The best of our theater in 99 seats (or fewer) in the calendar year of 2009 is recognized for the 31st year at the L.A. Weekly Theater Awards, March 29, 2010, at the El Rey Theater, 5515 Wilshire Blvd. This year's party (with open-bar and postshow reception) features the doo-wop stylings of Life Could be a Dream heartthrobs, The Crooning Crabcakes. Tickets are $20, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the spcaLA. Dress for 1960 (that would be, like, Jackie Kennedy or the Mad Men), or you'll feel like a dork. But in heels, blue velvet and thin tie, you'll be like a “Teenager in Love” all over again, no matter when you were born. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets to the public go on sale on Thursday, February 25. Check blogs.laweekly.com/style_council/­­stage-news­ from mid-February for the link to the box office.

Each nominee receives one complimentary ticket. Nominees may RSVP to (310) 574-7208.

You're a nominee: 1) if your name appears below; 2) if, in any of the “production” categories (including ­”Musical of the Year”), your name appeared in the program as a writer, director, producer, actor, stage manager or designer; 3) if, in any of the “ensemble” categories, your name appeared in the program as an actor; 4) if, in the “Production Design” category, your name appeared in the program as a director or designer.

 

PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR

Battle Hymn, Circle X Theatre Company

at [Inside] the Ford

Block Nine, Elephant Theatre Company

at the Lillian Theatre

Hamlet Shut Up, Sacred Fools Theatre Company

The Illusion, Open Fist Theatre Company

Land of the Tigers, Burglars of Hamm and

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Munched, Buzzworks Theatre Company

at the El Centro Theatre

 

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

Blackbird, VS Theatre Company

at the Elephant Theatre Lab

Equus, The Production Company

at the Chandler Studio Theatre

The Mystery of Irma Vep, Deconstructed

Productions at WeHo Church

Saint Joan of the Slaughterhouses,

Pacific Resident Theater

Shining City, The Fountain Theatre

 

MUSICAL OF THE YEAR

Altar Boyz, Celebration Theatre

Divorce! The Musical,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Life Could Be a Dream,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Setup & Punch, Blank Theatre Company

 

DIRECTION

Sean T. Cawalti, Gogol Project,

Rogue Artists Ensemble at Bootleg Theatre

Duane Daniels, Munched, Buzzworks Theatre

Company at the El Centro Theatre

Shirley Jo Finney, Stick Fly,

The Matrix Theatre Company

Stephen Sachs, Coming Home,

The Fountain Theatre

Marianne Savell, The Crucible, Actors Co-op

Daisuke Tsuji, Monkey Madness, Los Angeles

Theatre Ensemble at the Powerhouse Theatre

August Viverito, Equus, The Production Company

at the Chandler Studio Theatre

 

DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Jeremy Aldridge, Savin' Up for Saturday Night,

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Roger Bean, Life Could Be a Dream,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Daniel Henning, Setup & Punch,

The Blank Theatre Company

Rick Sparks, Divorce! The Musical,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

 

COMEDY DIRECTION

Matt Almos, Land of the Tigers, Burglars

of Hamm and Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Keythe Farley, Stranger, Bootleg Theatre

Bjorn Johnson, Light up the Sky,

Open Fist Theatre Company

Gulu Montiero, The Doctor Despite Himself,

Ipanema Theatre Troupe at the Electric Lodge

Jonas Oppenheim, Hamlet Shut Up,

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Peter Uribe and Emilie Beck, Block Nine,

Elephant Theatre Company at the Lillian Theatre

 

MUSICAL DIRECTION

Christopher Lloyd Bratten, Altar Boyz,

Celebration Theatre

John Groover McDuffie,Savin' up For Saturday Night,

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

David O, Divorce! The Musical,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Jan Roper, Godspell, Knightsbridge Theatre

Greg Piper, Just Imagine, NoHo Arts Center

 

ENSEMBLE

Battle Hymn, Circle X Theatre Company

at [Inside] the Ford

Children of a Lesser God,

Deaf West Theatre Company

Coming Home, The Fountain Theatre

Munched, Buzzworks Theatre Company

at the El Centro Theatre

Photograph 51, The Fountain Theatre

Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre Company

 

MUSICAL ENSEMBLE

Altar Boyz, Celebration Theatre

Godspell, Knightsbridge Theatre

Life Could Be a Dream,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

 

COMEDY ENSEMBLE

Block Nine, Elephant Theatre Company

at the Lillian Theatre

The Devil With Boobs, Open Fist Theatre Company

Hamlet Shut Up, Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Land of the Tigers, Burglars of Hamm and

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Light Up the Sky, Open Fist Theatre Company

Monkey Madness, Los Angeles

Theatre Ensemble at the Powerhouse Theatre

Stranger, Bootleg Theatre

 

LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE

Aria Alpert, Photograph 51, The Fountain Theatre

Melina Bielefelt, Molly Sweeney, Oasis

Theater Company at Son of Semele Theatre

Deidrie Henry, Coming Home, The Fountain Theatre

Bess Meyer, Mammals, The Lost Studio

Samantha Sloyan, Munched, Buzzworks

Theatre Company at the El Centro Theatre

Shoshannah Stern, Children of a Lesser God,

Deaf West Theatre Company

Ellen D. Williams, Ruby, Tragically Rotund,

Playwrights Arena at the Los Angeles

Theatre Center

Jacqueline Wright, Tree, Ensemble Studio

[

Theatre — L.A., at [Inside] the Ford

 

LEADING MALE PERFORMANCE

Sam Anderson, The Bird and Mr. Banks,

The Road Theatre Company

at the NoHo Arts Center

Wyatt Fenner, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins,

West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Bruce French, The Browning Version,

Pacific Resident Theatre

Chuma Gault, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre

— L.A., at [Inside] the Ford

Jim Hanna, Equus, The Production Company

at the Chandler Studio Theatre

Morlan Higgins, Shining City, The Fountain Theatre

Carl J. Johnson, Film, Theatre of NOTE

Sam R. Ross, Breaking the Code, The Production

Company at the Chandler Studio Theatre

 

SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE

Kendra Chell, The Illusion,

Open Fist Theatre Company

Andrea Hutchman, Munched, Buzzworks

Theatre Company at the El Centro Theatre

Jenny Kern, The Bird and Mr. Banks, The Road

Theatre Company at the North Hollywood Arts Center

Jan Sheldrick, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins,

West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Tessa Thompson, Tree, Ensemble Studio

Theatre — L.A., at [Inside] the Ford

 

SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE

John Ross Clark, Molly Sweeney,

Oasis Theater Compay at Son of Semele Theatre

Gary Clemmer, The Crucible, Actors Co-op

David Corbett, Mammals, The Lost Studio

Tony Pandolfo, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins,

West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

David Ross Patterson, Breaking the Code,

The Production Company at the

Chandler Studio Theatre

Andrew Parks, St. Joan of the Slaughterhouses,

Pacific Resident Theatre

Daniel J. Roberts, The Crucible, Actors Co-op

Thomas Silcott, Coming Home,

The Fountain Theatre

Phil Ward, Film, Theatre of NOTE

 

SOLO PERFORMANCE

Adelina Anthony, Bruising for Besos, Davidson/

Valenti Theatre at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Mary Beth Manning, Mother, Imagined Life Theatre

R. Ernie Silva, Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame,

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

Casey Smith, Violators Will be Violated, Circle X

Theater Company at Son of Semele Theatre

Mark Thomsen, Chesapeake, Syzygy Theatre

Group at GTC Theatre

 

FEMALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE

Kimberly Atkinson, Hamlet Shut Up,

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Tegan Ashton Cohan, Hamlet Shut Up,

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Katherine Griffith, The Devil With Boobs,

Open Fist Theatre Company

Devin Sidell, Land of the Tigers,

Burglars of Hamm and Sacred Fools

 

MALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE

Hugo Armstrong, Land of the Tigers,

Buglars of Hamm and Sacred Fools

Benjamin Burdick, Light up the Sky,

Open Fist Theatre Company

Michael Dunn, Stranger, Bootleg Theatre

Jeremy Glazer, Block Nine, Elephant

Theatre Company at the Lillian Theatre

Stephen Simon, Hamlet Shut Up, Sacred

Fools Theatre Company

Max Williams, Block Nine,

Elephant Theatre Company at the Lillian Theatre

 

PLAYWRITING

Lydia R. Diamond, Stick Fly, The Matrix

Theatre Company

Julie Hébert, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre —

L.A., at [Inside] the Ford

Jim Leonard, Battle Hymn, Circle X Theatre

Company at [Inside] the Ford

Patrick McGowan, Film, Theatre of NOTE

Michael Sargent, Black Leather, Unknown Theatre

Daisuke Tsuji, Monkey Madness, Los Angeles

Theatre Ensemble at the Powerhouse Theatre

 

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

Bennett A. Bradley (posthumous)

 

QUEEN OF THE ANGELS

David Sefton

 

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Accomplice: Hollywood, Produced by Tom Salamon

and Neil Patrick Harris, at various locations

Blackbird, VS Theatre Company at

the Elephant Theatre Lab

Dracula, The NoHo Arts Center

Family Planning, Chalk Repertory Theatre

Land of the Tigers, Burglars of Hamm and

Sacred Fools Theatre

Monkey Madness, Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble

at the Powerhouse Theatre

 

ADAPTATION

Richard Alger, Model Behavior, Theatre

Movement Bazaar at the 24th Street Theatre

Charles Duncombe, The Trojan Women, City Garage

Kitty Felde, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble

at Bootleg Theatre

 

ADAPTATION (continued)

Jonas Oppenheim, Hamlet Shut Up,

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Richard Tatum, The Country Wife,

Ark Theatre Company at the Hayworth Theatre

 

LIGHTING DESIGN

Leigh Allen, Treefall,

Rogue Machine at Theatre/Theater

Brian Sidney Bembridge, Battle Hymn,

Circle X Theatre Company at [Inside] the Ford

Joel Daavid, Block Nine, Elephant Theatre Company

at the Lillian Theatre

Christian Epps, Stick Fly,

The Matrix Theatre Company

Christopher Kuhl, Model Behavior, Theatre

Movement Bazaar at the 24th Street Theatre

Luke Moyer, Life Could Be a Dream,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Kathi O'Donohue, Photograph 51,

The Fountain Theatre

 

COSTUME DESIGN

Wesley Crain, Hamlet Shut Up,

Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Dianna K Graener, Battle Hymn,

Circle X Theatre Company at [Inside] the Ford

Shon LeBlanc, Life Could Be a Dream,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Swinda Reichelt, The Doctor Despite Himself,

Ipanema Theatre Troupe at the Electric Lodge

Dana Woods, Stick Fly, The Matrix

Theatre Company

Christina Wright, The Devil With Boobs,

Open Fist Theatre Company

Christina Wright, The Illusion,

Open Fist Theatre Company

 

SET DESIGN

Francois-Pierre Couture, Stranger, Bootleg Theatre

Brian Sidney Bembridge, Battle Hymn,

Circle X Theatre Company at [Inside] the Ford

John Iacovelli, Stick Fly,

The Matrix Theatre Company

Jeff McLaughlin, A Skull in Connemara, Theatre Tribe

Desma Murphy, The Bird and Mr. Banks,

[

The Road Theatre Company

at the North Hollywood Arts Center

Katie Polebaum, Gogol Project,

Rogue Artists Ensemble at Bootleg Theatre

Adam Rowe, The Devil With Boobs,

Open Fist Theatre Company

Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, Treefall,

Rogue Machine at Theatre/Theater

 

SOUND DESIGN

Ron Klier, Blackbird, Vs Theatre Company

at the Elephant Theatre Lab

Peter Bayne, Shining City, The Fountain Theatre

John Nabori, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble

at Bootleg Theatre

James Richter, Lie With Me, Mutineer Theatre

Company at Art/Works Theatre

Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski, Treefall,

Rogue Machine at Theatre/Theater

Jonathan Snipes, Sock & Shoe, The Actors'

Gang and Three Chair Theatre at the Ivy Substation

 

CHOREOGRAPHY

Allison Bibicoff, Godspell, Knightsbridge Theatre

Anne Rene Brashier, Monkey Madness, Los Angeles

Theatre Ensemble at the Powerhouse Theatre

Ameenah Kaplan, Altar Boyz, Celebration Theatre

Tina Kronis, Model Behavior, Theatre Movement

Bazaar at the 24th Street Theatre

Lee Martino, Life Could Be a Dream,

The Hudson Mainstage Theatre

 

MASK DESIGN

Pat Rubio, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble

at Bootleg Theatre

 

PUPPET DESIGN

Cristina Bercovitz, Monkey Madness, Los Angeles

Theatre Ensemble at the Powerhouse Theatre

Wes Crain, Lena Garcia, Lynn Jeffries,

Elizabeth Luce and Brian White, Gogol Project,

Rogue Artists Ensemble at Bootleg Theatre

Christina Wright, The Devil With Boobs,

Open Fist Theatre Company

 

ORIGINAL MUSIC

Michael A. Levine, Battle Hymn,

Circle X Theatre Company at [Inside] the Ford

Ian Whitcomb, The Jazz Age,

The Blank Theatre Company

 

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY

Victor Warren, Stranger, Bootleg Theatre

  • This year's voting committee was Paul Birchall, Lovell Estell III, Mayank Keshaviah, Deborah Klugman, Steven Leigh Morris, Amy Nicholson, Tom Provenzano, Bill Raden, J.C. Sullivan, Glenda Toni and Neal Weaver.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.