40th Annual Carbonell Awards Winners Announced

LES MISERABLES, the inspiring musical about class struggle set against the backdrop of revolution, and Daniel's Husband, a powerful new play about the importance of marriage equality, took their respective places in South Florida theatrical history as Best Musical and Best Play on Monday, April 4th when the winners of the 40th annual Carbonell Awards were announced in a lavish ceremony at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Jupiter earned seven awards for three of their productions. LES MISERABLES won Best Musical; Best Director, Musical for Mark Martino; Best Actor, Musical for Aloysius Gigl; and Best Sound Design for Marty Mets. Billy Elliot took honors for Best Supporting Actress, Musical for Elizabeth Dimon and Choreography for Greg Graham. Glengarry Glen Ross won the Best Ensemble award.

Island City Stage earned three awards, all for its world premiere production of Daniel's Husband, including Best Play; Best Actor, Play, for Antonio Amadeo; and Best New Work for playwright Michael McKeever. Island City Stage won the only three awards for Broward County, which had been shut out of the awards tally last year.

Palm Beach Dramaworks earned five awards for four of its productions. Buried Child earned two awards, Best Director, Play for J. Barry Lewis; and Best Supporting Actor, Paul Tei. Three other Palm Beach Dramaworks shows won one award each: Margery Lowe won Best Supporting Actress for Picnic; Victor Becker won Best Scenic Design for The History Boys; and Brian O'Keefe won Best Costume Design for Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre earned two awards, both for their production of Ragtime. Melissa Minyard won Best Actress, Musical, and David Nagy won Best Musical Direction.

A handful of other shows at other theaters earned one award each. Lindsey Corey won Best Actress, Play, for the world premiere of Stripped at Zoetic Stage. Shane Tanner won Best Supporting Actor, Musical for Oklahoma! at The Wick. Jeff Quinn won Best Lighting Design for Constellations at GableStage.

Palm Beach County scored high in the region with 13 wins, Miami-Dade County with four wins, Broward County with three wins. The awards were distributed among 12 productions at seven theaters.

Monday's ceremony was the culmination of a year-long celebration of the Carbonell Awards milestone 40th year, which included an increased social media presence and a Carbonell Time Capsule Retrospective looking back at past years.

Along with honoring excellence in theater, a highlight of the annual Carbonell Awards ceremony is recognizing those who have made significant contributions to the arts. Instead of giving out three special awards as in past years, the Carbonell Board of Directors this year decided to give out four special awards, one for each decade of the Carbonell Awards' existence.

The prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, awarded to an individual (or team) who has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region, was presented to Patricia E. Williams and Shirley Richardson, the creative team behind The M Ensemble Company, Inc., the oldest surviving theater in Florida dedicated to producing African-American work.

The Bill von Maurer Award, which recognizes significant contributions to South Florida theater development by an individual or group, was awarded to City Theatre for the company's dedication to the short-form play and fostering new play development.

The Howard Kleinberg Award, bestowed as special recognition for contributions to the health and development of the arts in South Florida, was awarded to Christine Dolen, long-time Miami Herald theater critic and Carbonell Awards judge, for her tireless work in promoting South Florida regional theater to the world at large.

The Bill Hindman Award, named after pioneer South Florida actor Bill Hindman for significant, long-term contributions to the region's cultural life and onstage career achievement by performing artists based in South Florida, was awarded to Harriet Oser, who has graced South Florida stages in three counties since 1979.

In addition to recognizing the stars of today, the Carbonell Awards' mission has always been to award scholarships to the talent of tomorrow. Last August, to mark the 40th anniversary milestone, the scholarships were renamed in honor of Carbonell Awards founder Jack Zink. The newly christened Jack Zink Memorial Carbonell Awards Scholarships were this year awarded to: Mary Biggins (Palm Beach County) who attends Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts; Katerina McCrimmon (Miami-Dade County) who attends the New World School of the Arts; and Carlo Felician Ojeda (Broward County) who attends Nova Southeastern University School. Each received a $1,000 scholarship for future studies in theater or journalism.

The Carbonell Awards, a not-for-profit organization, is funded by tax-deductible donations and award sponsorships. The generosity of this year's sponsors shows a growing commitment from the community to the Carbonell Awards and their mission to advance theater in South Florida.

The 40th annual Carbonell Awards was generously sponsored by the South Florida Cultural Consortium, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Actor's Equity Association, The Carbonell Family, WLRN, South Florida Theater League, Rita and Jerry Cohen, Tony Finstrom, Mary Ellen and Michael Peyton, Scott and Kerry Shiller, Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, Neil Goldberg Dream Foundation & Cirque Dreams, WOW Factor, ArtServe, Broadway Across America, Broward Cultural Division, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

Carbonell Award Winners, 2015

Best New Work (play or musical)

Daniel's Husband, Michael McKeever, Island City Stage

Best Production of a Play

Daniel's Husband, Island City Stage

Best Director/Play

J. Barry Lewis, Buried Child, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Actor/Play

Antonio Amadeo, Daniel's Husband, Island City Stage

Best Actress/Play

Lindsey Corey, Stripped, Zoetic Stage

Best Supporting Actor/Play

Paul Tei, Buried Child, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Supporting Actress/Play

Margery Lowe, Picnic, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Production of a Musical

LES MISERABLES Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Director/Musical

Mark Martino, LES MISERABLES, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Actor/Musical

Aloysius Gigl, LES MISERABLES, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Actress/Musical

Melissa Minyard, Ragtime, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

Best Supporting Actor/Musical

Shane Tanner, Oklahoma!, The Wick

Best Supporting Actress/Musical

Elizabeth Dimon, Billy Elliot, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Musical Direction/Musical

David Nagy, Ragtime, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

Choreography/Musical

Greg Graham, Billy Elliot, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Scenic Design/play or musical

Victor Becker, The History Boys, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Lighting Design/play or musical

Jeff Quinn, Constellations, GableStage

Best Costume Design/play or musical

Brian O'Keefe, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Sound Design/play or musical

Marty Mets, LES MISERABLES, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Ensemble Production (play or musical)

Glengarry Glen Ross, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Awards by County

13 Palm Beach

4 Miami-Dade

3 Broward

***Awards by Theater

7 Maltz Jupiter Theatre

5 Palm Beach Dramaworks

3 Island City Stage

2 Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

1 GableStage

1 The Wick

1 Zoetic Stage

Awards by Production

4 LES MISERABLES, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

3 Daniel's Husband, Island City Stage

2 Billy Elliot, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

2 Buried Child, Palm Beach Dramaworks

2 Ragtime, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

1 Constellations, GableStage

1 Glengarry Glen Ross, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

1 Oklahoma!, The Wick

1 The History Boys, Palm Beach Dramaworks

1 Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Palm Beach Dramaworks

1 Picnic, Palm Beach Dramaworks

1 Stripped, Zoetic Stage

Photo by Daniel Azoulay

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