INTO THE WOODS, SWEENEY TODD, and More Nominated For 2023 Hewes Design Awards

The 59th annual ceremony will be held on October 23 in New York.

By: Sep. 19, 2023
INTO THE WOODS, SWEENEY TODD, and More Nominated For 2023 Hewes Design Awards
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The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee has announced the 2023 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees who will be recognized at the 59th annual ceremony on October 23 in New York.

“We are delighted that the Henry Hewes Design Awards will once again bring the entire design community together in-person for the first time since 2019,” said Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chairman of the committee. “We continue to recognize the outstanding contribution that designers make to the creative process in all theater productions and we congratulate the 2023 Honorees for their excellent work.”

Honors for the 2022–23 season were earned by eight artists for their work on, Off, and Off-Off Broadway. Scenic design team dots (a collaboration of Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Andrew Moerdyk and Kimie Nishikawa) (Public Obscenities, Soho Rep/National Asian American Theatre Company), costume designer Brenda Abbandandolo (The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Broadway), lighting designer Barbara Samuels (Public Obscenities, Soho Rep/National Asian American Theatre Company), sound designer Tei Blow (Public Obscenities, Soho Rep/National Asian American Theatre Company), media designer Kameron Neal (Dark Disabled Stories, Public Theater), and puppetry designer James Ortiz (Into the Woods, Broadway) will be honored with 2023 Henry Hewes Design Awards. Seven of the eight 2023 honorees are receiving their first award from the Hewes committee. For the 2023 honors, 98 theater artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 58 productions presented during the 2022–23 New York theater season on, Off, and Off-Off Broadway. (A complete list of 2023 nominees follows this awards announcement. Please share widely.)

These annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway, recognizing the traditional categories of Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Sound Design, Media Design, and Notable Effects. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee annually considers approximately 200 productions when making its nominations.

The design team known as dots led all artists with five nominations for their design work. Clint Ramos received three nominations for his work. Eleven designers received two nominations for their work. Twenty-eight productions received multiple nominations, with Public Obscenities at Soho Rep/National Asian American Theatre Company getting five nominations. Two productions each received four nominations. Six productions each received three nominations and seventeen other productions each received two nominations.

The HHDA Committee named honorees in six standard categories: Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Sound Design, Media Design and Notable Effects. As of the 2023 awards, the Committee has bestowed 337 honors on 224 artists representing 288 productions. (These numbers do not include the Ming Cho Lee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Design.)

Known as the Maharam Awards at their inception in 1965, the Hewes Awards were later renamed the American Theatre Wing Design Awards in honor of the Wing's generous sponsorship. In 1999, they became the Henry Hewes Design Awards in honor of noted critic Henry Hewes, who created the awards and served as a board member of the American Theatre Wing until his death in 2006 at age 89.

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee includes theater critics Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair; David Barbour; David Cote; Naveen Kumar; Brittani Samuel; Helen Shaw; and Martha Wade Steketee. The awards are sponsored by the Henry Hewes Foundation for the Theater Arts.

2023 Henry Hewes DESIGN AWARDS HONOREES

Scenic Design

dots (Public Obscenities, Soho Rep/National Asian American Theatre Company)

 

Costume Design

Brenda Abbandandolo (The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Broadway)

 

Lighting Design

Barbara Samuels (Public Obscenities, Soho Rep/National Asian American Theatre Company)

 

Sound Design

Tei Blow (Public Obscenities, Soho Rep/National Asian American Theatre Company)

 

Media Design

Kameron Neal (Dark Disabled Stories, Public Theater)

 

Notable Effects

James Ortiz (Into the Woods, Broadway Puppetry Design)

2023 Henry Hewes DESIGN AWARDS NOMINEES

SCENIC DESIGN NOMINEES

Arnulfo Maldonado                                                           
My Broken Language

Arnulfo Maldonado                                                           
Topdog/Underdog

Beowulf Boritt                                                                   
New York, New York

Christopher and Justin Swader                                          
Arden of Faversham

Christopher and Justin Swader                                          
Modern Swimwear

Clint Ramos                                                                       
A Raisin in the Sun

Clint Ramos                                                                       
The Far Country

Dane Laffrey                                                                     
A Christmas Carol

Donald Eastman                                                                
Evelyn Brown

dots                                                                                    
Dark Disabled Stories

dots                                                                                    
Public Obscenities

dots                                                                                    
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window

dots                                                                                    
You Will Get Sick

Frank J. Oliva                                                                    
On Set With Theda Bara

John Lee Beatty                                                                 
Epiphany

Junghyun Georgia Lee                                                      
Romeo and Juliet

Marsha Ginsberg                                                               
Primary Trust

Maruti Evans                                                                     
Amani

Michael Yeargan                                                               
Pictures From Home

Parker Lutz                                                                        
The Trees

Rachel Hauck                                                                    
Good Night, Oscar

Soutra Gilmour                                                                  
A Doll's House

Wilson Chin                                                                       
A Bright New Boise

COSTUME DESIGN NOMINEES

Andrea Hood                                                                     
Into the Woods

Brenda Abbandandolo                                                    
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window

Caitlin Ayer                                                                       
Willa's Authentic Self

Clint Ramos and Sophia Choi                                           
KPOP

David Zinn                                                                         
Almost Famous

Donna Zakowska                                                               
New York, New York

Enver Chakartash                                                              
The Trees

Enver Chakartash                                                              
Public Obscenities

Gregg Barnes                                                                     
Some Like It Hot

Jennifer Moeller                                                                 
Camelot

Jennifer Moeller and Miriam Kelleher                              
The Comeuppance

Karen Perry                                                                        
A Raisin in the Sun

Kindall Almond                                                                 
Black Odyssey

Mika Eubanks                                                                    
Twelfth Night

Montana Levi Blanco                                                        
White Girl in Danger

Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung                                        
Dancin'

Susan Hilferty                                                                    
Parade

Wendy Yang                                                                      
Your Own Personal Exegesis

LIGHTING DESIGN NOMINEES

Adam Honoré                                                                    
Black Odyssey

Allen Lee Hughes                                                              
Ohio State Murders

Amith Chandrashaker                                                        
The Comeuppance

Barbara Samuels                                                             
Public Obscenities

Ben Stanton                                                                       
A Christmas Carol

Heather Gilbert                                                                  
Parade

Isabella Byrd                                                                     
Epiphany

Isabella Byrd                                                                     
The Good John Proctor

Jen Schriever                                                                      
My Broken Language

Jiyoun Chang                                                                     
The Far Country

John Torres                                                                        
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window

Jon Clark                                                                            
A Doll's House

Ken Billington                                                                   
New York, New York

Lap Chi Chu                                                                      
The Coast Starlight

Masha Tsimring                                                                 
Montag

Natasha Katz                                                                     
Sweeney Todd

Oona Curley                                                                      
Dark Disabled Stories

Reza Behjat                                                                       
Arden of Faversham

Stacey Derosier                                                                  
On Set With Theda Bara

NOTABLE EFFECTS NOMINEES

Buffy Cardoza (Properties Design)                                   
The Good John Proctor

Caitlin Ayer (Puppetry Design)                                         
Willa's Authentic Self

James Ortiz (Puppetry Design)                                      
Into the Woods

Steven Wendt (Shadow Puppetry Design)                        
This and That

Tom Sepe (Robot Design)                                                 
The Orchard

SOUND DESIGN NOMINEES

Ben and Max Ringham                                                      
A Doll's House

Christopher Darbassie                                                       
Camp Siegfried

Elisabeth Weidner                                                             
F*ck Seventh Grade

Fabian Obispo                                                                   
Once Upon a (korean) Time

Frederick Kennedy                                                            
Twelfth Night

Joanna Lynne Staub                                                          
Weightless

Kai Harada                                                                        
New York, New York

Kathy Ruvuna                                                                    
Dark Disabled Stories

Lee Kinney                                                                        
Exception to the Rule

Lee Kinney                                                                        
The Good John Proctor

Leegrid Stevens                                                                 
War Dreamer

Megan Culley                                                                    
Hang Time

Mikaal Sulaiman                                                                
Evanston Salt Costs Climbing

Nevin Steinberg                                                                 
Sweeney Todd

Palmer Hefferan                                                                
The Comeuppance

Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann                                       
Into the Woods

Sinan Rafik Zafar                                                              
Montag

Tei Blow                                                                            
Public Obscenities

MEDIA DESIGN NOMINEES

59 Productions                                                                   
Pictures From Home

59 Productions                                                                   
The Coast Starlight

Alex Basco Koch                                                               
The Orchard

Brittany Bland                                                                   
Amani

Brittany Bland                                                                   
Twelfth Night

Caite Hevner                                                                      
Between the Lines

Dan Scully                                                                         
The Butcher Boy

David Bengali                                                                    
Monsoon Wedding

David Bengali                                                                    
The Thanksgiving Play

dots and Sam Levy                                                            
Kate

Johnny Moreno                                                                  
Public Obscenities

Josh Higgason                                                                    
White Girl in Danger

Kameron Neal                                                                  
Dark Disabled Stories

Kelly Colburn, Alex Hawthorn, Justin Nestor                  
American Television(s)

Lucy Mackinnon                                                                
A Christmas Carol

Phil Soltanoff                                                                    
This and That

Sven Ortel                                                                          
Parade


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