Nominations for the 42nd Annual Carbonell Awards Have Been Announced

Four productions that spanned the tri-county area, The Caretaker at Zoetic Stage; The Secret Garden at Slow Burn Theatre Company; Sunday in the Park with George at Zoetic Stage; and Sweeney Todd at Palm Beach Dramaworks; tied with six nominations each when the nominations were announced for the 42nd annual Carbonell Awards, which honors excellence in theater in South Florida.

Zoetic Stage in Miami led with 17 nominations for their productions of The Caretaker, Fuacata, Sunday in the Park with George and Top Dog/Underdog. Miami-Dade theaters earned 42 nominations, Palm Beach County earned 38 nominations and Broward County earned 20 nominations. Nominations were spread over 44 shows from theaters stretching from Coral Gables north to Jupiter.

For the first time in the awards history, the nomination are being announced live simultaneously by The Morning Lounge with Jill and Rich on Legends Radio100.3FM along with the Carbonell Awards FacebookLive simulcast from 6am-10am today.

The awards will be handed out at the Carbonell Awards ceremony, which will be held Monday, April 2, 2018, at 7:30 p.m., at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

In addition to recognizing the stars of today, the Carbonell Awards' core mission is to award scholarships to the talent of tomorrow. Applications for the Jack Zink Memorial Carbonell Awards Scholarships are currently being accepted. Full info at http://carbonellawards.org/scholarships/ The deadline to apply is February 5.

The Carbonell Awards is a not-for-profit organization and is funded by tax-deductible donations and award sponsorships. This season's sponsors include South Florida Cultural Consortium, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Rita and Jerry Cohen, Kerry and Scott Shiller, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, Mary Ellen and Michael Peyton, Tony Finstrom the Palm Beach Cultural Council and the South Florida Theatre League. Opportunities to sponsor an award category and appear on stage to announce the winner are still available. Email carbonellhotline@gmail.com for more information.

"South Florida's regional theaters continue to excel, making the job of evaluating shows more difficult each year," said Jody Leshinsky, president of the Carbonell Awards Board of Directors. "Last year the Carbonell Award's 100 nominations were spread over 36 shows. This year 44 shows have been honored with nominations. That alone shows the upward trend of quality South Florida theater audiences."

The ceremony will take place Monday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets for Nominees and Groups will be available starting January 18 with order forms due by March 5. Visit CarbonellAwards.org and click the TICKETS link for full details. All tickets are priced at $25 plus service fee will go on sale to the public on March 9 and can be purchased at the Broward Center's Box Office by calling 954-462-0222 or visiting www.browardcenter.org. Day of show tickets will be available for $35 plus service fee.

A complete list of the 2017 nominations and a breakdown of nominations by county, theater and production follows.

Carbonell Award Nominations, 2017:

Best New Work (play or musical)

Broken Snow by Ben Andron, JCAT - The J's Cultural Arts Theatre
The Camp by Michael McKeever, West Boca Theatre Company
Finding Mona Lisa by Michael McKeever, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
¡FUÁCATA! by Elena Maria Garcia and Stuart Meltzer, Zoetic Stage
The Goldberg Variations by Stuart Meltzer, Island City Stage

Best Production of a Play

Arcadia, Palm Beach Dramaworks
The Caretaker, Zoetic Stage
The Humans, GableStage
Kings of Harlem, M Ensemble
Topdog/Underdog, Zoetic Stage

Best Director/Play
Joseph Adler, The Humans, GableStage
Layon Gray, Kings of Harlem, M Ensemble
J. Barry Lewis, Arcadia, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Stuart Meltzer, The Caretaker, Zoetic Stage
John Rodaz, An Octaroon, Area Stage Company

Best Actor/Play

Clay Cartland, The Legend of Georgia McBride, GableStage
Marckenson Charles, Topdog/Underdog, Zoetic Stage
David Kwiat, The Caretaker, Zoetic Stage
Nicholas Richberg, Billy and Me, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Gregg Weiner, The Good Thief, Ground Up & Rising

Best Actress/Play

Anne-Marie Cusson, Collected Stories, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Niki Fridh, Grounded, Thinking Cap Theatre
Elena Maria Garcia, ¡FUÁCATA!, Zoetic Stage
Rita Joe, Brothers of the Dust, M Ensemble
Karen Stephens, Motherland, Theatre Lab

Best Supporting Actor/Play

Sean Patrick Doyle, The Legend of Georgia McBride, GableStage
Andre L. Gainey, Kings of Harlem, M Ensemble
John Manzelli, The Goldberg Variations, Island City Stage
Kevin Reilley, Twelfth Night, New City Players
Tom Wahl, The Legend of Georgia McBride, GableStage

Best Supporting Actress/Play

Meredith Bartmon, The Humans, GableStage
Elizabeth Dimon, The Humans, GableStage
Niki Fridh, Most Wanted, Theatre Lab
Jeni Hacker, The Camp, West Boca Theatre Company
Carolyn Johnson, Flyin' West, M Ensemble

Best Production of a Musical

The Drowsy Chaperone, The Wick Theatre
Gypsy, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Newsies, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Sunday in the Park with George, Zoetic Stage
Sweeney Todd, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Director/Musical

Clive Cholerton, Sweeney Todd, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Patrick Fitzwater, The Secret Garden, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Stuart Meltzer, Sunday in the Park with George, Zoetic Stage
Dom Ruggiero, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Wick Theatre
Marcos Santana, Newsies, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Actor/Musical

Cooper Grodin, Sunday in the Park with George, Zoetic Stage
Bruce Linser, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Wick Theatre
Shane Tanner, Sweeney Todd, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Michael Ursua, La Cage Aux Folles, MNM Productions
Michael Ursua, The Secret Garden, Slow Burn Theatre Company

Best Actress/Musical

Sarah Gracel, Dreamgirls, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Julie Kleiner, She Loves Me, The Wick Theatre
Vicki Lewis, Gypsy, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Mallory Newbrough, Beauty and the Beast, The Wick Theatre
Cindy Pearce, It Shoulda Been You, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

Best Supporting Actor/Musical

Jim Ballard, Little Shop of Horrors, MNM Productions
Jim Ballard, Sweeney Todd, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Andrew Shultz, Spamalot, MNM Productions
Conor Walton, It Shoulda Been You, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
Elijah Word, Dreamgirls, Broward Stage Door Theatre

Best Supporting Actress/Musical

Amy Miller Brennan, Aida, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Anne Chamberlain, The Secret Garden, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Kat Gold, Nine, Broward Stage Door Theatre
Laura Hodos, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Wick Theatre
Mallory Newbrough, Beehive, The Wick Theatre

Musical Direction/Musical

Eric Alsford, Sunday in the Park with George, Zoetic Stage
Caryl Fantel, Beehive, The Wick Theatre
Emmanuel Schvartzmann, Sweeney Todd, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Brad Simmons, The Secret Garden, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Andrew David Sotomayor, Newsies, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Choreography/Musical

Al Blackstone, Newsies, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Ron Hutchins, Evita, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Gypsy, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Lindsey Bell, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Wick Theatre
Shea Sullivan, The Producers, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Scenic Design/play or musical

Kent Barrett, Motherland, Theatre Lab
Mitchelll Ost, Kings of Harlem, M Ensemble
J.C. Rodriguez, An Octaroon, Area Stage Company
Anne Mundell, Born Yesterday, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Michael McClain, The Caretaker, Zoetic Stage

Best Lighting Design/play or musical

Rebecca Montero, The Caretaker, Zoetic Stage
Rebecca Montero, Sunday in the Park with George, Zoetic Stage
Thomas Shorrock, The Secret Garden, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Thomas Shorrock, Titanic, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Donald Edmund Thomas, Arcadia, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Costume Design/play or musical

Angela Esposito, Sunday in the Park with George, Zoetic Stage
Brian O'Keefe, Sweeney Todd, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Rick Pena, The Secret Garden, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Nicole Stodard, Lizzie: The Musical, Thinking Cap Theatre
Ellis Tillman, The Legend of Georgia McBride, GableStage

Best Sound Design/play or musical

Anton Church, ¡FUÁCATA!, Zoetic Stage
Matt Corey, Collected Stories, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Matt Corey, The Legend of Georgia McBride, GableStage
Stuart Meltzer, The Caretaker, Zoetic Stage
Nicole Stodard, Grounded, Thinking Cap Theatre

Best Ensemble (play or musical)

Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties, Thinking Cap Theatre
Finding Mona Lisa, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
Kings of Harlem, M Ensemble
Lizzie: The Musical, Thinking Cap Theatre
Straight White Men, Thinking Cap Theatre

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