Steven Leigh Morris
THE 30TH ANNUAL L.A. WEEKLY THEATER AWARDS
Co-hosts Jake Broder and Vanessa Claire Smith were joined by a bevy of dancing girls and impersonators to transform the El Rey Theatre into the stage of Las Vegas' Sahara Hotel, 1958, for the 30th annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards on Monday night. Reprising their roles as lounge crooners Louis Prima and Keely Smith in their hit show Louis & Leely: Live at the Sahara (now at the Geffen), Broder and Smith were supported by their production's six piece jazz band and a gallery of supporting players from Sacred Fools Theatre Company. That show walked away with the Musical of the Year Award in a very tight vote with some very heady competition from Joe's Garage at Open Fist Theatre Company and Lovelace: A Rock Opera at the Hayworth. For much of the evening, the raucous, overflow crowd of 700 was treating the excellent production, nicely paced by director Jeremy Aldridge, as a backdrop to their drinking and socializing.
From the stage, Queen of the Angels recipient Frédérique Michel repeatedly told the revelers to shut up. The only performer who could command some silence was Gwendolyn the chicken, who appeared contentedly on the arm of Center Theater Group artistic director Michael Ritchie, as he gave a mock, somber homage to our hard times, adding that he always wanted to appear onstage with his pecker in his hand.
Adding to the Dada were the artistic directors of the Colony Theatre and Geffen Playhouse, Barbara Beckley and Gil Cates, who performed a duet of “Under My Skin,” to which the Los Angeles Stage Alliance's executive director Terence McFarland performed a spirited interpretive dance.
County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovksy's keynote address acknowledged that the smaller theaters (the purview of the Weekly's Theater Awards) are where the future of the theater lies, and Career Achievement recipient Dakin Matthews appeared digitally from Singapore, where he's performing with an international company, directed by Sam Mendes (Simon Russell Beale, Sinead Cusack, Ethan Hawke, Roger Bean, Paul Jesson, Richard Easton, and Rebecca Hall also sent their greetings to L.A. from Southeast Asia). Matthews closed his video with a nod to Shakespeare's most famous stage direction — “Exit, pursued by a bear.” — for Antigonus, whom Matthews is currently playing in The Winter's Tale. As he was speaking, a large brown bear chased him off the screen.
Click HERE for a SLIDE SHOW from the event.
Here's this week's COVER STORY on the rise of the new, dark L.A. musical
FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF AWARDS RECIPIENTS, CLICK THE CONTINUE READING TAB DIRECTLY BELOW
30TH ANNUAL L.A. WEEKLY THEATER AWARDS RECIPIENTS
PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
*Song of Extinction, Moving Arts at [Inside] the Ford
REVIVAL PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR (of a 20th- or 21st-century work)
*Klüb, Actors Gang
MUSICAL OF THE YEAR
*Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Sacred Fools Theatre/Matrix Theatre
DIRECTION
*Jon Lawrence Rivera, Sea Change, Gay and Lesbian Center
DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
*Ken Sawyer, Lovelace: A Rock Opera, Hayworth Theatre
COMEDY DIRECTION
*Ian Forester, Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre
ONE-ACT DIRECTION
*Gary Blumsack, Sexy Laundry, The Hayworth Theatre
MUSICAL DIRECTION
*Dennis Kaye, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Sacred Fools Theatre/Matrix Theatre
ENSEMBLE
*The Friendly Hour, Road Theatre Company
MUSICAL ENSEMBLE
*Lovelace: A Rock Opera, Hayworth Theatre
COMEDY ENSEMBLE (TIE)
*Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre
*Stupid Kids, Celebration Theatre
ONE-ACT ENSEMBLE
*The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams, Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse
LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
*Tinashe Kajese, Victory, Fountain Theatre
LEADING MALE PERFORMANCE NW
*Darrell Kunitomi, Song of Extinction, Moving Arts at [Inside] the Ford
SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
*Grace Wall, Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court
SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
*Matt Kirkwood, Lady, Road Theatre Company
TWO-PERSON PERFORMANCE
*Regretosexual (Colleen Crabtree and Dan Rothenberg), Hudson Guild Theatre
SOLO PERFORMANCE
*Jay Sefton, The Most Mediocre Story Never Told, Meta Theatre
FEMALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE
*Christine Lakin, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Hudson Backstage Theatre
MALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE
*Alexander Wells, Fatboy, NeedTheater at the Imagined Life Theatre
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
*Katrina Lenk, Lovelace: A Rock Opera, Hayworth Theatre
ONE-ACT PERFORMANCE
*Jack Heller, The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams (Mr. Paradise), L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center/Coast Playhouse
PLAY WRITING
*Susan Johnston, How Cissy Grew, El Portal Forum Theatre
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT
*Dakin Matthews
QUEEN OF THE ANGELS
*Frederique Michel and Charles Duncombe
PRODUCTION DESIGN
*U.S. Drag, Furious Theatre Company at the Pasadena Playhouse
ADAPTATION
*Nick Salamone, Gulls, Theatre @ Boston Court
LIGHTING DESIGN
*John Sylvain, 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, Sacred Fools Theatre Company
COSTUME DESIGN
*Josephine Poinsot, Les Bourgeois Gentilhomme, City Garage
SET DESIGN
*Stephen Gifford, Lady, Road Theatre Company
SOUND DESIGN
*Paul Rubenstein, The Mission (Accomplished), City Garage
CHOREOGRAPHY
*Jennifer Lettelleir, Joe's Garage, Open Fist Theatre Company
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
*Maurice McIntyre, Gulls, Theater @ Boston Court
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