LaChanze and The Color Purple Receive Suzi Bass Award Nods

LaChanze, soon to be seen on Broadway in The Color Purple, is one of the nominees in the 2005 Suzi Bass Awards. They will be presented at the 14th Street Playhouse (at Juniper and 14th Streets) in Atlanta, GA on October 23rd at 7 PM.

Like the Tonys in New York, the Jeffersons in Chicago and the Barrymores in Philadelphia, the Suzi Bass Awards will celebrate achievement in theatrical production in the Atlanta area. "My goal and the goal of the executive committee is to cast light upon outstanding theatre companies in five counties, and especially the measure of their respect for actors. These are theatre awards only for theatre people and by theatre people," stated Gene-Gabriel Moore, the Atlanta-based playwright, director and actor who founded the awards two years ago; he named them after the late Atlanta stage and film actress.

The Color Purple, which received its first production at The ALLIANCE THEATRE Company last year, also received nominations for Outstanding Production. The musical, which is based on the Alice Walker novel and the Steven Speilberg film, will begin previews at the Broadway Theatre on October 25th for a December 1st opening.

In addition to the presentation of awards, The Spirit of Suzi Bass Award will be bestowed upon "a working performer or theatrical organization in metro Atlanta whose work mirrors Suzi Bass' long-time embrace of professionalism in the theatre." Kenny Leon took home the Spirit Award last year.

The list of Suzi Bass Award nominations is as follows:

Outstanding Production

Mahalia, by Tom Stoltz, Theatre in the Square
The Color Purple, ALLIANCE THEATRE Company, music by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, book by Marsha Norman.
The Diviners, by Jim Leonard, Jr., Theatre in the Square.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, ALLIANCE THEATRE Company, adaptation by Rebecca Gilman of the Carson McCullers novel.
The Syringa Tree, by Pamela Gein, Horizon Theatre Company.

Outstanding Director
Alan Kilpatrick, Take Me Out, by Richard Greenberg, Theatre in the Square.
Alan Kilpatrick, The Diviners, by Jim Leonard, Jr., Theatre in the Square.
Carol Mitchell-Leon, Mahalia, by Tom Stoltz, Theatre in the Square.
Jessica Phelps West, Fiddler on the Roof, Jewish Theatre of the South.
Lisa Adler, The Syringa Tree, by Pamela Gein, Horizon Theatre Company.

Outstanding Female Actor
Bernardine Mitchell, Mahalia, by Tom Stoltz, Theatre in the Square.
Carolyn Cook, The Syringa Tree, by Pamela Gein, Horizon Theatre Company.
Jill Jane Clements, The Foreigner, by Larry Shue, Theatrical Outfit.
LaChanze, The Color Purple, adapted from Alice Walker's novel, ALLIANCE THEATRE Company.
Marianne Fraulo, From Door to Door, by James Sherman, Jewish Theatre of the South.

Outstanding Male Actor
Chris Ekholm, The Diviners, by Jim Leonard, Jr., Theatre in the Square.
Chris Kayser, The Comedy of Errors, by William Shakespeare, Georgia Shakespeare.
Chris Moses, The Diviners, by Jim Leonard, Jr., Theatre in the Square.
Dan Triandiflou, The Foreigner, by Larry Shue, Theatrical Outfit.
Travis Young, Take Me Out, by Richard Greenberg, Theatre in the Square.

Tickets for the awards, which are $12.50, can be ordered by calling (404) 733-5000.