Woodland Opera House and More Win Big at the 38th Annual Virtual Elly Awards Ceremony

For the first time in 38 years, there was no possible way to hold a live Elly Award Ceremony for Youth or Adults due to the Covid19 pandemic. So, SARTA decided to host a Virtual Elly Award Ceremony.

The event was streamed on Twitch TV on Sunday, September 13 from 7 to 9pm. There were live and pre-recorded announcements, winners' speeches plus two Lifetime Achievement Awards. Musical interludes were provided throughout the evening by the amazing Peter Kagstrom. More than a dozen musical numbers were submitted by nominees in the Overall Production of a Musical category in Adult, Children's, Youth and Education- Musical categories. And our presenters effortlessly pronounced over 400 names which resulted in a total of 35 Elly Awards in the Adult Division and 52 Elly Awards in the Youth Division. Wow!

In addition to the ceremony there was a real time Pajama Party contest on Instagram with cool categories and gift cards for the winners! There was also a fundraising drive to help SARTA offset the cost of the production team, musicians, and Elly Award plaques. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit www.sarta.com/donate today.

The 171 Adult Elly nominations represented 105 productions from 44 participating theatres. The 35 Adult Elly Awards recognized 16 productions and 12 theatres.

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

• Shakespeare in Love - Green Valley Theatre Company - Comedy

• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - The Stage at Burke Junction - Drama

• Newsies - Woodland Opera House - Musical

The Adult Division shows receiving the most Elly Awards were:

• Newsies - Woodland Opera House (8)

• Leading Ladies - Main Street Theatre Works (5)

• Of Mice and Men - Woodland Opera House (3)

• The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge - Volcano Theatre Company (3)

The Elly Award for Original Script was given to:

• DeeDee Eldridge and Free Fall Stage for His Girl Friday.

The Original Script award is given to both the playwright and the theatre that produces the show.

Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Jennifer Vaughn of Roseville Theatre Arts Academy and John Iniguez of River City Theatre Company. Ms. Vaughn is about to celebrate her 40th year teaching and directing youth musical theatre. RTAA has been her home base for a very long time. She also worked in the local Roseville elementary and high school districts as a piano accompanist and choral director before finally settling down at Roseville Theatre Arts Academy which she helped create in 2011. Her goal is to always create an atmosphere of mentorship. She has directed over 700 shows to date and has about 8 Elly Awards at last count. Mr. Iniguez has spent the last 30 years running RCTC doing everything that needs to be done for the production or the business. He is one of the original co-founders of RCTC whose founders wanted a place where all children would be welcome to participate in musical theatre. He started volunteering while his children were doing shows with RCTC and now his granddaughter is participating, he has many more years of volunteering still to do. When not at the theatre, Mr. Iniguez had a distinguished career in law enforcement and still finds time to volunteer for local community events. Congratulations to our 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

The 250 Youth Elly nominations represented 46 productions from 27 participating theatres. The 52 Youth Elly Awards recognized 18 productions and 15 theatres.

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

• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Woodland Opera House - Children's Theatre

• Peter and the Starcatcher - Christian Brothers High School - Education - Musical

• Frankenstein- Franklin High School - Education - Play

• Singin' in the Rain - Roseville Theatre Arts Academy- Youth Theatre

The Youth Division shows receiving the most Elly Awards were:

• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Woodland Opera House (7)

• Peter and the Starcatcher- Christian Brothers High School (7)

• Frankenstein - Franklin High School (6)

• Shrek the Musical - Folsom High School (5)

• West Side Story - Rocklin Community Theatre (4)

• 13 the Musical - Sutter Street Theatre (4)

The Elly Award for Original Script in the Youth Division was given to:

• Betsy Johnson, Jim Achilles & The Acting Company for Season of Giving, Too!

The Original Script award is given to both the playwright and the theatre that produces the show.

Thirty (30) Elly judges volunteered countless hours attending every show submitted in the category they judged -Children's Theatre, Comedy, Drama, Education- Musical, Education- Play, Musicals, Young Peoples and Original Scripts. Awards within each category are given for: Leading Male and Leading Female; Supporting Male and Supporting Female; Direction; Costume Design; Lighting Design; Make-up Design; Set Design; Sound Design, Musical Direction, if applicable; Choreography, if applicable; and Overall Production. The Original Script award is given to both the playwright and the producing theatre.