Our distinguished hero
First, the good news. The nominations for the 2008–09 Joseph Jefferson Awards get so much right. Among many heartening findings in the Equity nods—including that, in a season when the marginalization of female playwrights has been a hot topic, all five nominees for new plays are by women—there aren’t many among the 179 noms that we’d strike from the roster.
That isn’t what we’re here for, of course. No, we’re here to root out the egregiously overlooked, the deserving artists whom Old Joe missed. Interestingly, this year some of the rightly nominated make the Jeff committee’s omissions all the more glaring. The full list of nominations follows our take.
Northlight’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore gets a well-earned Best Production nod; scan the rest of the list, though, and it would seem the only individual aspect that made it worth rewarding was the truly astounding blood effects by Steve Tolin (who, nonsensically, is in competition with fight choreographer Ned Mochel and video designer Mike Tutaj). We guess director BJ Jones’s metronomically precise pacing had nothing to do with the production’s success; nor did Cliff Chamberlain’s darkly charming portrayal of the titular assassin.
Two of the year’s best musicals, Caroline, or Change and A Minister’s Wife, picked up six nominations a piece. It’s astounding that not one was for Kate Fry, whose stellar performances in both shows were central to their appeal.
While Collaboraction’s terrific Jon netted noms for Tutaj and adapter Seth Bockley, JoJeff apparently didn’t notice how much of that show’s allure depended on the savvy performances by leads Lucas Neff and Kelly O’Sullivan (at left) as reality-deprived teens, not to mention Guy Massey’s supporting turn as their mentor-captor.
And as glad as we are to see Hollis Resnik’s Grey Gardens star turn represented, we searched the supporting categories in vain for the names of her intrepid costars Tempe Thomas, Ann Whitney, George Keating and Patrick Sarb.
Grey Gardens scenic designer John Culbert’s accomplishments go strangely unrecognized, too, as do Todd Rosenthal’s artfully grungy environment for Edward II and Dean Taucher’s appropriately depressing office-park lunchroom in Blackbird. The absence of Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath’s sound design among Rock ‘n’ Roll’s three nods, meanwhile, strikes us as particularly ironic; Stoppard may have prescribed the songs, but the designers created a sonic experience unlike anything we’ve heard at the Goodman before.
Speaking of rock, kudos to the committee for acknowledging Nick Garrison’s exquisite performance under Jesse Klug’s dazzling lights in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. (It’s small comfort for the total snubbing of the rest of American Theater Company’s outstanding season: The People’s Temple and Celebrity Row were ineligible for nominations, since Jeff’s first-nighters declined to recommend them, while the bracing True West–Topdog/Underdog experiment in collaboration with Congo Square just slipped voters’ minds since January.) So where’s Hedwig’s Production nod?
Which brings us to our one bit of proactive advice for Jeff and his earthly representatives. For the second year, many awards have been partitioned into semi-arbitrary “Large” and “Midsize” subcategories, a move that still strikes us as well-meaning but misguided. Hedwig’s absence makes it impossible not to notice that, also for the second year, the committee’s managed to scrape up just two nominees for midsize musical; either Porchlight’s uninspiring Once on This Island or the tepid commercial endeavor Tomorrow Morning will take home an award by default. If the Jeffs won’t cut the glut and put everyone back in the same league, it should at least hit reset on the musical category. If it does, we can start with good news again next year.
The Equity Jeff Awards will be presented October 19 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts; the full list of nominees is below.
PRODUCTION – PLAY - LARGE
“The Arabian Nights” - Lookingglass Theatre Company
“Boleros for the Disenchanted” - Goodman Theatre
“The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of King Edward II …” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
“The Lieutenant of Inishmore” - Northlight Theatre
“The Piano Lesson” - Court Theatre
“Ruined” - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
“The Seafarer” - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
“Twelfth Night” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
PRODUCTION – PLAY - MIDSIZE
“The History Boys” - TimeLine Theatre Company
“The Little Foxes” - Shattered Globe Theatre
“A Moon for the Misbegotten” - First Folio Theatre
“Not Enough Air” - TimeLine Theatre Company
“Our Lady of the Underpass” - Teatro Vista . . . Theatre with a View
“The Overwhelming” - Next Theatre Company
“These Shining Lives” - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
PRODUCTION – MUSICAL - LARGE
“The Boys from Syracuse” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
“Caroline, or Change” - Court Theatre
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” - Marriott Theatre
“Million Dollar Quartet” - Dee Gee Theatricals, John Cossette Productions and Northern Lights, Inc.
“A Minister’s Wife”- Writers’ Theatre
“Miss Saigon” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” - Marriott Theatre
PRODUCTION – MUSICAL - MIDSIZE
“Once on this Island” - Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
“Tomorrow Morning” - Hillary A. Williams, LLC
PRODUCTION – REVUE
“America: All Better!” - The Second City
“Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars” - John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Margaret Cotter
“Studs Terkel’s Not Working” - The Second City e.t.c.
ENSEMBLE
“The Arabian Nights” - Lookingglass Theatre Company
“The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of King Edward II…” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
“Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars” - John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Margaret Cotter
“The History Boys” - TimeLine Theatre Company
“Million Dollar Quartet” - Dee Gee Theatricals, John Cossette Productions and Northern Lights, Inc.
“Scenes from the Big Picture” - Seanachai Theatre Company
“The Seafarer” - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
“Studs Terkel’s Not Working” - The Second City e.t.c.
NEW WORK – PLAY
Lisa Dillman - “The Walls” - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Lynn Nottage - “Ruined” - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
Masha Obolensky - “Not Enough Air” - TimeLine Theatre Company
Tanya Saracho - “Kita y Fernanda” - 16th Street Theater
Tanya Saracho - “Our Lady of the Underpass” - Teatro Vista…Theatre with a View
NEW ADAPTATION – PLAY
Seth Bockley - “Jon” - Collaboraction
Frank Galati - “Kafka on the Shore” - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Frank Mahon & Milissa Pacelli - “The Quiet Man Tales” - Libby Adler Mages, Tony D’Angelo and Smock Alley Theater Company
NEW WORK OR ADAPTATION - MUSICAL
David H. Bell & Jeremy Cohen - “The Bowery Boys” - Marriott Theatre
David H. Bell & Keith Dworkin - “The Boys from Syracuse” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Josh Schmidt, Jan Tranen & Austin Pendleton - “A Minister’s Wife” - Writers’ Theatre
DIRECTOR - PLAY
Randall Arney - “The Seafarer” - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Nick Bowling - “The History Boys” - TimeLine Theatre Company
David Cromer - “Picnic” - Writers’ Theatre
Sean Graney - “The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of King Edward II…” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Ron OJ Parsons - “The Piano Lesson” - Court Theatre
John Tillinger - “Don’t Dress for Dinner” - The British Stage Company
Alison C. Vesely - “A Moon for the Misbegotten” - First Folio Theatre
Rachel Walshe - “These Shining Lives” - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Kate Whoriskey - “Ruined” - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
DIRECTOR - MUSICAL
David H. Bell - “The Boys from Syracuse” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Michael Halberstam - “A Minister’s Wife” - Writers’ Theatre
Charles Newell - “Caroline, or Change” - Court Theatre
Marc Robin - “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” - Marriott Theatre
Rachel Rockwell - “Miss Saigon” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
DIRECTOR – REVUE
Gerald Alessandrini & William Selby - “Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars” - John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Margaret Cotter
Matt Hovde - “America: All Better!” - The Second City
Matt Hovde - “Studs Terkel’s Not Working” - The Second City e.t.c.
ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Maury Cooper - “Buried Child” - Shattered Globe Theatre
Russell G. Jones - “Ruined” - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
Timothy Edward Kane - “Rock ‘n’ Roll” - Goodman Theatre
Larry Neumann, Jr. - “A Moon for the Misbegotten” - First Folio Theatre
William L. Petersen - “Blackbird” - Victory Gardens Theater
Robert Stella - “Amadeus” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Joseph Anthony Foronda - “Miss Saigon” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Sean Fortunato - “Curtains” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Nick Garrison - “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” - American Theater Company
Brian Sears - “The Bowery Boys” - Marriott Theatre
Richard Strimer - “Crazy for You” - Theatre at the Center
ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE - PLAY
Janet Ulrich Brooks - “Not Enough Air” - TimeLine Theatre Company
Saidah Arrika Ekulona - “Ruined” - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
Mary Beth Fisher - “Rock ‘n’ Roll” - Goodman Theatre
Kirsten Fitzgerald - “Pumpgirl” - A Red Orchid Theatre
Mattie Hawkinson - “Blackbird” - Victory Gardens Theater
Peggy Roeder - “Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory & The Thanksgiving Visitor” - Provision Theater
Rebecca Spence - “These Shining Lives” - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
E. Faye Butler - “Caroline, or Change” - Court Theatre
McKinley Carter - “John and Jen” - Apple Tree Theatre
Mary Ernster - “The Light in the Piazza” - Marriott Theatre
Mary Ernster - “Wings” - Apple Tree Theatre
Hollis Resnik - “Grey Gardens” - Northlight Theatre
SOLO PERFORMANCE
Taylor Mac - “The Young Ladies of . . .” - About Face Theatre
Max McLean - “Mark’s Gospel” - Fellowship for the Performing Arts
Tom Mula - “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” - Theater Wit
Gwendolyn Whiteside - “The K of D: An Urban Legend” - The Route 66 Theatre Company
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Lance Baker - “Mauritius” - Northlight Theatre
Jake Cohen - “Up” - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Jon Michael Hill - “The Tempest” - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Ross Lehman - “Twelfth Night” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Ron Rains - “The Quiet Man Tales” - Libby Adler Mages, Tony D’Angelo and Smock Alley Theater Company
Alex Weisman - “The History Boys” - TimeLine Theatre Company
Larry Yando - “Twelfth Night” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Malcolm Durning - “Caroline, or Change” - Court Theatre
Sean Fortunato - “The Producers” - Theatre at the Center
Levi Kreis - “Million Dollar Quartet” - Dee Gee Theatricals, John Cossette Productions, and Northern Lights, Inc.
Dennis Moench - “All Shook Up” - Marriott Theatre
Max Quinlan - “The Light in the Piazza” - Marriott Theatre
Alan Schmuckler - “A Minister’s Wife” - Writers’ Theatre
Bernie Yvon - “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” - Marriott Theatre
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Janet Ulrich Brooks - “Weekend” - TimeLine Theatre Company
Hillary Clemens - “Picnic” - Writers’ Theatre
Linda Gehringer - “The Crowd You’re In With” - Goodman Theatre
Spencer Kayden - “Don’t Dress for Dinner” - The British Stage Company
Eileen Niccolai - “The Little Foxes” - Shattered Globe Theatre
Roxanne Reese - “Magnolia” - Goodman Theatre
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - MUSICAL
Liz Baltes - “A Minister’s Wife” - Writers’ Theatre
Melanie Brezill - “Caroline, or Change” - Court Theatre
Alene Robertson - “Mame” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Summer Smart - “The Light in the Piazza” - Marriott Theatre
Laura E. Taylor - “The Producers” - Theatre at the Center
Nancy Voigts - “Curtains” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
ACTOR IN A REVUE
Mark David Kaplan - “Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars” - John Freedson, Harriet Yellin, and Margaret Cotter
George Andrew Wolff - “Side by Side by Sondheim” - Light Opera Works Second Stage
ACTRESS IN A REVUE
Amanda Blake Davis – “Studs Terkel’s Not Working” - The Second City e.t.c.
Anne Gunn – “Side by Side by Sondheim” - Light Opera Works Second Stage
Leisa Mather – “Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars” - John Freedson, Harriet Yellin, and Margaret Cotter
SCENIC DESIGN - LARGE
Christopher Ash - “Pump Boys & Dinettes” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Brian Sidney Bembridge - “The Maids” - Writers’ Theatre
Linda Buchanan - “Boleros for the Disenchanted” - Goodman Theatre
Kevin Depinet - “The Crowd You’re In With” - Goodman Theatre
Jack Magaw - “Picnic” - Writers’ Theatre
Lucy Osborne - “Twelfth Night” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
SCENIC DESIGN - MIDSIZE
Brian Sidney Bembridge - “The History Boys” - TimeLine Theatre Company
Melania Lancy - “The Little Foxes” - Shattered Globe Theatre
Angela Miller - “A Moon for the Misbegotten” - First Folio Theatre
Courtney O’Neill - “Talk Radio” - The Gift Theatre Company
Keith Pitts - “Weekend” - TimeLine Theatre Company
COSTUME DESIGN - LARGE
Mara Blumenfeld - “The Arabian Nights” - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Dona Granata - “Turn of the Century” - Goodman Theatre
Virgil Johnson - “Amadeus” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Lucy Osborne - “Twelfth Night” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Tatjana Radisic - “Mame” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
COSTUME DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Rachel Laritz - “The Voysey Inheritance” - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Bill Morey - “Candide” - Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Alison Siple - “The Marriage of Figaro” - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
SOUND DESIGN – LARGE
Lindsay Jones - “Macbeth” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Ray Nardelli - “Miss Saigon” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Andre J. Pluess - “Ghostwritten” - Goodman Theatre
Josh Schmidt - “The Tempest” - Steppenwolf Theatre
Darron L. West - “Radio Macbeth” - Court Theatre
SOUND DESIGN - MIDSIZE
Joe Court - “The Unseen” - A Red Orchid Theatre
Andrew Hansen - “Not Enough Air” - TimeLine Theatre Company
Lindsay Jones - “The K of D: An Urban Legend” - The Route 66 Theatre Company
LIGHTING DESIGN – LARGE
Christopher Akerlind - “Rock ‘n’ Roll” - Goodman Theatre
John Horan - “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” - Northlight Theatre
James Ingalls - “Kafka on the Shore” - Steppenwolf Theatre
Natasha Katz - “Turn of the Century” - Goodman Theatre
Jesse Klug - “Miss Saigon” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Philip S. Rosenberg - “Amadeus” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
LIGHTING DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Matthew Gawryk - “The Unseen” - A Red Orchid Theatre
Jeremy Getz - “El Grito del Bronx” - Collaboraction and Teatro Vista i/a/w Goodman Theatre
Shelley Strasser Holland - “The Glass Menagerie” - Shattered Globe Theatre
Jesse Klug - “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” - American Theater Company
Tyler Micoleau - “The Screwtape Letters” - Fellowship for the Performing Arts
CHOREOGRAPHY
David H. Bell - “The Boys from Syracuse” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Brenda Didier - “Once on this Island” - Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Linda Fortunato - “Crazy for You” - Theatre at the Center
Matt Raftery - “The Bowery Boys” - Marriott Theatre
Marc Robin - “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” - Marriott Theatre
ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC
Andrew Hansen - “Not Enough Air” - TimeLine Theatre Company
Alaric Jans - “Twelfth Night” - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Dominic Kanza - “Ruined” - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
MUSIC DIRECTION
Richard Carsey - “A Minister’s Wife” - Writers’ Theatre
Eugene Dizon - “Candide” - Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Roberta Duchak - “Miss Saigon” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
Michael Mahler - “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” - Marriott Theatre
Ryan T. Nelson - “The Light in the Piazza” - Marriott Theatre
Doug Peck - “Caroline, or Change” - Court Theatre
Doug Peck - “Wings” - Apple Tree Theatre
Malcolm Ruhl - “Pump Boys & Dinettes” - Drury Lane Oakbrook
ARTISTIC SPECIALIZATION
Ned Mochel - Fight Choreography - “On An Average Day” - The Route 66 Theatre Company
Steve Tolin - Special Effects - “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” - Northlight Theatre
Mike Tutaj - Video Design - “Jon” - Collaboraction
Mike Tutaj - Film & Video Design - “Tomorrow Morning” - Hillary A. Williams, LLC
Does the Jeff committee know what it takes to costume a show? They never nominate/ design a modern dress show or show that is not a musical or period . While I applaud all the designers they did nominated..I wish could have recognized more costume designers for the costume design - midsize and large. Come on the director - play category and others have up to nine nominees. Costumes for Hedwig, The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of King Edward II , Ruined, Boleros for the Disenchanted ,The Tempest at Steppenwolf are deserving also. and yes I am a costume designer but did not design the shows I mentioned.
with due respect to the other noms who were not represented, ATC should not have garnered any nominations outside the 2 they got as long as Paparelli still works there.
You know what would make me happy?
Taylor Mac with a Jeff.
Hi, yeahIsaidit. Thanks for being the one with the balls to say what we’re all thinking. OH WAIT, you didn’t do that at all, you just parroted some nonsense you got off Chris Jones’s comments.
ATC is doing more interesting, vital, and high-quality work now than at any point in their recent history. I don’t care who Paparelli had to piss off to make this happen. The plays are GOOD for the first time in years. And, frankly, all my (admittedly brief) interactions with PJ have left me totally impressed by his intelligence, his ambition for his company, and his commitment to provocative work that actually matters. Please go away.
really… no nom for Blackbird in Play or Director category??? also NOTHING for Graceland and Steppenwolfs New Works plays…
I think I just lost all respect for the nom committee
Jesus CHRIST, they are recognizing the amazing work of the artists involved with Hedwig, not PJ.
How would YOU feel if you busted your ass for a show and were looked over because the AD is an ass?
If that were the criteria, the Goodman would never get any nominations.
I can’t speak to the snub of “Graceland,” but are the Steppenwolf First Look plays considered full productions eligible for nomination?
Well played, Dianna. My goodness, if the judgment of artistic accomplishment must include a judgment of artists’ personalities, I guess I need to saunter down to Daley Plaza and piss all over the Picasso!
Rob Kozlowski = my hero
Profiles’ Graceland falls under the Non-Equity wing and will be eligible for those awards next summer. The First Look plays aren’t judged, since Steppenwolf bills them as in development.
Kris, what’s with calling my production of Tomorrow Morning tepid, in my box office records, I never saw that you ever attended the show. Super great journalism Kris!
Tom, you’re quite right. Try as I might, I can’t personally see everything, and I missed Tomorrow Morning last November. But then-Theater editor Christopher Piatt did see it, and my brief assessment is based on TOC’s review, linked in the reference above.
Thanks for the response but as an avid reader of Storefront Rebellion, don’t ever feel the need to base your comments on Pontius Piatt.
thanks Kris, the ‘in development’ thing is confusing but then again I don’t know your rules… still think not nominating Blackbird in the ‘Play’ category or even more in the ‘Director’ category was a gross oversight!
I am amazed how many small to mid size musicals that came out this year did not get a nomination in that category, I think Candide and Hedwig were snubbed. I did not see John and Jen or Wings at Apple Tree, but I am amazed how many did not get votes in that category!
I agree with Jack about the work ATC did this past year. True West and topdog/underdog definitely deserved recognition. Both casts were terrific and it was an interesting experiment.
KRIS– could you elaborate on your comment about the “LARGE/MIDSIZE” delineation being misguided? while on some level I agree, I have to say that there is such a huge disparity in the physical and fiscal abilities of Chicago’s equity-level theatres. especially in the design categories… it’s hard for “the small guys” to compete. if you look at the winners of the design categories for the past decade (the delineation being on it’s second year) you’ll note that there are only a VERY small number of nominations and even fewer wins for theatres who’s yearly budget is under $1M. it’s good to see exemplary work mentioned and nominated as so much TRULY exemplary work happens in town at theatres that AREN’T the big 5 or 6.