Bigger Is Better in L.A. Drama Critics’ Field

Large-scale theater came out on top with the most nominations for the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle 1995 Awards for outstanding achievement in live theater. The nominations, announced Monday, show a reversal from last year, when smaller theaters dominated the field.

Center Theatre Group led the pack with 18 nominations, including seven for the Ahmanson at the Doolittle’s “The Woman Warrior” and five for “Angels in America” at the Doolittle. The group’s “Master Class,” starring Zoe Caldwell at the Mark Taper Forum, garnered only two nominations. It won six Ovation Awards--bestowed by Theatre LA, a group of local theater producers--in November, more than any other production.

South Coast Repertory had the second most Critics Circle nominations with 12, four for “She Stoops to Folly,” three for “Raised in Captivity” and five for “Wit” by Margaret Edson. Edson, it was announced, will receive the circle’s Ted Schmitt Award for most outstanding play given its world premiere in Los Angeles or Orange counties in the past year.

The Matrix Theatre Company’s 11 nominations include seven for “The Homecoming” and four for “Endgame.”

Walt Disney Productions’ “Beauty and the Beast” came in third for most nominations for a single production with six nods.

Other special awards announced Monday include the Margaret Harford Award for continuous achievement in small theater, which will go to Glendale’s classical repertory company A Noise Within, and the Angstrom Award for sustained excellence in lighting design for Robert W. Zentis.

Because the circle does not designate “best” or “winners,” there can be multiple award recipients or none in any category. The awards will be presented March 18 at a dinner at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. The nominees:

* Production: “Angels in America,” Doolittle Theatre; “Beauty and the Beast,” Shubert Theatre; “Endgame,” Matrix Theatre; “The Homecoming,” Matrix Theatre; “Wit,” South Coast Repertory; “The Woman Warrior,” Doolittle Theatre

* Direction: Martin Benson, “Wit”; Michael Mayer, “Angels in America”; Andrew J. Robinson, “Endgame”; Andrew J. Robinson, “The Homecoming”; Robert Jess Roth, “Beauty and the Beast”; David Warren, “Raised in Captivity”

* Writing: Margaret Edson, “Wit”; Brad Fraser, “Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love”; Deborah Rogin, adapting the work of Maxine Hong Kingston, “The Woman Warrior”

* Lead Performance: Zoe Caldwell, “Master Class”; Megan Cole, “Wit”; Richard Dreyfuss, “Three Hotels”; Lynnda Ferguson, “The Homecoming”; Julie Hagerty, “Raised in Captivity”; Charles Hallahan, “Endgame”; Jill Hill, “A Doll’s House”; Gregory Itzin, “The Homecoming”; Marcia Mitzman, “Chess”; W. Morgan Sheppard, “The Homecoming”; Sean Smith, “Chess”

* Featured Performance: Jane Carr, “She Stoops to Folly”; Tsai Chin, “The Woman Warrior”; Jane Kaczmarek, “Raised in Captivity”; Mitchell Ryan, “Endgame”; Douglas Sills, “She Stoops to Folly”

* Ensemble Performance: the casts of “Names” and “Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love”

* Scenic Design: Ralph Funicello, “She Stoops to Folly”; David Gallo, “Angels in America”; Cara T. Hoepner, “Twist of Fate”; Neil Peter Jampolis, “The Homecoming”; Ming Cho Lee, “The Woman Warrior”; Stan Meyer, “Beauty and the Beast”; John Napier, “Miss Saigon”

* Lighting Design: Ken Booth, “Twist of Fate”; Neil Peter Jampolis, “The Homecoming”; Paulie Jenkins, “Wit”; Natasha Katz, “Beauty and the Beast”; Brian MacDevitt, “Angels in America”; Peter Maradudin, “The Woman Warrior”

* Costume Design: Judith Brewer Curtis, “Twist of Fate”; Susan Hilferty, “The Woman Warrior”; Ann Hould-Ward, “Beauty and the Beast”; Shigeru Yaji, “She Stoops to Folly”; Andrew V. Yelusich, “Black Elk Speaks”

* Sound Design: Jon Gottlieb, “Master Class”; Stephen LeGrand and Jon Gottlieb, “The Woman Warrior”; Rob Milburn, “Angels in America”

* Musical Direction: Ron Abel, “Twist of Fate”; Lucas Richman, “Candide”

* Choreography: Rob Marshall, “Damn Yankees”

* Music and Lyrics: Mike Craver and Mark Hardwick, “Radio Gals”; Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, “Beauty and the Beast”

* Original Music: Ron Abel, “Twist of Fate”

* Ted Schmitt Award: Margaret Edson, “Wit”

* Margaret Harford Award: A Noise Within

* Angstrom Lighting Award: Robert W. Zentis