Review: BWW-CLE PROFESSIONAL THEATER TRIBUTES--2017 at Greater Cleveland Theatre

BWW-CLE Professional Theater Tributes--2017

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theater scene. It the purpose of BROADWAY WORLD.COM-CLEVELAND PROFESSIONAL THEATER TRIBUTES (BWW-CLE Theater Tributes), to recognize theatrical experiences that, in the subjective view of this reviewer, were excellent and deserve recognition.

Only shows performed in 2017 which I reviewed were considered. With the exception of Outstanding National Touring Production, selections were limited to local professional presentations though actors, directors and technicians who were imported by local theatres for their productions were considered. Actors are separated by gender, but not equity or lack of union affiliation, or leading or supporting roles.

Designees are listed in alphabetical, not in rank order.

OUTSTANDING NON-MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS

EQUUS, Blank Canvas Theatre

HANDS TO GOD, Dobama Theatre

HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, Cleveland Play House

HOW TO BE A RESPECTABLE JUNKIE, Dobama Theatre

MARJORIE PRIME, Dobama Theatre

SALVAGE, none-too-fragile

THE FLICK, Dobama Theatre

WELL, Ensemble Theatre

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL THEATER PRODUCTIONS

FLOYD COLLINS, Blank Canvas Theatre

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, Great Lakes Theater

NEWSIES, Porthouse Theatre

ROCK OF AGES, Cain Park Theatre

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, Lakeland Civic Theatre

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORS OF A NON-MUSICAL

Celeste Cosentino, WELL, Ensemble Theatre

Laura Kepley, HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, Cleveland Play House

Mathew Wright, HAND TO GOD, Dobama Theatre

Nathan Motta, THE FLICK, Dobama Theatre

Pat Ciamacco, EQUUS, Blank Canvas Theatre

Sean Derry, SALVAGE, none-too-fragile

Shannon Sindelar, MARJORIE PRIME, Dobama Theatre

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORS OF A MUSICAL

Joanne May Hunkins, ROCK OF AGES, Cain Park Theater

Martin Friedman, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, Lakeland Civic

Theatre

Pat Ciamacco, FLOYD COLLINS, Blank Canvas Theatre

Terri Kent, NEWSIES, Porthouse Theatre

Victoria Bussert, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, Great Lakes Theater

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A THEATER PRODUCTION

Kevin D. Marr II, ROCK OF AGES, Cain Park Theater

Martin Céspedes (with Mary Sheridan), BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL, Beck

Center/Baldwin Wallace University

MaryAnn Black, NEWSIES, Porthouse Theatre

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES BY A MALE IN A NON-MUSICAL

Abraham Adams, OCCUPATION DAD, Ensemble Theatre

Antonio DeJesus, EQUUS, Blank Canvas Theatre

Christopher M. Bohan, HOW TO BE A RESPECTABLE JUNKIE, Dobama

Theatre

David Lenahan, IN THE CLOSET, convergence-continuum

David Peacock, A SKULL IN CONNEMARA, none-too-fragile

Gordon Hinchen, THE FLICK, Dobama Theatre

Luke Wehner, HANDS TO GOD, Dobama Theatre

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE IN A NON-MUSICAL

Derdriu Ring, SALVAGE, none-too-fragile

Dorothy Silver, MARJORIE PRIME, Dobama Theatre

Kelly Strang, SALVAGE, none-too-fragile

Laura Starnick, WELL, Ensemble Theatre

Lisa Louise Langford, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Dobama Theatre

Madeline Lambert, HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, Cleveland Play House

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE IN A MUSICAL

Alex Syiek, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, Great Lakes Theater

Corey Moch, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, Great Lakes Theater

Douglas F. Bailey, ROCK OF AGES, Cain Park Theatre

Michael Snider, FLOYD COLLINS, Blank Canvas Theatre

Shane Patrick O'Neill, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, Lakeland Civic

Theatre

RISING STAR (PROMISING NEWCOMER)

Antonio DeJesus, EQUUS, Blank Canvas Theatre

Colin Frothingham, SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE BAKER STREET

IRREGULARS, Dobama Theatre

Jabri Little, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Dobama Theatre

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES BY A FEMALE IN A MUSICAL

Katelyn Cassidy, NEWSIES, Porthouse Theatre

Keri Rene Fuller, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, Great Lakes Theater

Trinidad Snider, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, Lakeland Civic

Theatre

OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN OF NON-MUSICALS or MUSICALS

Collette Pollard, HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, Cleveland Play House

Cory Molner, IN THE CLOSET, convergence-continuum

Laura Carlson Tarantowski, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Dobama Theatre

Trad A Burns, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, Lakeland Civic Theatre

Wilson Chin, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY, Cleveland Play House

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL DIRECTION

Jonathan Swoboda, NEWSIES, Porthouse Theatre

Jordan Cooper, ROCK OF AGES, Cain Park Theatre

Jordan Cooper, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, Lakeland Civic Theatre

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN IN A NON-MUSICAL OR MUSICAL

Cyrus O. Taylor, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Dobama Theatre

Cyrus O. Taylor, HOW TO BE A RESPECTABLE JUNKIE, Dobama Theatre

Daniel Perelstein, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, Cleveland Play House

Erick T. Lawson, MARJORIE PRIME, Dobama Theatre

Victoria Deiorio, BASKERVILLE, Cleveland Play House

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN IN A NON-MUSICAL OR MUSICAL

Aimee Kluiber, CITY OF ANGELS, Beck Center

Kim Krumm Sorenson, HAMLET, Great Lakes Theater

Lex Liang, BASKERVILLE, Cleveland Play House

Lex Liang, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, Cleveland Play House

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN IN A NON-MUSICAL OR MUSICAL

Bryanna Bauman, WELL, Ensemble Theatre

Marcus Dana, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Dobama Theatre

Marcus Dana, HOW TO BE A RESPECTABLE JUNKIE, Dobama Theatre

Peter Maradudin, BASKERVILLE, Cleveland Play House

Rick Martin, HAMLET, Great Lakes Theater

OUTSTANDING ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN A NON-MUSICAL OR MUSICAL

Caite Hevner, HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, Cleveland Play House

Pat Ciamacco, FLOYD COLLINS, Blank Canvas Theatre

T. Paul Lowry, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Dobama Theatre

T. Paul Lowry, THINGS AS THEY ARE, Playwrights Local

OUTSTANDING NATIONAL TOURING PRODUCTION

ON YOUR FEET, Playhouse Square

SOMETHING ROTTEN, Playhouse Square

LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Dorothy Silver for her years of leadership service to the Jewish Community Center and Karamu and many impressive performances in Cleveland area theatres and national films.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

•Bill Rudman, Musical Theater Project, for bringing musical theatet exposure and knowledge to a variety of audiences who might otherwise not become theater patrons.

•Faye Sholiton for stoking and keeping the ember of Jewish theater alive in the Cleveland area.

•Gina Vernaci for her persistence and creativity in making Play House Square a major national center for touring theater.

•Patrick Ciamacco (Blank Canvas), Sean Derry and Ilana Alanna Romansky (none -too-fragile), Clyde Simon (convergence-continuum), Greg Caeser (Caeser's Forum) and Celeste Cosentino (Ensemble)--for being the financial and energy sources of "mom and pop" professional theater in Northeastern Ohio.

If any names are spelled incorrectly, or there are errors in identifications, please let me know so I can change the permanent record on www.royberko.info.

If you would like to read any of my reviews for the year, please go to www.royberko.info, enter the blog and click on "2017 Reviews" or click on the name of the producing theatre and scroll through their performances. Reviews from previous years may also be accessed.