2015 Adult Elly Award Winners Announced - IN THE HEIGHTS Wins Big!

Sacramento, CA -This year the 33rd annual Elly Awards - Adult Division were announced at the candy-decorated Elks Lodge No. 6 in Sacramento on Sunday night. Named for Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of the Sacramento Bee, the Elly Awards celebrates excellence in Sacramento's local and regional community theater. A grand total of 34 Elly Awards, plus two lifetime achievement awards, were given to individuals and theaters from across a 10-county region in the Adult Division which includes Comedy, Drama, Musicals and Original Works. Sponsored by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA), this formal event was attended by nearly 300 active community theatre members and their families and friends.

Tonight's ceremony opened with delightful rendition of "Pure Imagination" from Willa Wonka and the Chocolate Factory choreographed by Jacob Montoya. This year's Elly theme was How Sweet It Is and guests sampled a scrumptious all-you-can-eat candy bar! Throughout the evening, attendees were treated to musical numbers from productions in the Overall Production - Musical category which included: You Love Who You Love from Bonnie & Clyde- Missouri Street Theatre; Medley from Mary Poppins- Missouri Street Theatre; In the Heights/96,000 from In the Heights - Green Valley Theatre; Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music- Stockton Civic Theatre and Before It's Over from Dogfight- Green Valley Theatre.

The fabulous Jim "Fingerz" Jordan was the awesome musical director and pianist for the evenings' festivities.

The 168 Adult Elly nominations represented 144 productions from 49 different participating theatres. The final 34 Elly Awards recognized 17 productions and 16 theatres.

The productions receiving the most Elly Awards were:

In The Heights - Green Valley Theatre Company (7)

Language Archives - Big Idea Theatre (6)

Death of a Salesman - San Joaquin Delta College (5)

Anon(ymous) - Falcon's Eye Theatre at Folsom Lake College (3)

The Sound of Music - Stockton Civic Theatre (2)

Elly Awards for Overall Production in individual categories in the Adult Division went to:

Comedy - Language Archives - Big Idea Theatre

Drama - Death of a Salesman - San Joaquin Delta College

Musical - In the Heights - Green Valley Theatre

Original Works: Original Script - Frankenstein - Jes Gonzales - Resurrection Theatre

Original Works: Original Adaptation- Little Women - Deanne Eldridge - Free Fall Stage

Two individuals received two Elly awards apiece - Benjamin T. Ismail for Direction and Sound Design for Language Archives and Harvey T. Jordan for Direction and Leading Male for Death of a Salesman. Both shows also won in their respective Overall Production category.

This year's lifetime achievement awards went to Rodger McDonald and Janis Stevens. Both are long-time members of the Sacramento theatre community. Rodger McDonald, a veteran director and actor in the Sacramento community, recently completed his 250th production at Woodland Opera House where he directed and performed in A Flea in Her Ear. McDonald has enjoyed an extensive career in both professional and community theatre, including owning a children's theatre company in Utah. Choosing to settle with his wife and children in Sacramento he has shared his acting and directing acumen with others in the community including Runaway Stage, Davis Musical Theatre Company, River Stage, Music Circus and Sierra Shakespeare to name a few. To date, Mr. McDonald has received an impressive 17 Elly nominations for acting and/or directing and has won four! Ms Janis Stevens has had an amazing year and an equally

amazing career. This year, Janis starred in the critically acclaimed solo-performance of Kate at Sacramento Theatre Company. Ms Stevens has won numerous Elly awards for her performances of uniquely strong-willed women including Isadora Duncan, Vivien Leigh and Julia Morgan. In 2006, Janis was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of Vivien Leigh. Ms. Stevens has been an adjunct professor teaching beginning and intermediate acting at American River College for more than 12 years and has touched the lives of countless numbers of students. Ms Stevens is currently directing, acting and teaching at Capitol Stage. Both honorees received a personalized, engraved Elly plaque. Congratulations!

The Elly Awards program serves community theatres within a 70-mile radius from downtown Sacramento. Seventeen judges volunteered countless hours and drove endless miles attending every show submitted in their judging category. The categories are Comedy, Drama, and Musical. Awards within each category are given for: Leading Actor and Actress; Supporting Actor and Actress; Direction; Costume Design; Lighting Design; Set Design; Sound Design; Musical Direction, if applicable; Choreography, if applicable; and Overall Production. There is a separate division for Original Works which included Original Script and Adapted Script and the awards are given to the playwright and the theatre producing the work.

SARTA's mission is to promote high quality community theatre in the Sacramento area and neighboring regions. When combined with the opportunity to provide quality entertainment and formal recognition of those in the performing arts, SARTA and the Sacramento community benefit.

In addition to the Elly Awards program, SARTA provides its members with a weekly email update for auditions, casting calls, workshops, events and jobs plus a monthly electronic TheatreLetter featuring current and on-going theatre production listings and upcoming SARTA events. SARTA members also receive discounted ticket prices at participating SARTA member theatres and the annual Elly Award ceremony. Members also receive a complimentary headshot and resume listing on SARTA's Talent Database! For more information about SARTA and how you can support this programming, please visit the website at www.sarta.com. SARTA is a non-profit 501© 3 organization.

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