Marriott Theatre, Sweeney Todd, Seven Guitars and Mays Win Jefferson Awards

The Congo Square Theatre Company joined better-known theatres such as the Marriott Theatre and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in bringing home multiple Jefferson Awards.  The prestigious awards, which honor achievement in Chicago-area Equity theatre, were presented on November 7th.

Porchlight Music Theatre's production Sweeney Todd was the most lauded show; it garnered four awards.  The Marriott Theatre was the most honored company; it won six awards for various productions.  

The benchmark categories of Best New Work and Best Adaptation each had two victors.  In the former category, Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch and Adam Rapp's Red Light Winter tied, while in the latter category, Rebecca Gilman's Dollhouse and Andrew White's 1984 shared the award.  The award for Production, Play went to Congo Square Theatre Company's Seven Guitars, and its musical counterpart when to the Marriott Theatre's staging of Beauty and the Beast.  Tony Award-winner Jefferson Mays received the Jefferson for Principle Actor, Play for his performance in I Am My Own Wife, and director Marc Robin has two Jeffersons to put on his mantle--for Swing! (Director-Revue) and Beauty and the Beast (Director-Musical).  Rebecca Finnegan also won two Jeffersons--for her performances in Sweeney Todd and in the revue Closer Than Ever.

Dennis Zacek, the artistic director of Victory Gardens Theatre, was given a special award for Outstanding Achievement in Chicago Equity Theatre.  Visit www.jeffawards.com for more information.

The complete list of Jefferson Award-winners follows:

PRODUCTION, PLAY
A Delicate Balance (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company)
Kabuki Lady Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theater)
The Pain and the Itch (Steppenwolf Theatre Company)
Seven Guitars (Congo Square Theatre Company)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Court Theatre)

PRODUCTION, MUSICAL
Beauty and the Beast (Marriott Theatre)
The Full Monty (Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place)
She Loves Me (Theatre at the Center)
Sunset Boulevard (Marriott Theatre)
Sweeney Todd (Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago)
Wicked (Chicago Production)

ENSEMBLE
Closer Than Ever
Lookingglass Alice
Omnium Gatherum
Seven Guitars
Swing!

NEW WORK
David C. Field, Symmetry
Mia McCullough, Since Africa
Tom Mula, W!
Bruce Norris, The Pain and the Itch
Adam Rapp, Red Light Winter
Karen Sunde & Shozo Sato, Kabuki Lady Macbeth

NEW ADAPTATION
Curt Columbus, Cherry Orchard
Rebecca Gilman, Dollhouse
Tim Gregory & David Bell, A Christmas Carol
Andrew White, 1984

DIRECTOR, PLAY
James Bohnen, A Delicate Balance
Kate Buckley, To the Green Fields Beyond
Jason Loewith, Omnium Gatherum
Charles Newell, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Shozo Sato, Kabuki Lady Macbeth
Derrick Sanders, Seven Guitars
Anna D. Shapiro, The Pain and the Itch

DIRECTOR, MUSICAL
Joe Leonardo, Sunset Boulevard
Joe Mantello, Wicked
Dominic Missimi, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Marc Robin, Beauty and the Beast
L. Walter Stearns, Sweeney Todd

DIRECTOR, REVUE
Nick Bowling, Closer Than Ever
Mick Napier, Red Scare
Marc Robin, Swing!

PRINCIPAL ACTOR, PLAY
Lance Stuart Baker, The Importance of Being Earnest
Kevin Gudahl, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Tracy Letts, The Dresser
Jefferson Mays, I Am My Own Wife
John Mossman, Peer Gynt
Dale Rivera, Guinea Pig Solo
John Sterchi, A View from the Bridge
Greg Vinkler, The Merry Wives of Windsor

PRINCIPAL ACTOR, MUSICAL
Guy Adkins, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Bradley Armacost, A Christmas Carol
Sean Allan Krill, Brigadoon
Michael Aaron Lindner, Sweeney Todd
Aaron Serotsky, The Immigrant

PRINCIPAL ACTRESS, PLAY
Charin Alvarez, Two Sisters and a Piano
Sandra Marquez, Living Out
Barbara E. Robertson, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Kathy Scambiatterra, Natural Affection
Maggie Siff, Dollhouse

PRINCIPAL ACTRESS, MUSICAL
Rebecca Finnegan, Sweeney Todd
Ana Gasteyer, Wicked
Johanna McKenzie Miller, Beauty and the Beast
Kate Reinders, Wicked
Paula Scrofano, Sunset Boulevard

SUPPORTING ACTOR, PLAY
Tom Aulino, Take Me Out
Lance Stuart Baker, Dollhouse
Matthew Brumlow, A View From the Bridge
Tony Dobrowolski, The Importance of Being Earnest
Robert Petkoff, Romeo and Juliet

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, PLAY
Jayne Houdyshell, The Pain and the Itch
Lisa Joyce, Red Light Winter
Martha Lavey, Lost Land
Rondi Reed, Romeo and Juliet
Peggy Roeder, The Dresser
Whitney Sneed, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

SUPPORTING ACTOR, MUSICAL
Larry Adams, Do I Hear a Waltz?
Sean Fortunato, Brigadoon
Michael Aaron Lindner, The Full Monty
Peter Pohlhammer, Sweeney Todd
Bernie Yvon, Beauty and the Beast

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, MUSICAL
Renee Matthews, The Full Monty
Cristen Paige, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Rondi Reed, Wicked
Paula Scrofano, Do I Hear a Waltz?

ACTOR, REVUE
Antoine McKay, Red Scare
Gregory Porter, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues
"Mississippi" Charles Bevel, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues

ACTRESS, REVUE
Rebecca Finnegan, Closer Than Ever
Maribeth Monroe, Red Scare

CHOREOGRAPHY
Jim Corti, The Full Monty
Randy Duncan, Hello Again
Mark Stuart Eckstein, Beverly Durand, and Marc Robin, Swing!
Ron Hutchins, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Marc Robin, Beauty and the Beast

SCENIC DESIGN
Scott Bradley, Silk
Santo Loquasto, The Dresser
Jack Magaw, Seven Guitars
James Noone, The Merry Wives of Windsor
Keith Pitts, Vincent in Brixton

COSTUME DESIGN
Mara Blumenfeld, Lookingglass Alice
Mara Blumenfeld, Silk
Jacqueline Firkins, The Importance of Being Earnest
Fritz Masten, Diva Diaries
Nancy Missimi, Beauty and the Beast
Mariann Verheyen, The Merry Wives of Windsor

SOUND DESIGN
Andy Brommel and Andre Pluess, The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Joshua Horvath and Andre Pluess, 1984
Lindsay Jones, Kabuki Lady Macbeth
Lindsay Jones, Kid-Simple
Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman, Red Herring

LIGHTING DESIGN
Chris Binder, Lookingglass Alice
T. J. Gerckens, Silk
Michael Rourke, Kabuki Lady Macbeth
Diane Ferry Williams, Beauty and the Beast
Diane Ferry Williams, Sunset Boulevard

MUSICAL DIRECTION
Eugene Dizon, Closer Than Ever
Eugene Dizon, Sweeney Todd
Joel Hoekstra, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues
Doug Oberhamer, Swing!
Doug Peck, Hello Again

ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC
Alaric Jans, Measure for Measure
Alaric Jans, The Merry Wives of Windsor
Aaron Krister Johnson, Peer Gynt
Andre Pluess & Ben Sussman, Red Herring
Andre Pluess & Ben Sussman, Silk

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
John Boesche, Sunset Boulevard (for Projection Design)
Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi, Lookingglass Alice (for Circus Choreography)
Robin H. McFarquhar, Romeo and Juliet (for Fight Choreography)
John Musial and HMS Media Inc., 1984 (for Film Design)
Pablo Perea, Two Sisters and a Piano (for Murals)