Ivey Awards to Celebrate 10 Years of 'Theater Forever', 9/22

The 10th Anniversary Ivey Awards announced today that Mu Performing Arts Artistic Director Randy Reyes will return as event co-host along with new co-host actor-singer Christina Baldwin, "a staple in the Twin Cities theater community" (Minnesota Original).

Boasting the theme "Theater Forever," the annual celebration will take place at 7:30pm on Monday, Sept. 22 at the Historic State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Tickets ($35-$125) for the extravaganza -- featuring a pre-party, red carpet fashion, live entertainment, awards and after-party -- are on sale now.

The 10th Anniversary Iveys will feature the unveiling of visual tributes, created by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre with input from the community, to the nine Lifetime Achievement Award winners: Lou Bellamy, Bain Boehlke, Jeffrey Hatcher, Wendy Lehr, Sheila Livingston, Jack Reuler, Dudley Riggs, Rick Shiomi and Don Stolz. The large-scale imaginative representations, along with a new IveysLifetime.com website, will honor the legacies of these iconic artists, creators and dreamers, and will add rich material and memorabilia to Twin Cities theater history. The images will premiere at the Ivey show and then be featured as a traveling exhibit.

The 2014 Ivey show entertainment line-up was also announced:

- "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from Guys and Dolls by Bloomington Civic Theatre

- Excerpt from Men-Struation by Brave New Workshop

- "Mrs. Housel: A Suicide Suite" from Archival Revival by Freshwater Theatre

- "Willkommen" from Cabaret by Theater Latté Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust

- "Push da Button" from The Color Purple by Park Square Theatre

Established in 2004, the Iveys seek to increase awareness and appreciation of Twin Cities' professional theater by providing a celebration for both those working within the professional theater community and those in the audience. The show includes recognition for work in all areas of theater, from production and design to direction and performance. Each year, the 76 participating theaters also select individuals to be honored as the year's Emerging Artist and Lifetime Achievement honoree.

10th ANNIVERSARY IVEY AWARDS

What: 10th annual Ivey Awards celebrating professional theater in the Twin Cities

When: Monday, September 22, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Historic State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

Tickets: Available at www.IveyAwards.com, State Theatre box office and any Ticketmaster outlet. Regular tickets $35* (includes reserved seating for show plus afterparty at Solera) VIP tickets $125 (includes VIP Pre-party at Solera from 5:30 -7 p.m. with exquisite food and a cocktail bar, preferred seating at the State Theatre, plus afterparty) Youth tickets for ages 17 and younger $8 (includes pre-party from 5:30 -7 p.m. with interactive entertainment and State Theatre show). *$40 after September 12

About the Ivey Awards The Iveys are unique among awards events in the country in that they are open to the public and there are no nominees, set number of awards, or pre-determined award categories with the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and the Emerging Artist awards. The artists and organizations receiving special recognition are selected from evaluations completed by the general public and more than 150 volunteer theater evaluators who have seen more than 1,000 performances in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area from September 2013-August 2014.

Each participating theater receives a vote to determine the Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Artist awards; for other honorees, a software program summarizes the information provided by the volunteer evaluators and the Ivey Awards advisory committee confirms the results. The 18-member advisory committee is composed of local theater professionals, theater board members, and theater-goers.