The 30th Annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards

Holy Moly, Lounge Lizards! A Depression? Layoffs? The crisis of the century? Let’s party! The 30th annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards (The Arts Crisis Edition) is coming to the El Rey, in L.A.’s beautiful Miracle Mile on Monday night, March 30, 2009. That’s 5515 Wilshire Boulevard, two and half blocks west of La Brea.

Paui Rubenstein

The Bourgeois Gentilhomme

Ed Krieger

The Sequence

Eric Scot/GTC

R.R.R.E.D. — The Redhead Musical Manifesto

Allison Moon

Sea Change

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More About

• Pasadena
• Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center
• CHANDLER STUDIO THEATRE CENTER
• Theatrical Plays
• Theater

Okay, James Dean wannabes and Marlon Brando worshippers, or, if you can’t get enough I Love Lucy reruns without needing medication, this is your night! Get out those black leather jackets, shine those saddle shoes, drag out that poodle skirt you found on eBay, and get ready to jive with all the cool cats. ’Cause the El Rey is going to be as sizzling as the Sahara in Las Vegas, circa 1958, as the King and Queen of the Lounge, Louis & Keely (a.k.a. Jake Broder and Vanessa Claire Smith) host the Weekly’s 30th annual celebration of L.A.’s best intimate theater, produced between January 1 and December 31, 2008.

It’ll be cabaret seating, as co-hosts Broder and Smith reprise the repartee and show numbers from their hit prize-winning musical, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara.

Nominees get in free, $20 for their guests and the public. All tickets include table service, a pay-as-you-go bar, and a post-show reception.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Remember, it’s 1958. If you dress like you live in the 21st century or something, you’ll just look like an alien, and people will stare! Don’t be embarrassed, be cool, and be there. ’Cause what will people say if you’re not?

NOMINEES (see list below): To RSVP, call (310) 574-7208.

ALL OTHERS: There will be an online booking link coming this week, stay posted. For more info, call (310) 574-7208.

You’re a nominee if your name appears on the list below, or if you were listed in a program as a producer, artistic director, actor, director, composer, choreographer, stage manager or designer for shows listed in the following categories: Production of the Year, Revival Production, Musical of the Year.

Also, you’re a nominee if you were listed in the program as an actor in any of the shows listed in the ensemble categories or Two-Person Performance category.

Finally, you’re a nominee if you were listed in the program as a producer, artistic director or designer for shows listed in the Production Design category.

The 30th annual nominees are:

PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR

My Antonia, Pacific Resident Theatre

1001, Theatre @ Boston Court

Song of Extinction, Moving Arts at [Inside] the Ford

REVIVAL PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR (of a 20th- or ­21st-­century work)

Betrayal, Andak Stage Company at the New Place Studio Theatre

James Joyce’s The Dead, Open Fist Theatre Company

Klüb, Actors Gang

MUSICAL OF THE YEAR

Assassins, West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Great Expectations, Hudson Backstage Theatre

Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, MET Theatre

Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Sacred Fools Theatre/Matrix Theatre

Lovelace: A Rock Opera, Hayworth Theatre

Pest Control: The Musical, Open at the Top Productions at the NoHo Arts Center

1776, Actors Co-op

DIRECTION

L. Flint Esquerra, The Bones of Lesser Men, MET Theatre

John Langs, The Sequence, Theatre @ Boston Court

Derek Charles Livingston, M. Butterfly, Chandler Studio Theatre Center

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Sea Change, Gay and Lesbian Center

Stephen Sachs, Victory, Fountain Theatre

Scott Schwartz, My Antonia, Pacific Resident Theatre

Scott Alan Smith, Lady, Road Theatre Company

DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Kevin Cochran, R.R.R.E.D. — The Redhead Musical Manifesto, Grove Theater Center

Richard Israel, Assassins, West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Richard Israel, 1776, Actors Co-op

Jessica Kubzansky, Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court

Scott Leggett, Beaverquest! The Musical, Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Charles Otte, James Joyce’s The Dead, Open Fist Theatre Company

Pat Towne, Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

Ken Sawyer, Lovelace: A Rock Opera, Hayworth Theatre

COMEDY DIRECTION

Darin Anthony, U.S. Drag, Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse

Chris Covics, Fables du Theatre, Unknown Theatre

Ian Forester, Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre

Robert McCaskill, The Common Air, Asylum Theatre

ONE-ACT DIRECTION

Gary Blumsack, Sexy Laundry, The Hayworth Theatre

MUSICAL DIRECTION

Kevin Cochran, R.R.R.E.D. — The Redhead Musical Manifesto, Grove Theater Center

Steven Ladd Jones and Billy Thompson, American Tales, Deaf West Theatre

Dennis Kaye, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Sacred Fools Theatre/Matrix Theatre

Johanna Kent, 1776, Actors Co-op

Dean Mora, James Joyce’s The Dead, Open Fist Theatre Company

ENSEMBLE

The Bones of Lesser Men, MET Theatre

Bouncers,The Lost Studio

Coffee Will Make You Black, Celebration Theatre

The Friendly Hour, Road Theatre Company

He Asked for It, Theatre of NOTE

James Joyce’s The Dead, Open Fist Theatre Company

The Mission(Accomplished), City Garage

Sea Change, Gay and Lesbian Center

The Sequence, Theatre @ Boston Court

Victory, Fountain Theatre

MUSICAL ENSEMBLE

Assassins, West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Sacred Fools Theatre/Matrix Theatre

Lovelace: A Rock Opera, Hayworth Theatre

1776, Actors Co-op

COMEDY ENSEMBLE

Beverly Winwood Presents the Actors Showcase, Groundling Theatre

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Havok Theatre Company at the Hudson Backstage Theatre

Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre

Stupid Kids, Celebration Theatre

U.S. Drag,Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse

ONE-ACT ENSEMBLE

The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams, Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse

The Loves of Alonzo Fitz(from American Tales), Deaf West Theatre

LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE

Colleen Crabtree, Regretrosexual: The Love Story, Hudson Guild Theatre

Katie Davies, U.S. Drag, Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse

Gillian Doyle, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, The Production Company at the Chandler Studio Theatre Center

Megan Goodchild, U.S. Drag, Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse

Tinashe Kajese, Victory, Fountain Theatre

Kate Mines, The Friendly Hour, Road Theatre Company

Anne Noble, The Friendly Hour,Road Theatre Company

LEADING MALE PERFORMANCE

Joe Egender, He Asked for It, Theatre of NOTE

Morlan Higgins, Victory, Fountain Theatre

Ben Hunter, Crime and Punishment, Actors Co-op

Darrell Kunitomi, Song of Extinction, Moving Arts at [Inside] the Ford

J. Manabat, M. Butterfly, Chandler Studio Theatre Center

Shawn Michael Patrick, Lady, Road Theatre Company

Sam R. Ross, M. Butterfly, Chandler Studio Theatre Center

SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE

Hannah Chodos, Klüb, Actors’ Gang

Johanna McKay, U.S. Drag, Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse

Grace Wall, Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court

Bettina Zacar, The Friendly Hour, Road Theatre Company

Beth Tapper, Klüb, Actors’ Gang

SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE

Stewart W. Calhoun, How Cissy Grew,El Portal Forum Theatre

Mark Doerr, Lady, Road Theatre Company

Matt Kirkwood, Lady, Road Theatre Company

Matt Lutz, 1776, Actors Co-op

David Nadeau, Assassins, West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Christopher Neiman, He Asked for It, Theatre of NOTE

Skip Pipo, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, The Production Company at the Chandler Studio Theatre Center

Paul Witten, Crime and Punishment, Actors Co-op

TWO-PERSON PERFORMANCE

Blake Anthony and Josh Gordon, In On It, Chandler Studio Theatre Center

Colleen Crabtree and Dan Rothenberg, Regretrosexual:The Love Story, Hudson Guild Theatre

Paul Ben-Victor and Frances Fisher, Sexy Laundry, Hayworth Theatre

Larry Thomlinson and Walter Williamson, True Love, The Complex

SOLO PERFORMANCE

Alex Lyras, The Common Air, Asylum Theatre

Jay Sefton, The Most Mediocre Story Never Told, Meta Theatre

FEMALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE

Christine Lakin, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Havok Theatre Company at the Hudson Backstage Theatre

Rebecca Jordan, Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre

MALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE

Jeff Atik, The Bourgeois Gentilhomme, City Garage

Richard Kind, Adam Baum and the Jew Movie, Hayworth Theatre

Jaden Leigh-Dinsmore, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Havok Theatre Company at the Hudson Backstage Theatre

Alexander Wells, Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

Jake Broder, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Sacred Fools Theatre/Matrix Theatre

Chuck DiMaria, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, MET Theatre

Katrina Lenk, Lovelace: A Rock Opera, Hayworth Theatre

Patrick Livingston, R.R.R.E.D. — The Redhead Musical Manifesto, Grove Theater Center

Vanessa Claire Smith, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Sacred Fools Theatre/Matrix Theatre

Katie Thompson, R.R.R.E.D. — The Redhead Musical Manifesto, Grove Theater Center

ONE-ACT PERFORMANCE

Bryan Foyster, The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams (And Tell Sad Stories of the Death of Queens), L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse

Morlan Higgins, Finally, Black Dahlia Theatre

Jack Heller, The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams (Mister Paradise), L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse

Melissa Lechner, The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams (Mr. Paradise), L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse

Timothy V. Murphy, The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams (The Palooka), L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse

Chris Rydell, The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams (And Tell Sad Stories of the Death of Queens), L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse

PLAY WRITING

Susan Johnston, How Cissy Grew, El Portal Forum Theatre

Richard Martin Hirsh, The Concept of Remainders, The Production Company at the Chandler Studio Theatre Center

Robert Riechel Jr., Eat the Runt, Hudson Guild Theatre

Dan Rothenberg, Regretrosexual: The Love Story, Hudson Guild Theatre

Nick Salamone, Sea Change, Gay and Lesbian Center

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

Dakin Matthews

QUEEN OF THE ANGELS

Frederique Michel and Charles Duncombe

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Crime and Punishment,Actors Co-op

Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre

Il Bidone, Rushforth Productions at Bootleg

Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

Sexy Laundry, Hayworth Theatre

The Sequence,Theatre @ Boston Court

U.S. Drag, Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse

ADAPTATION

Charles Duncombe, The Mission (Accomplished), City Garage

Margaret Hoornerman, Great Expectations, Hudson Backstage Theatre

Patrick Mapel, Il Bidone, Rushforth Productions at Bootleg

Nick Salamone, Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court

LIGHTING DESIGN

Teresa Enroth, James Joyce’s The Dead, Open Fist Theatre Company

Cricket Sloat, Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

Jeremy Pivnick, Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court

John Sylvain, 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, Sacred Fools Theatre Company

COSTUME DESIGN

Alex Jaeger, Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court

Jason Truco and Kishu Chand, Il Bidone, Rushforth Productions at Bootleg

Josephine Poinsot, The Bourgeois Gentilhomme, City Garage

Christina Wright, James Joyce’s The Dead, Open Fist Theatre Company

SET DESIGN

Stephen Gifford, Lady, Road Theatre Company

Dan Jenkins, U.S. Drag, Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse

Mark Mendelson, Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre

Keith Mitchell, The Concept of Remainders, The Production Company at the Chandler Studio Theatre Center

Jeff G. Rack, Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

SOUND DESIGN

Fionnagan Murphy, Il Bidone, Rushforth Productions at Bootleg Theatre

Ken Rich, The Common Air, Asylum Theatre

Paul Rubenstein, The Mission (Accomplished), City Garage

CHOREOGRAPHY

Allison Bibicoff, 1776, Actors Co-op

Jennifer Lettelleir, Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

Jennifer Li and Kathryn Burns, Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo, Upright Citizen’s Brigade

MASK DESIGN

Charles Duncombe, Les Bourgeois Gentilhomme, City Garage

PUPPET DESIGN

Michael Franco and Jeff G. Rack, Joe’s Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company

ORIGINAL MUSIC

Okulus Anomali, Il Bidone, Rushforth Productions at Bootleg Theatre

Maurice McIntyre, Gulls, Theater @ Boston Court

Ken Rich,The Common Air, Asylum Theatre