Philadelphia Theatre Company Announces Barrymore Awards

Philadelphia Theatre Company was the top winner of this year's Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre with seven awards, the most of any Philadelphia-area theater company.  This brings PTC's total number of Barrymore Awards to 53 cumulative wins and 155 nominations.

PTC's production of Kander and Ebb's highly-acclaimed musical The Scottsboro Boys, the first since the show's Broadway run, walked away with four awards for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical to Rodney Hicks, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical to Forrest McClendon, Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical, and Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical.  PTC also won two awards for The Outgoing Tide by Bruce Graham, with Richard Poe taking Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play and David Gordon receiving Outstanding Set Design.  Actress Genevieve Perrier rounded out the list of PTC award winners, being namedOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Play in Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute.
               

"We are truly honored that the Barrymore voters have recognized our productions in such a wonderful way.  We thank our gifted artists for their extraordinary work as well as the entire PTC staff for making these achievements possible," said Sara Garonzik, PTC's Producing Artistic Director.

Several of the award-winning actors reflected on what the award meant to them.

"I'm deeply honored that The Scottsboro Boys and PTC have been recognized in this way. Edgy work requires daring producers and I'm so grateful to Sara for being a champion for this beautiful piece," said Forrest McClendon.

"Performing The Scottsboro Boys meant the world but having the chance to do the show where I grew up, and now being recognized with this honor is such a full circle moment of joy," commented Rodney Hicks.

"Reasons to be Pretty is significant to me for many reasons. Working on demanding material, meeting the playwright, working at one of the best regional theaters, and now being honored with this recognition, it has culminated in a truly special and memorable moment in my career," said local actress Genevieve Perrier.

PTC opens its 2012-2013 season on October 17-November 18 with the world premiere of the musical song cycle Stars of David, a musical stage adaptation of Abigail Pogrebin's highly-acclaimed book Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk about Being Jewish.  Conceived by Aaron Harnick, it is a snapshot of Jewish identity through the interviews with some of America's most recognizable public figures, including: Gloria Steinem, Aaron Sorkin, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Joan Rivers, Norman Lear, Tony Kushner and Wendy Wasserstein.  With a book by Charles Busch (The Tale of the Allergist's Wife) and directed by Gordon Greenberg, the interviews will be transformed into songs by composers and lyricists including William Finn (The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening), Tom Kitt  (Next To Normal), Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof), Jeanine Tesori(Caroline, Or Change), Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Marilyn & Alan Bergman (Yentl), Amanda Green (High Fidelity), Nathan Tysen & Chris Miller (The Burnt Part Boys), Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam), and one of the last songs written by the late Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line), among others.  The PTC season continues with The Mountaintop by Katori Hall (January 18-February 17); Seminar by Theresa Rebeck (March 15-April 14); and the Tony nominated comedy Venus in Fur by David Ives (May 24-June 30).

For further information please call 215-735-7356.