Lost in Space

The coveted Carbonell Awards will be given out on November 18 at a formal, black-tie-optional gala at the Amaturo Theatre in the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. The Carbonells, South Florida's answer to the Tonys and Obies, are well regarded within the theater community but remain decidedly obscure to the public at large. Despite being professional producers, publicists, and critics, the Carbonells people haven't put much effort into educating the public on who or what they are. Part of this may be because of success: This is the 27th annual awards event. Thus its managers may think everyone who needs to know does know about them. They also seem rather touchy: When I poked mild fun at the Carbonells' mystery in a recent column ("Who are those guys?"), one insider e-mailed me a name to call for information and couldn't resist tweaking me back: "None of this is a secret."

Maybe not, but if I am in the dark about the Carbonells, you can bet the general public isn't much more enlightened, especially residents who haven't been here very long. Accordingly, here are some facts:

The annual awards honor excellence in South Florida professional theater. Originally founded by the South Florida Critics Circle (I don't know them either; I expect I'll get another e-mail about that), the awards became jointly administered by the Theatre League of South Florida in 1994. The Carbonells now are managed by their own board of trustees. A committee of volunteers votes on awards for acting, directing, design, and several other categories. The voting committee consists of critics from the Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel, the Palm Beach Post, and other publications, as well as arts administrators, writers, directors, and educators, all of whom are required to see a minimum of 35 productions among the many affiliated theater companies in the region.

The awards are named after Manuel Carbonell, the Cuban-born sculptor who created the original bronze and marble award in 1976. His gallery, Beaux Arts Collections, casts and donates the statuettes each season. Legendary Broadway director George Abbott (1887-1995), a long-time Miami Beach resident, lent his support to the Carbonells in the mid-1980s; his widow, Joy, continues to present the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, the high point of the event. The Carbonells also sponsor visual arts, performing arts, and journalism scholarships. Since 1978 more than $100,000 in scholarships has been awarded to students in the tri-county area. Mystery solved.