This year, DC Theatre Scene writers and staff have given 212 nominations to the work of 42 area theatre companies and 118 performers and an additional 25 nominations for touring, (non-resident produced shows) for professional productions which opened in the DC area from August 15, 2009-August 1, 2010 You will find the list of companies and their total nominations at the end of this article.
This is the time when we turn it over to the audience to make the final decisions. We ask that you vote only once for each category and that you sign up using a working email address through our newsletter registration. Deadline to register is midnight, Wednesday, August 18th. We’ve placed the easy sign-up form right after the nominations.
Voting begins on August 19th, with the winners announced on Friday, August 27th.
AUDIENCE CHOICE NOMINATIONS
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, 1st 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, 1st 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, Folgers
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/1st 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
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This year’s voting will be done exclusively by active subscribers to the DCTS newsletter. If you are interested in receiving the invitation which will include a private link to the nominations, the deadline for signing up is midnight, August 18, 2010.
Once you complete the above form, you will be sent an email verification. You must click the verify link in order to activate your subscription. If you think you are subscribed but have not received a newsletter in the past week, you should re-subscribe. If you have any questions or difficulties, send an email here.
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Sortable table showing total nominations for 42 Washington area theatre companies
| Theatre Company | Total Nominations |
|---|---|
| 1st Stage | 2 |
| Adventure Theatre | 3 |
| American Century Theater | 1 |
| Arena Stage | 15 |
| Bay Theatre | 6 |
| Charter Theatre | 1 |
| Constellation Theatre Company | 4 |
| Dark Horse Theatre | 1 |
| DC Arts Center | 1 |
| Discovery Theatre | 1 |
| Folger Theatre | 5 |
| Ford's Theatre | 7 |
| Forum Theatre | 9 |
| Fringe Wattage | 1 |
| GALA Hispanic Theatre | 4 |
| Hub Theatre | 1 |
| Imagination Stage | 5 |
| In-Series | 1 |
| Kennedy Center | 10 |
| Keegan Theatre | 11 |
| Landless Theatre | 7 |
| Limelight Theatre | 1 |
| Lumina Studio Theater | 1 |
| MetroStage | 2 |
| Olney Theatre Center | 8 |
| Quotidian Theatre | 5 |
| Rep Stage | 9 |
| Round House Theatre | 5 |
| Shakespeare Theatre | 4 |
| Signature Theatre | 16 |
| Solas Nua | 4 |
| Studio Theatre | 16 |
| Synetic Theater | 8 |
| Synetic Family Theater | 1 |
| Taffety Punk | 2 |
| Theater J | 5 |
| Toby's Dinner Theatre | 8 |
| Venus Theatre | 1 |
| Washington Shakespeare Company | 7 |
| Washington National Opera | 2 |
| Washington Stage Guild | 1 |
| Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company | 10 |
I vote for Joseph Leo Bwarie as BEST and FAVORITE Performer in a Touring Production;
I vote for JERSEY BOYS as Favorite TOURING (NON-RESIDENTIAL) SHOW
Jim, what about Fringe shows that were “find your own venue?” I saw two shows that fell into this category, both Helen Hayes eligible shows, both with the 4 or 5 star rating on DCTS, and yet they didn’t make the list. I just don’t understand.
This is stupid. Why don’t you just nominate every show in town (oh, you already did that) and allow people to vote for their friends in the acting catagories (opps, you did that too).
Lame, Just like the Helen Hayes.
Love their party though……………………………….
Joe Smilkowski
I VOTE FOR WNO
Monty, I should marry you. I totally agree. I posted earlier to ask why certain shows were NOT on this list, i.e. some of the wonderful shows that were in some of this year’s theatre festivals that do NOT have their own awards. The reply from DCTS was that festival shows weren’t included because they had ‘limited’ runs, yet a Fringe Wattage show is on this nominee list? Doesn’t make sense. I think that “Yours, Isabelle” was great, yet I saw it on a night with about 5 other people in the audience. Sure, DCTS covered it, but how many others saw it for it to be on this list and not any of the Source Festival full-length shows or DC Black Theatre Festival or Hip Hop Theatre Festival full-lengths?
Mr. Ying, I have no problem with DCTS focusing exclusively on professional theater……but then do that. You can’t say in one breath that this is a site about DC professional theater and then have positings by writers who mix professional, community, and youth theater in their opinion pieces about the “best theater of the year.” Pick a horse and stay on it. And I agree with some others here that it would be nice if you focused on DC professional theater and not mix that with national tours that come through DC…..clearly those are two different animals.
Excellent! I was hoping the Dark Horse Theatre Co’s Oleanna would not get passed up this year. I came into this show being pretty skeptical with it being a brand new theatre company and all, and all I can say is that Ms. Warner’s portrayal of Carol was hands down one of the best pieces of acting I have seen in years. I still have chills thinking about it. What an unbelievable new talent!
I have been very active in MD community theater for well over 10 years and have worked with a couple of dozen groups in that time. I am a big advocate of supporting local community theater, but still, I don’t think that this is the right forum to include those theaters despite the wonderful work that is being done all around town.
First, as John D pointed out, the non-professional theater community has the WATCH awards. They also have the Ruby Griffith awards and a web-site at http://www.srbnet.com run by the very longtime devoted community theater advocate, Scott Bloom. There is a lot of support out there for community theater. But besides that, community theater is just beyond the scope of what we can do here. Thanks to Lorraine and Joel and Tim, we have recruited a ton of writers. Over the last year, DCTS staff has increased and we have been able to review more shows than we have in the past. We reviewed close to 250 shows with less than 20 writers, plus five festivals (including all 132 shows in the Fringe festival). That was a lot of theater for this team and I’m proud to be a part of it. However, looking at SRBnet, there are 10 community theaters in DC, 34 in VA and 89 in MD. And I know a handful of other theaters that have smaller communities that are not even listed on SRBnet. There are well over 100 community theaters in the DC metro area and they average 3-5 shows per season. That’s another 300-500 shows. Even if you rule out the further ones (Annapolis, Baltimore, Frederick) and only concentrate on the local DC area, there are still over 70 theaters. That’s just so far beyond the scope of what we can cover. And it would extremely unfair to include some and not all of the local talent and shows just because we didn’t cover it.
[Editor’s note: ShowBizRadio.net also does a fine job of covering and reviewing community theatre.]
One third of the shows I see are touring productions at the Kennedy Center, The Warner, The Hippodrome, and The National, and I am glad that these awards allow me to vote for the shows and performances I liked.
I’m curious as to why DCTS, much like Helen Hayes, spends time giving awards to out-of-town actors and touring shows. Certainly, for someone like Billy Crystal, this recognition is barely a blip on their radar. I’d rather see that time spent on local talent, whether it be a “Favorite Community Theatre Play” and “Favorite Community Theatre Musical,” or even technical recognition of some of the fine work that’s being done in DC.
This isn’t meant to bash, or raise anyone’s hackles. I just don’t understand the DC love affair with touring shows and out-of-town actors.
Hey Monty, if you got qualms start your own website and cover all the theatre in town. I just checked and conceiteddipshit.com is available.
Celia Blitzer was exceptonal in “Hairspray”. Cheers, Dave
I just wanted to thank DCTS for putting together the awards every year. Thank you very much for the nominations. It also feels great to see shows I worked on, on the list and see some great friends of mine recognized. Thanks again!
I’d just like to point out that I posted the first comment and am not the “John” that posted the subsequent comments.
Folks, community theatres have the WATCH Awards to celebrate their work, plus Joel Markowitz highlights talented community productions and actors almost more frequently than professional ones. Also, we are in a city that has such a large amount of theatre deemed “professional” – i.e. theatres that, though often too small to do so, make the effort to compensate the artists who contribute to them and their city, that opening up this vote to community productions is like saying that film awards should include student films.
Also, to refer to DC Theatre as “incestuous” has about as much bite as saying Hollywood film or NY theatre is “incestuous”. Of course it is, and there isn’t anything wrong with that (unless of course you’re an actor complaining about not getting auditions/callbacks). Arts communities form, sometimes specific theatres, sometimes the whole city, people like who they like (we all have tastes), want to work with who they like, and yes, my God, socializing can help with that. Our parents have been trying to teach us that since we were five.
So, to the nominees I say congratulations on your great work and professional accomplishments, to naysayers, I say to write a strongly worded entry on your next blog so you can express your views as freely as DCTS has, and to DCTS, I say thank you for again drawing attention to how much wonderful theatre we have in our area.
I’d like to think DCTS is trying to advance Washington’s theatre scene. Let’s not let it dissolve into arguments about “What is real/good theatre?”
I have to agree with Monty, to an extent. It seems to me that certain sources, including DCTS, like to pat themselves on the back with how much work they do in covering local theatre. It’s quite interesting as I peruse these reviews from the past year to read that 90% of them are positive and many aren’t in-depth reviews at all, but summarizations. Could the applause have something to do with a bias towards theatres that advertise with them? Could it be that CERTAIN REVIEWERS have an affinity towards CERTAIN REVIEWERS and just can’t stand to say something negative about their performances. What are the criteria in highlighting nearly 30 performers in some of these categories?
Amen, Monty.
Oh Monty… please go back to peddling the Dogpedic Sleep System.
Melissa gets it right! All this voting and ranking and awards (yes Joel, including your arbitrary best-ofs) is a sign of an out-of-control incestuous community who gets far too much gratification from a masturbatory exercise of patting itself on the back. Can’t we just celebrate our vibrant theatre community without these unnecessary distractions? And Adam is right…..though its not across the board, there are clearly some volunteer theaters who put on productions that are just as good, if not better, than SOME of the “professional” theaters around town…..don’t generalize until you’ve gone out and seen enough of both.
Altho I enjoyed DC theater at the ATCA conference when I learned what a rich vibrant community it is, I don’t go as often as I’d like mainly because I’m kept busy covering Anne Arundel County. I’m very pleased to see Toby’s and Bay Theatre productions mentioned and several gifted, most deserving actors from Toby’s Hairspray and Bay’s Mauritius and Harvey. Both organizations will be pleased to be in such illustrious theater company.
Adam must have lost his mind. There is no way community theatre comes anywhere close.
Olivia: You can register to vote through tomorrow night August 18th at midnight. We’ve placed the easy sign-up form right after the nominations on this page.
Celia Blitzer was amazing a Tracy in Hairspray at Toby’s!!!
Is it too late to vote or what? I’m confused!
Good to see talent still being judged by who one drinks with. Wouldn’t want to get crazy on us or anything.
Disagree with Adam. Stick to the better stuff.
I wish you would include community theater musicals and plays. The quality of those shows in the DC area are just as good, if not better than the nominations you’ve listed above. Shame you can’t include all of DC Theater.
Great group of performers, though some of the omissions are a little strange…namely, that Henry V, which Tim gushed about so much in his feature earlier this week, was omitted in the Favorite Play category in favor of Richard II, and Casie Platt’s Harper Pitt, also a favorite of many of your critics, doesn’t appear here either. How are the final lists determined?