CTG gets lion’s share of Ovations
Center Theatre Group was the big winner Monday night at the Ovation Awards, collecting eight statuettes in the peer-judged contest recognizing excellence in Los Angeles theater.
With three times the nominations of any other theater company -- 34 -- CTG had been poised to rack up the most wins at the black-tie ceremony at downtown’s Orpheum Theatre.
Five honors went to “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which moved to Broadway after its L.A. run and went on to win five Tony Awards. CTG’s production of the 1920s-era charmer earned Ovations for best musical in a large theater, lead actor (Bob Martin), lead actress (Sutton Foster), direction (Casey Nicholaw) and set design (David Gallo).
Other CTG honors went to Dakin Matthews, for featured actor in the Culture Clash play “Water & Power” at the Taper; Robert Wilson for lighting design for “The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets” at the Ahmanson; and James Noone for his lavish East River set design in “Dead End,” also at the Ahmanson.
Laughter and cheers were interspersed with tears at Monday’s ceremony, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.
Composer-lyricist Jerry Herman received a long standing ovation when accepting his career achievement award, while Fountain Theatre co-founder Stephen Sachs capped his acknowledgment of theater veterans who died during the year with a tribute to the late Kim Garfield, a longtime publicist.
Among the other winners at Monday’s ceremony was the Geffen Playhouse’s production of “All My Sons,” which won best play in a large theater, as well as a lead actress award for Laurie Metcalf. World premiere play and musical honors were given to Jim Brochu’s Zero Mostel show, “Zero Hour,” and Patricia Cotter and Lori Scarlett’s “The Breakup Notebook: The Lesbian Musical,” respectively.
Ben Bradley won the direction award for the Fountain Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” which took best play in a smaller theater. Another Wilson play, “Fences,” at the Odyssey Theatre, earned best lead actor honors for Charlie Robinson.
The Franklin R. Levy Memorial Award for best musical in a smaller theater went to Sacred Fools Theatre Company for “Gorey Stories.”
Gerald Sternbach was awarded best musical direction for Reprise! Broadway’s Best production of “Zorba”; and choreographer Dana Solimando won for the 1940s-era musical “Swing!,” presented by La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment.
Composer David O expressed surprise at his win for his score for A Noise Within’s production of “Ubu Roi.” “I had no idea I was a sound designer,” he said as he accepted the award. The Alfred Jarry parody also won best costume design for Leon Wiebers.
Three of the four design awards in smaller theater went to “Elizabeth Rex,” Timothy Findley’s historical fiction presented by Open at the Top Productions: Dana Moran Williams (set), Luke Moyer (lighting) and A. Jeffrey Schoenberg (costumes).
The Ovation Awards are sponsored by LA Stage Alliance.
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2006 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award winners
Play, larger theater: “All My Sons,” Geffen Playhouse
Play, smaller theater: “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” Fountain Theatre
Musical, larger: “The Drowsy Chaperone,” Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre
Musical, smaller: “Gorey Stories,” Sacred Fools Theatre Company
World premiere play: “Zero Hour,” by Jim Brochu
World premiere musical: “The Breakup Notebook: The Lesbian Musical,” by Patricia Cotter, Lori Scarlett
Solo performance: Jay Johnson, “Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!”
Director, play: Ben Bradley, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”
Director, musical: Casey Nicholaw, “The Drowsy Chaperone”
Lead actor, play: Charlie Robinson, “Fences”
Lead actress, play: Laurie Metcalf, “All My Sons”
Lead actor, musical: Bob Martin, “The Drowsy Chaperone”
Lead actress, musical: Sutton Foster, “The Drowsy Chaperone”
Featured actor, play: Dakin Matthews, “Water & Power”
Featured actress, play: Dale Dickey, “Southern Baptist Sissies”
Featured actor, musical: Stephen Breithaupt, “It Came From Beyond”
Featured actress, musical: Harriet Harris, “On the Town”
Ensemble performance: cast of “The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife”
Choreography: Dana Solimando, “Swing!”
Musical direction: Gerald Sternbach, “Zorba”
Set design, smaller: Dana Moran Williams, “Elizabeth Rex”
Set design, larger: James Noone, “Dead End”; David Gallo, “The Drowsy Chaperone”
Lighting design, smaller: Luke Moyer, “Elizabeth Rex”
Lighting design, larger: Robert Wilson, “The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets”
Sound design, smaller: Christopher Burns, “The Lion in Winter”
Sound design, larger: David O, “Ubu Roi”
Costume design, smaller: A. Jeffrey Schoenberg, “Elizabeth Rex”
Costume design, larger: Leon Wiebers, “Ubu Roi”
Career achievement: Jerry Herman
Community outreach: California Institute of the Arts Community Arts Partnership (CAP)
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