Cortland Repertory Theatre Wins 2/3 Summer Production SALT Awards

Cortland Repertory Theatre's 2011 production of the musical Chicago "razzle dazzled 'em" at the Syracuse Area Live Theatre (SALT) Awards, winning in two out of the three Summer Production categories. The awards were presented on Sunday, May 20 at the Palace Theatre in Syracuse. Hosted by the Syracuse New Times, the SALT Awards recognize professional, summer and community theatres, each in their own categories.

CRT's Chicago won Best Production of the Summer Season, the first time CRT has won in this category. Other nominees included CRT's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins, as well as productions from Merry-Go-Round Playhouse: Anything Goes, 42nd Street and Hairspray.

Chicago, with music direction by Eric Johnson and choreography by Kevin P. Hill, was directed by long-time CRT director Bill Kincaid. Kincaid also directed nominee Souvenir and the SALT-nominated productions of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks in 2010, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde in 2009 and A Few Good Men in 2008. Kincaid will be back at CRT this summer, directing the dramatic comedy The Drawer Boy, which runs from August 15 - 25.

Chicago's production team included: Jason Bolen (scenic design), Jimmy Johansmeyer (costumes), Shawn Boyle (lighting), Danielle Hodgin (props), David Huber (sound), Kristin Valentine (stage manager), and Eric Behnke (production manager). Most of these designers and technicians will be returning to CRT again this summer.

Also, Chicago's leading ladies will be returning: Rin Allen (Velma Kelly) will appear in Grease and Cats, and Charlotte Fox (Roxie Hart) will be seen in Agatha Christie's The Hollow.

Additionally, CRT's Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson received the Best Actor of the Summer Season Award for playing the song-and-dance lawyer Billy Flynn in Chicago. This is Thompson's second win and fourth nomination; he previously won for Moonlight and Magnolias in 2006 and was nominated for Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2010) and The Music Man (2004). Other nominees for Best Actor included CRT's Austin Van Dyke Colby (Joseph... Dreamcoat) and Nicholas Wilder (Rumors), as well as Merry Go Round's Christopher Carl (42nd Street), Todd Lattimore (Anything Goes) and Darryl Winslow (Hairspray).

Best Actress of the Summer Season was won by Lena Mary Amato from Merry Go Round's Hairspray. Other nominees in this category included CRT's Rin Allen (Chicago) and April Woodall (Souvenir), as well as MGR's Julie Cardia, (Anything Goes) and Julie Kavanaugh (42nd Street).