Arden Theatre rides high in Barrymore Award nominations

Productions by Arden Theatre Company in Center City overwhelm the nominations for this year’s Barrymore Awards for excellence in Philadelphia theater. The Arden received 39 nominations for the award, announced Monday afternoon by Theatre Philadelphia, the umbrella group of stage companies in the region and sponsor of the Barrymore Awards.

See all the nominees below.

The Arden is followed in nominations by Wilma Theater, with 16; InterAct and People’s Light, with 13 nominations each; Ego Po with 11, and 11th Hour Theatre Company and Theatre Horizon with nine each. Sixteen more theater companies also received nominations in 26 award categories.

The nominees were announced at the Drake, the city’s newest space for theater, with two stages built into the side of the Drake Hotel on Spruce Street. The nominees reflect the breadth of professional theater in the Philadelphia region where, for the past 20 years, stage companies have blossomed and audiences have responded to the work they offer. Sixty Barrymore Award nominators and 12 judges saw 107 productions over the past year, staged by 39 companies. On Monday, 23 companies were given nominations in categories for directing, acting and stage design.

The Barrymores include medallions and, for some categories, a total of $75,500 in cash awards. Winners will be announced at an awards show October 30 at the Merriam Theater.

One of the honors was revealed Monday – the lifetime achievement award will go to Penelope Reed, director emeritus of Hedgerow Theatre Company near Media, a historic company she shepherded for decades. In addition to being a theater educator, Reed’s career has included directing and a wide variety of roles she’s played, particularly at Hedgerow. Offstage, she’s known as a theater artist quick to fashion an idea and develop it; onstage, depending on the role, she has a charming presence.

Once again this year, two theater companies did not participate in the awards. Opting out are the Walnut Street Theatre – by far the largest in audience and budgets, and the nation’s oldest continuously operating theater – and Media Theatre, a producer of musicals in Delaware County. Their decisions not to participate skew the Barrymores, which nevertheless continue to recognize a wealth of well-regarded work on stages throughout the region. It’s not unusual for shows – generally in three- to four-week runs, to be extended.

Barrymore nominations recognize six of the Arden’s seven productions in the past theater season that ended June 30. Oddly, the stage company’s sophisticated, inventive production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the sole Arden show without a Barrymore nomination. Five of the company’s shows received nominations for best production of the year: A comedy about drag-queening called “The Legend of Georgia McBride” and Aaron Posner’s remarkable take on Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” called “Stupid F#*@ing Bird,” are nominated for best play production. “Gypsy” is nominated as best musical production, as are two other musicals that were part of the Arden’s family-theater shows, “A Year with Frog & Toad” and “The Light Princess.”

The Wilma’s 16 nominations include one for Andrew Bovell’s play “When the Rain Stops Falling,” as best play production. The tale of decisions and repercussions by members of a family garnered 11 nominations in different categories.

InterAct Theatre Company’s 13 nominations include one for best production of a play for “How to Use a Knife,” Will Snider’s smart look at the goings-on in a small restaurant kitchen. The play accounts for six of the company’s nominations. People’s Light and Theatre Company in Malvern is nominated for best play production for “The Mountaintop,” Katori Hall’s fantasy about the last night of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. The production accounts for seven of its 13 nominations.

Six of Ego Po Classic Theatre’s 11 nominations are for its production of Chekhov’s “The Seagull, including one for best play production. 11th Hour Theatre Company, which specializes nowadays in concert versions of musicals, puts on one full production during the season. This past season, it was “Lizzie,” an outré look at Lizzie Borden’s life, which accounts for all the company’s nine nominations, including one for best musical production. Two of the nine nominations for Theatre Horizon in Norristown are for cash awards: one for an evolving theater company, another for its education program.

The other nominee for best production of a play is Philadelphia Theatre Company’s “Hand to God.” For best musical production, other nominees are “Godspell” from Eagle Theatre in Hammonton, N.J., and “Monty Python’s Spamalot” from Resident Theatre Company in West Chester.

To qualify for Barrymore awards, a theater company must pay its cast and crew minimums of $150 a week for actors, $500 a show for designers and $750 a show for directors. For the record, larger companies holding contracts with Actors’ Equity, the national union of actors and stage managers, must pay more than those minimum scales.

An all-volunteer team of Barrymore nominators declared whether shows were eligible for nominations and in which categories. Among the 60 nominators — theater artists, academics and some critics — teams of eight were randomly assigned to see each eligible production, and forwarded their recommendations to a panel of 12 judges. The panel met quarterly and eventually narrowed their choices down to a maximum of seven nominees in play categories, four in musical categories.

The same 12 judges will use a weighted scoring system to vote their choices for first, second and so on in each category. The nominee with the highest score in each category will be the winner.

The Barrymore Award Nominees

Here is a complete list of Barrymore Award nominees for the 2015/16 theater season, which began July 1, 2015, and ended June 30 this year.

Outstanding Overall Production of a Play

• How to Use a Knife (InterAct Theatre Company)
• The Legend of Georgia McBride (Arden Theatre Company)
• The Mountaintop (People’s Light and Theatre Company
• The Seagull (EgoPo Classic Theater)
• Stupid F#*@ing Bird (Arden Theatre Company)
• When the Rain Stops Falling (The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical

• A Year with Frog & Toad (Arden Theatre Company)
• Godspell (Eagle Theatre)
• Gypsy (Arden Theatre Company)
• The Light Princess (Arden Theatre Company)
• Lizzie (11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Monty Python’s Spamalot (Resident Theatre Company)

Outstanding Direction of a Play

• Steve H. Broadnax III (The Mountaintop, People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Emmanuelle Delpech (The Legend of Georgia McBride, Arden Theatre Company)
• Brenna Geffers (Anna, EgoPo Classic Theater)
• Claire Moyer (Radiant Vermin, Inis Nua Theatre Company)
• Aaron Posner (Stupid F#*@ing Bird, Arden Theatre Company)
• Lane Savadove (The Seagull, EgoPo Classic Theater)
• Blanka Zizka (When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

• Kate Galvin (Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Kristin McLaughlin Mitchell (Monty Python’s Spamalot, Resident Theatre Company)
• Terrence J. Nolen (Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)
• Steve Pacek (The Light Princess, Arden Theatre Company)
• Ted Wioncek III (John and Jen, Eagle Theatre)

Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play

• Jaylene Clark Owens (as Vanessa, WHITE, Theatre Horizon)
• Sarah Gliko (as Marianne, Constellations, The Wilma Theater)
• Eleanor Handley (as Romaine Helger, Witness for the Prosecution, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Patrese D. McLain (as Camae, The Mountaintop, People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Kittson O’Neill (as The Pilot, Grounded, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Susan Riley Stevens (as Emma Goldman, Marcus/Emma, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Samantha Rosenstrater (as Shelly, Grand Concourse, Theatre Horizon)

Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play

• Akeem Davis (as Jackson, Buzzer, Theatre Exile)
• Akeem Davis (as Marcus Garvey, Marcus/Emma, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Scott Greer (as George, How to Use a Knife, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Jered McLenigen (as Roland, Constellations, The Wilma Theater)
• Aubie Merrylees (as Tyrone, Jason, Hand to God, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
• Matteo Scammell (as Casey, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Arden Theatre Company)
• Lindsay Smiling (as Steve, How to Use a Knife, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Bowman Wright (as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Mountaintop, People’s Light and Theatre Company)

Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical

• Kim Carson (as Chanteuse, Sleeping Beauty, People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Alex Keiper (as Lizzie Borden, Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Mary Martello (as Rose, Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)
• Nicole Stacie (Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, New Freedom Theatre)

Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical

• Alex Bechtel (Prince/Witch, The Light Princess, Arden Theatre Company)
• Ben Dibble (Toad, A Year with Frog and Toad, Arden Theatre Company)
• Steve Pacek (Gordon Michael Schwinn, A New Brain, Theatre Horizon)
• Tim Rinehart (Black Stache, Peter and the Starcatcher, Eagle Theatre)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play

• Carla Belver (Genevieve, John, Arden Theatre Company)
• Nancy Boykin (Older Elizabeth Law, When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)
• Taysha Canales (Younger Gabrielle York, When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)
• Eleni Delopoulos (Radiant Vermin, Inis Nua Theatre Company)
• Melanye Finister (Older Gabrielle York, When the Rain Stops Falling, The WIlma Theater)
• Hillary Parker (Liz, You for Me for You, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Stephanie N. Walters (Lamb 1, Peaceable Kingdom, Orbiter 3)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play

• David Bardeen (Frog, Grand Concourse, Theatre Horizon)
• J Hernandez (Carlos, How To Use a Knife, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Dan Hodge (Dev, Stupid F#*@ing Bird, Arden Theatre Company)
• Mikeah Ernest Jennings (Rexy & Jason, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Arden Theatre Company)
• Stephen Rishard (Joe Ryan, When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)
• Ed Swidey (Trigorin, The Seagull, EgoPo Classic Theatre)
• Greg Wood (Dr. Sorn, Stupid F#*@ing Bird, Arden Theatre Company)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical

• Rachel Brennan (Bridget Sullivan, Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Rachel Camp (June, Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)
• Caroline Dooner (Louise, Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)
• Leigha Kato (Mouse, Bird, Mole, Squirrel, Young Frog, A Year with Frog and Toad, Arden Theatre Company)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical

• Malik Akil (Tulsa, Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)
• Doug Hara (Mr. Bungee, A New Brain, Theatre Horizon)
• Steve Pacek (Bird, Lizard, Snail, Mole, Father Frog, A Year with Frog and Toad, Arden Theatre Company)
• Josh Totora (Sam Slug, Sleeping Beauty, People’s Light and Theatre Company)

Outstanding Scenic Design

• Tony Cisek (The Mountaintop, People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Paul Kuhn (The Birds, Curio Theatre Company)
• Tim Mackabee (John, Arden Theatre Company)
• Sara Outing (How We Got On, Azuka Theatre)
• Matt Saunders (When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)
• Thom Weaver (The Seagull, EgoPo Classic Theatre)

Outstanding Costume Design

• Oana Botez (Adapt! The Wilma Theater)
• Richard St. Clair (A Year with Frog and Toad, Arden Theatre Company)
• Nikki Delhomme (Sleeping Beauty, People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Olivera Gajic (The Legend of Georgia McBride, Arden)
• Rebecca Kanach (Peaceable Kingdom, Orbiter 3)
• Jill Keys (The Light Princess, Arden Theatre Company)
• Kayla Speedy (Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company)

Outstanding Lighting Design

• Joshua Schulman (The Mountaintop, People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Maria Shaplin (The Legend of Georgia McBride, Arden Theatre Company)
• Masha Tsimring (Grounded, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Thom Weaver (Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)
• Thom Weaver (Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Thom Weaver (The Seagull, EgoPo Classic Theater)
• Yi Zhao (When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Sound Design

• Christopher Colucci (When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)
• Lucas Fendley (How We Got On, Azuka Theatre)
• Damien Figeuras (Antihero, Tribe of Fools)
• Rob Kaplowitz (Grounded, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Daniel Perelstein (Adapt! The Wilma Theater)
• Toby Pettit (Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Chris Sannino (The Birds, Curio Theatre Company)

Outstanding Original Music

• Alex Bechtel (The Light Princess, Arden Theatre Company)
• Alex Bechtel (Sleeping Beauty, People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Christopher Colucci (When the Rain Stops Falling, The Wilma Theater)
• Michael Hahn and Liz Filios (An Iliad, Lantern Theater Company)
• Andrew Nelson (The Arsonists, Azuka Theatre)
• Marina Sadovksa (Adapt! The Wilma Theater)
• Daniel Perelstein (Stupid F#*@ing Bird, Arden Theatre Company)

Outstanding Choreography/Movement

• Terry Brennan (School Play, Tribe of Fools)
• Michael Consenza (Anthihero, Tribe of Fools)
• Melanie Cotton (The Legend of Georgia McBride, Arden Theatre Company)
• Brenna Geffers and K.O. Delmarcelle (Anna, EgoPo Classic Theatre)
• Jenn Rose (Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)
• Samantha Reading (Mauritius, Act II)
• Derek Roland (Monty Python’s Spamalot, Resident Theatre Company)

Outstanding Music Direction

• Alex Bechtel (The Light Princess, Arden Theatre Company)
• Dan Kazemi (Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Amanda Morton (A Year with Frog and Toad, Arden Theatre Company)
• Jason Neri (Godspell, Eagle Theatre)
• Ryan Touhey (Gypsy, Arden Theatre Company)

Outstanding Ensemble in a Play

• Anna (EgoPo Classic Theatre)
• How To Use a Knife (InterAct Theatre Company)
• The Legend of Georgia McBride (Arden Theatre Company)
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Peaceable Kingdom (Orbiter 3)
• The Seagull (EgoPo Classic Theatre)
• When the Rain Stops Falling (The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical

• Gypsy (Arden Theatre Company)
• The Light Princess (Arden Theatre Company)
• Lizzie (11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Monty Python’s Spamalot (Resident Theatre Company)
• Sleeping Beauty (People’s Light and Theatre Company)

Independence Foundation Award for Outstanding New Play/Musical

• Anna by Brenna Geffers and the Ensemble (EgoPo Classic Theatre)
• How to Use a Knife by Will Snider (InterAct Theatre Company)
• The Light Princess by Anthony Lawton and Alex Bechtel (Arden Theatre Company)
• Marcus/Emma by Mary Tuomanen (InterAct Theatre Company)
• Peaceable Kingdom by Mary Tuomanen (Orbiter 3)
• WHITE by James Ijames (Theatre Horizon)

F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist

• Rachel Camp
• Jaylene Clark Owens
• Katherine Fritz
• Allison Heishman
• Mary Tuomanen
• Rebecca Wright

Virginia Brown Martin Philadelphia Award

• Buzzer (Theatre Exile)
• Mountaintop (People’s Light and Theatre Company)
• Peaceable Kingdom (Orbiter 3)
• WHITE (Theatre Horizon)

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Penelope Reed