With wry hosts Megan Mullally, John Fleck and David Schweizer, and considerable organizational efforts by Robert Berg, Robert A. Prior and the Fabulous Monsters theater troupe, the 22nd annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards became a multi-ring, interactive environmental circus, with an overflow crowd and the tone of a rave melting into Burning Man, last Monday night at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Koshin Taiko drummers greeted revelers with a pre-show outdoor concert in the front atrium. On the lobby‘s curving staircase, a fashion show, hosted by Bennett Schneider and featuring works by the costume-design nominees, preceded the show proper, while in the downstairs lobby, tarot-card readers and massage therapists offered their services. Meanwhile, in LATC’s subterranean maze of stairwells and passageways, Tracy Hudak‘s ”Fun Tunnel“ beckoned groups of five through an evocative, macabre atmosphere of fabrics and pebbles, witches and spirits, culminating in a miniprocession through an audition-in- progress in the facility’s downstairs theater. Dream Theater offered a post-show cabaret that left dozens of patrons and tribally attired performers gyrating on the main stage to the pulse of bongo drums, early into Tuesday morning.
Though the ceremony included black-lit Hula-Hoop and break dancers, it was the appearance of the fire performers, Esoterotica, that drew the attention of the city fire marshals. They were invited to observe a rehearsal Monday afternoon, gave their approval and remained for the show. Which meant that the substantial SRO — a standard practice for the Lawees in prior years — disappeared at the last minute, enraging a few dozen customers, who were relegated to the lobby areas until seats in the theater opened up.
The awards were fairly evenly distributed this year, with the lion‘s share of five nods going to Zoo District’s production of The Master and Margarita; Evidence Room‘s The Berlin Circle won in four categories, including Production of the Year.
Mullally blew the roof off the house with her gutsy-bluesy rendition of Randy Newman’s ”Guilty.“ One-hundred-year-old actor-director Martin Magner accepted the Career Achievement Award — a good season for Magner, who is also getting The Living Century‘s Centenarian of the Month Award. Alice Dodd and Jillian Armenante took the Playwriting Award for their gothic parody In Flagrante Gothicto, entitling them to split a check for $3,000 provided by A.S.K. Theater Projects. The breakdown of awards recipients is as follows:
PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
The Berlin Circle, Evidence Room
REVIVAL PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR (OF A 20TH-CENTURY WORK)
The Man Who Had All the Luck, Antaeus Company, at the Ivy Substation
MUSICAL OF THE YEAR
”bare,“ God Help! Productions, at the Hudson Mainstage Theater
LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Megan Mullally, The Berlin Circle, Evidence Room
LEADING MALE PERFORMANCE
Troy M. Kotsur, A Streetcar Named Desire, Deaf West Theater Company
SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Marianne Savell, The Seagull, Actors Co-op
SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
John Fleck, The Berlin Circle, Evidence Room
COMEDY PERFORMANCE
Leslie Jordan, Southern Baptist Sissies, Delane Productions, at the Zephyr Theater
ONE-ACT PERFORMANCE (tie)
Brad Henson, Two Men Losing Their Minds, Moving Arts, at the Los Angeles Theater Center
Brian Newkirk, Two Men Losing Their Minds, Moving Arts, at the Los Angeles Theater Center
PLAYWRITING
Alice DoddJillian Armenante, In Flagrante Gothicto, Circle X Theater Company, at the McCadden Place Theater
ONE-ACT PLAYWRITING
Sheila Callaghan, New Shoes, Moving Arts, at the Los Angeles Theater Center
DIRECTION
Loren Rubin, The Master and Margarita, Zoo District, at ArtShareHudson Backstage
SHORT-PLAY DIRECTION
Victor D’Altorio, The Babysitter, McCadden Theater
COMEDY DIRECTION
Del Shores, Southern Baptist Sissies, Delane Productions, at the Zephyr Theater
ENSEMBLE
Pudd‘nhead Wilson, Falcon Theater
COMEDY ENSEMBLE (tie)
In Flagrante Gothicto, Circle X Theater Company, at the McCadden Place Theater
Speed-Hedda, Fabulous Monsters, at Evidence Room
SOLO PERFORMANCE, MALE
Ric Borelli, Best Dope in Town, Screamin’ Chicken Productions, at the Tamarind Theater
SOLO PERFORMANCE, FEMALE
Rose Abdoo, Get to the Part About Me, Zate Entertainment at The Complex
PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Master and Margarita, Zoo District, at ArtShareHudson Backstage
COSTUME DESIGN
Maro ParianSofi Khachmanyan, The Master and Margarita, Zoo District, at ArtShareHudson Backstage
LIGHTING DESIGN
Robert Fromer, Sleepwalk, Playwrights‘ Arena, at Inside the Ford
SET DESIGN
Jason AdamsAlicia Hoge, The Berlin Circle, Evidence Room
SOUND DESIGN
John Zalewski, Sleepwalk, Playwrights’ Arena, at Inside the Ford
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT
Martin Magner
MUSICALVOCAL DIRECTION
Eric Anderson, ”bare,“ God Help! Productions, at the Hudson Mainstage Theater
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Jef Bek, The Master and Margarita, Zoo District, at ArtShareHudson Backstage
QUEEN OF THE ANGELS AWARD
Kim Garfield
ADAPTATION
Richard Helweg and Michael Franco, The Master and Margarita, Zoo District, at ArtShareHudson Backstage
CHOREOGRAPHY
Nancy Keystone, The Akhmatova Project, Critical Mass, at the Actors‘ Gang Theater
VIDEOGRAPHY
Rush RiddleMarvin Solomon, Speed-Hedda, Fabulous Monsters, at Evidence Room
PROP DESIGN
Bradley Thordarson, Dubya 2000, Sacred Fools Theater Company
MASK DESIGN
Paule Lemasson, Pathe X, Zoo District, at the Lillian Theater
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