as Carol, Oleanna, Dark Horse Theatre
Jade Wheeler in numerous roles, The Little Engine That Could, Adventure Theatre
Margo White as Steph, Reasons to Be Pretty, Studio Theatre
Rosalind “Roz” White as Aretha, Legends!, Studio Theatre
Lindsey Wochley as Ophelia, Hamlet, Folger Theatre

FAVORITE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

David Benoit, Mr. Zero, Adding Machine A Musical,  Studio Theatre
Evan Casey as Orin/the Motorcycle Dentist, Little Shop of Horrors, Ford’s Theatre
Nate Dendy as The Mute, The Fantasticks, Arena Stage
Parker Drown as Angel, Rent, Keegan Theatre
James Gardiner, as Hunter, [title of show], Signature Theatre
Ed Gero as Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre
Maurice Hines, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
David James as Wilbur Turnblad, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Columbia
Jahi  A. Kearse as Narrator, Passing Strange, Studio Theatre
Marc Kudisch as Sidney, Sycamore Trees, Signature Theatre
John Loughney as Jamie Wellerstein, The Last Five Years, Limelight Theatre/1^st Stage
Sam Ludwig as Tobias, Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre
Tim Lynch as Baldy O’Shea, A Man of No Importance, Keegan Theatre
John Manzari, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
Leo Manzari, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
Buzz Mauro as Alfie, A Man of No Importance, Keegan Theatre
Laurence O’Dwyer as Henry, The Fantasticks, Arena Stage
Aaron Ramey as Lancelot, Camelot, Olney Theatre Center
Bobby Smith as King Horace, The Dancing Princesses, Imagination Stage
Bobby Smith (multiple roles) – Musical of Musicals, The Musical, MetroStage
Stephen Gregory Smith as Rob, High Fidelity, Landless Theatre
Josh Speerstra as Dick, High Fidelity, Landless Theatre
Russell Sunday as Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd, Toby’s  Dinner Theatre – Columbia

FAVORITE ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Mary Lee Adams as Penny, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Columbia
Heidi Blickenstaff, First You Dream, Signature Theatre
Celia Blitzer as Tracy Turnblad, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Columbia
Jane C. Boyle as Rev. Mother, Nunsense, Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Columbia
Anamer Castrello as Madrina, El Bolla, Cuba’s King of Song, GALA Hispanic Theatre
Stephanie D’Abruzzo as Trixie, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, Kennedy Center
Natascia Diaz as Amazing Voice, Barrio Grrrl!, Kennedy Center
Erin Driscoll as Johanna, Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre
Sherri L. Edelen as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre
Moreniki Fadayomi as Bess, Porgy and Bess, Washington National Opera
Margaret Anne Florence as Clara, The Light in the Piazza, Arena Stage
Jesaira Glover as Motormouth Maybelle, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Columbia
Marva Hicks, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
Patricia Hurley as Guinevere, Camelot, Olney Theatre Center
Kristen Jepperson as Daisy, Adding Machine A Musical, Studio Theatre
Kristen Jepperson as Lily Byrne, A Man of No Importance, Keegan Theatre
Judy Kuhn as Theresa, Sycamore Trees, Signature Theatre
Emily Levey as Mimi, Rent, Keegan Theatre
Addie McDaniel as Luisa, The Fantasticks, Arena Stage
Julia Murney, First You Dream, Signature Theatre
Nora Palka as Alyssa, Perez Hilton Saves the Universe, Landless Theatre
Hollis Resnik as Margaret, The Light in the Piazza, Arena Stage
Joanne Schmoll as Mrs. Zero, Adding Machine, A Musical, Studio Theatre
Jenna Sokolowski as Susan [title of show], Signature Theatre
Karissa Swanigan as Cheryl, Evil Dead the Musical, Landless Theatre
Karissa Swanigan as Laura, High Fidelity, Landless Theatre
Weslie Woodley as Maureen, Rent, Keegan Theatre

PERFORMER IN A TOURING PRODUCTION

Cate Blanchett as Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire
Kerri Bracken as Bad Idea Bear/Mrs. T, Avenue Q
Jim Brochu as Zero Mostel, Zero Hour
Joseph Leo Bwarie as Frankie Valli, Jersey Boys
Shannon Cochron as Barbara, August: Osage County
Billy Crystal, 700 Sundays
Laura D’Andre as Rizzo, Grease
Jon DeVries as Beverly, August: Osage County
Joel Edgerton as Stanley, A Streetcar Named Desire
Laurence Fishburne as Thurgood Marshall, Thurgood
Jacqueline Grabois , multiple roles, Avenue Q
Eric Hissom, multiple roles, The 39 Steps
Gavin Lee as Bert, Mary Poppins
Helen Mirren as Phedre, Phedre
Estelle Parsons as Violet, August: Osage County

Results by Theatre Company
Click the headings to sort

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Aug 18, 2010 — As today’s midnight deadline for registering to vote for the Audience Choice Awards draws near, we answer last minute questions posted by readers: how to register, when to expect the private invitation to vote, and how and when to vote. Click here to read.

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A series of discussions on the 2009-2010 Season

Best Plays and Performances of the season
by Tim Treanor

Tim reveals his top 10 productions,  top 10 performances and honorable mentions from the 92 non-Festival shows he saw this season.

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Favorite New Plays debuted this season
by Steven McKnight

“What I am looking for are the imaginative, original works from playwrights who will keep the world of theatre vital and relevant.  These are works that can and should ripple across the country.”

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Best Musicals, Musical Performances and Performer of the Year
by Joel Markowitz

“Musicals are my life and I saw a lot of them on DC-area stages in the past year – in professional theatres, community theatres, family theatres, children’s theatres, high schools, and programs that train young actors.”

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Looking back on the Hispanic Theatre Season
by Rosalind Lacy

Looking back at the excellence in the 2009-2010 Hispanic Theatre season is really looking forward to more to come.  This summer, after working in a coffee community, a voluntary collective of “fincas” (small farms), and living with a family in El Salvador, I emerge ever more wide-eyed and aware of the great need for more Hispanic theater. Why? Why even bother seeing Spanish language plays?

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Questions:

#1: Which shows do you most regret missing from this past season?
#2: Who were the most memorable characters you saw portrayed on a DC stage this year?
#3: Casting Challenge: Pick your favorite musical and play and cast the leads.

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