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 Work
Brothers Beckett, David Michael Sirois Alliance Theatre Lab
Captiva, Christopher Demos Brown, Zoetic Stage
The Cha-Cha of the Camel Spider, Carter W. Lewis, Florida Stage
Stuff, Michael McKeever, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Production of a Play
All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
August: Osage County, Actors' Playhouse
Clybourne Park, Caldwell Theatre Company
The Pillowman, Infinite Abyss
Stuff, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Director of a Play
Joseph Adler, Red, GableStage
Jeffrey D. Holmes, The Pillowman, Infinite Abyss
J.Barry Lewis, All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Stuart Meltzer, Captiva, Zoetic Stage
Richard Jay Simon, Side Effects, Mosaic Theatre
Best Actor in a Play
Ken Clement, Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, Actors' Playhouse
Scott Douglas Wilson, The Pillowman, Infinite Abyss
Avi Hoffman, SuperiorDonuts, GableStage
Kenneth Tigar, All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Gregg Weiner, Red, GableStage
Best Actress in a Play
Kati Brazda, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Elizabeth Dimon, All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Annette Miller, August: Osage County, Actors' Playhouse
Deborah Sherman, Side Effects, Mosaic Theatre
Laura Turnbull, August: Osage County, Actors' Playhouse
Best Supporting Actor in a Play
Antonio Amadeo, The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider, Florida Stage
Marckenson Charles, Superior Donuts, GableStage
Mark Della Ventura, Brothers Beckett, Alliance Theatre Lab
Ryan Didato, Red, GableStage
Todd Allen Durkin, Captiva, Zoetic Stage
Best Supporting Actress in a Play
Barbara Bradshaw, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Renata Eastlick, Eclipsed, The Women's Theatre Project
Elvire Emmanuelle, Eclipsed, The Women's Theatre Project
Angie Radosh, Stuff, Caldwell Theatre Company
Laura Turnbull, Lombardi, Mosaic Theatre
Best Production of a Musical
Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Song of the Living Dead, Promethean Theatre
Best Director of a Musical
Michael Leeds, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Margaret M. Ledford, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean Theatre
Mark Martino, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Mark Martino, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Marc Robin, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Actor in a Musical
Matt Loehr, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
John Pinto, Jr., Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Michael Sharon , The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Dylan H. Thompson, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Best Actress in a Musical
Colleen Amaya, The Music Man, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Joline Mujica, Hairspray, Actors' Playhouse
Vanessa Sonon, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Gabrielle Visser, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Catherine Walker, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical
Clay Cartland, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean Theatre
Michael Brian Dunn, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Avi Hoffman, Hairspray, Actors' Playhouse
Bruce Rebold, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Ryan Williams, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
Julie Kleiner , Hairspray, Actors' Playhouse
Avery Sommers, Hairspray, Actors' Playhouse
Lara Hayhurst, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Natalie Ramirez, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
April Woodall, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Musical Direction
Helen Gregory, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Kim Douglas Steiner , Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Aaron McAllister, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
David Nagy, Hairspray, Actors' Playhouse
Garrett Taylor, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Best Choreography
Chrissy Ardito, The Music Man, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Chrissy Ardito, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean Theatre
Barbara Flaten, Hairspray, Actors' Playhouse
Mark Martino, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Shea Sullivan, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Scenic Design (Play or Musical)
Michael Amico, All My Sons,Palm BeachDramaworks
Tim Bennett, Stuff, Caldwell Theatre Company
Douglas Grinn, Lombardi, Mosaic Theatre
Sean McClelland, August: Osage County, Actors' Playhouse
Michael Schweikardt, The Sound of Music, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Lighting Design (Play or Musical)
Paul Black, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
John Hall, All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Andrew Myers, The Light in the Piazza, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Jeff Quinn, Red, GableStage
Patrick Tennent, Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, Actors' Playhouse
Best Costume Design (Play or Musical)
Brian O'Keefe, All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Jose M. Rivera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Ellis Tillman, Hairspray, Actors' Playhouse
Ellis Tillman, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), GableStage
Ellis Tillman, Song of the Living Dead, Promethean Theatre
Best Sound Design (Play or Musical)
Victoria Deiorio, Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Alexander Herrin, Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, Actors' Playhouse
Keith Kohrs, Crazy for You, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Marty Mets, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Rich Szczublewski, All My Sons, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Best Ensemble
Brothers Beckett, Alliance Theatre Lab
The Brothers Size, GableStage
Clybourne Park, Caldwell Theatre Company
The Irish Curse, Mosaic Theatre
Masked, GableStage
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