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The Carbonell Awards, the Tony Awards of South Florida stage, announced their 2011 nominees last night (see the full list below). Palm Beach County gleaned a whopping 43 nominations, followed by Miami-Dade’s 28 and Broward’s 27. But one of our own theatre troupes, the Actors’ Playhouse, proved a heavy hitter, earning a total of 15 nominations, mainly for its productions of August: Osage County, Hairspray, and Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol.
GableStage got the second-most nods in our county, with eight nominations for Red, Superior Donuts, The Brothers Size, and Masked.
Zoetic Stage, a theatre group focused on original works, and The Alliance Theatre Lab each received three nominations.
Two of the four nominations for Best New Work went to Miami-Dade theatres: The Zoetic Stage’s Captiva, written by Christopher Demos-Brown, a dark comedy about a dysfunctional family; and The Alliance Theatre Lab’s Brothers Beckett, by David Michael Sirois, a sharp-witted comedy centered on two brothers’ adventures in growing up. In our “Best of Miami, 2011” issue, we named Brothers Beckett the best new play of the year. Whether the Carbonell panel will come to the same conclusion remains to be seen.
In the category for Best Production of a Play, The Actor’s Playhouse’ August, Osage County is the only Miami theatre nominated. (Incidentally, we also deemed it Best Play in our “Best of Miami” issue.) Joseph Adler and Stuart Meltzer both got nods for Best Director of a Play for their work on Red, a two-man show about abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, and Captiva, respectively. Given the forceful, clean, and sure-footed production of the former, as compared to Captiva‘s sound problems and other inconsistencies, we’re thinking Red is Miami’s best contender for the win.
Three Miamians are in the running for the Best Actor Awards: Ken Clement for Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol; Avi Hoffman for his part in Superior Donuts; and Gregg Weiner for his performance in Red. This is a tough call; since Clement seamlessly carried one-man show Jacob Marley and all its 19 or so characters, he certainly gets points for versatility and endurance. But Weiner’s fierce portrayal of ornery, paint-chucking Rothko and Hoffman’s performance as an aging, defeated hippie left strong impressions of different kinds. Seeing as Hoffman also entertained us with his hilarious performance as Wilbur Turnblad in the Actors’ Playhouse production of the musical Hairspray, we’re quietly rooting for him.
The Best Actress category saw two Miami nominations, both from the same play: Annette Miller and Laura Turnbull, both from the Actors’ Playhouse production of August: Osage County.
Notably absent were any Miami nominations for Best Director of a Musical and Best Actor in a Musical. Not totally surprising, since our theatres put on so few this year. It’s no surprise that the Actors’ Playhouse’ See Jane Run, with its awkward songs about PMS and Michelle Obama’s sex appeal, was overlooked in the musical categories, but we were a little surprised that Hairspray didn’t get a nod in either of these fields. Adorable Hairspray star Joline Mujica did, however, deservedly receive a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, and the Promethean Theatre’s Song of the Living Dead: A Zombie Musical got a nod for Best Production of a Musical. Musical director David Nagy and choreographer Barbara Flaten were also recognized with nominations for their work on Hairspray.
Actors’ Playhouse’ producing artistic director and sometimes actor David Arisco was noticeably, and in our opinion, surprisingly absent from the list of nominees (we named him Best Director of the year for his work on August: Osage County). And as one more notable element of the nominations, Miami costume designer Ellis Tillman received three of the five nominations in that category for Hairspray, GableStage’s In the Next Room, and Song of the Living Dead: A Zombie Musical at the Promethean Theatre.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
Best New WorkBrothers Beckett, David Michael Sirois Alliance Theatre LabCaptiva, Christopher Demos Brown, Zoetic StageThe Cha-Cha of the Camel Spider, Carter W. Lewis, Florida StageStuff, Michael McKeever, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Production of a PlayAll My Sons, Palm Beach DramaworksAugust: Osage County, Actors’ PlayhouseClybourne Park, Caldwell Theatre CompanyThe Pillowman, Infinite AbyssStuff, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Director of a PlayJoseph Adler, Red, GableStageJeffrey D. Holmes, The Pillowman, Infinite AbyssJ.Barry Lewis, All My Sons, Palm Beach DramaworksStuart Meltzer, Captiva, Zoetic StageRichard Jay Simon, Side Effects, Mosaic Theatre
Best Actor in a PlayKen Clement, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, Actors’ PlayhouseScott Douglas Wilson, The Pillowman, Infinite AbyssAvi Hoffman, SuperiorDonuts, GableStageKenneth Tigar, All My Sons, Palm Beach DramaworksGregg Weiner, Red, GableStage
Best Actress in a PlayKati Brazda, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Palm Beach DramaworksElizabeth Dimon, All My Sons, Palm Beach DramaworksAnnette Miller, August: Osage County, Actors’ PlayhouseDeborah Sherman, Side Effects, Mosaic TheatreLaura Turnbull, August: Osage County, Actors’ Playhouse
Best Supporting Actor in a PlayAntonio Amadeo, The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider, Florida StageMarckenson Charles, Superior Donuts, GableStageMark Della Ventura, Brothers Beckett, Alliance Theatre LabRyan Didato, Red, GableStageTodd Allen Durkin, Captiva, Zoetic Stage
Best Supporting Actress in a PlayBarbara Bradshaw, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Palm Beach DramaworksRenata Eastlick, Eclipsed, The Women’s Theatre ProjectElvire Emmanuelle, Eclipsed, The Women’s Theatre ProjectAngie Radosh, Stuff, Caldwell Theatre CompanyLaura Turnbull, Lombardi, Mosaic Theatre
Best Production of a MusicalCrazy for You, Maltz Jupiter TheatreThe Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door TheatreJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreThe Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter TheatreSong of the Living Dead, Promethean Theatre
Best Director of a MusicalMichael Leeds, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door TheatreMargaret M. Ledford, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean TheatreMark Martino, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreMark Martino, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter TheatreMarc Robin, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Actor in a MusicalMatt Loehr, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter TheatreJohn Pinto, Jr., Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreMichael Sharon , The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter TheatreDylan H. Thompson, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Best Actress in a MusicalColleen Amaya, The Music Man, Broward Stage Door TheatreJoline Mujica, Hairspray, Actors’ PlayhouseVanessa Sonon, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter TheatreGabrielle Visser, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door TheatreCatherine Walker, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Supporting Actor in a MusicalClay Cartland, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean TheatreMichael Brian Dunn, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter TheatreAvi Hoffman, Hairspray, Actors’ PlayhouseBruce Rebold, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door TheatreRyan Williams, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Supporting Actress in a MusicalJulie Kleiner , Hairspray, Actors’ PlayhouseAvery Sommers, Hairspray, Actors’ PlayhouseLara Hayhurst, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door TheatreNatalie Ramirez, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door TheatreApril Woodall, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Musical DirectionHelen Gregory, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter TheatreKim Douglas Steiner , Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreAaron McAllister, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter TheatreDavid Nagy, Hairspray, Actors’ PlayhouseGarrett Taylor, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Best ChoreographyChrissy Ardito, The Music Man, Broward Stage Door TheatreChrissy Ardito, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean TheatreBarbara Flaten, Hairspray, Actors’ PlayhouseMark Martino, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreShea Sullivan, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Scenic Design (Play or Musical)Michael Amico, All My Sons,Palm BeachDramaworksTim Bennett, Stuff, Caldwell Theatre CompanyDouglas Grinn, Lombardi, Mosaic TheatreSean McClelland, August: Osage County, Actors’ PlayhouseMichael Schweikardt, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Lighting Design (Play or Musical)Paul Black, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreJohn Hall, All My Sons, Palm Beach DramaworksAndrew Myers, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door TheatreJeff Quinn, Red, GableStagePatrick Tennent, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, Actors’ Playhouse
Best Costume Design (Play or Musical)Brian O’Keefe, All My Sons, Palm Beach DramaworksJose M. Rivera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreEllis Tillman, Hairspray, Actors’ PlayhouseEllis Tillman, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), GableStageEllis Tillman, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean Theatre
Best Sound Design (Play or Musical)Victoria Deiorio, Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Maltz Jupiter TheatreAlexander Herrin, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, Actors’ PlayhouseKeith Kohrs, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter TheatreMarty Mets, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter TheatreRich Szczublewski, All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Best EnsembleBrothers Beckett, Alliance Theatre LabThe Brothers Size, GableStageClybourne Park, Caldwell Theatre CompanyThe Irish Curse, Mosaic TheatreMasked, GableStage
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