MTJA Announces 2020 Theater Awards Winners

The San Francisco North Bay's Marquee Theater Journalists Association has annouced the recipients of the 2020 MTJA Awards program. The Association recognized the exemplary work of Sonoma County theater artists with awards in eighteen categories whose nominations were culled from the thirty-five pre-pandemic productions attended by MTJA members. The qualifying season for the awards program usually runs from September of the previous year through August of the current year. This year's Fifth Annual MTJA Awards recipients were annouced via a video presentation released on October 28.

Click HERE for the video presentation.

Rohnert Park's Spreckels Theatre Company had four productions take home a collective eleven awards including Outstanding Musical for the Michael Ross-directed A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder and Outstanding Comedy for the Elizabeth Craven-directed Eureka Day. Sebastopol's Main Stage West had the season's Outstanding Drama with the David Lear-directed The Seafarer.

Petaluma's Cinnabar Theater was recognized in three categories including Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama for Liz Jahren in Luna Gale and Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy for Kyle Stoner in Ripcord.

Michella Snyder was recognized for Outstanding Choreography for the tap dancing sequence in Sonoma Arts Live's production of A Christmas Story: the Musical. Patrick Varner received the Outstanding Solo Performance/Production Award for the Lennie Dean-directed Fully Committed at 6th Street Playhouse.

The MTJA was founded in 2015 by Sonoma County-based theater journalists with the intent of developing a critically-based awards program to acknowledge outstanding work done by the local theater community. Current members include the North Bay Bohemian's Harry Duke, Sonoma County Gazette's Jeanie K. Smith, and Aisle Seat Review's Nicole Singley and Barry Willis. All are also members of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle as well as the American Theatre Critics Association.

From its inception, the Marquee Theater Journalists Association took a non-traditional approach to its awards system in comparison to most other programs. The MTJA Awards recognize four types of plays - solo, comedy, drama, and musical - and was the first theater awards program in California to utilize non-gender-specific performance categories. The Awards acknowledge Outstanding Lead and Outstanding Supporting Performances by genre. There are a total of eighteen award categories that cover performance, production, stagecraft, and poster/program design with the nominees and recipients determined via a ranked-choice voting system.

Here is the complete list of nominees and recipients (in italicized bold) for the 2020 MTJA Awards:

* Outstanding Poster/Program Design

Daddy Long Legs - Sonoma Arts Live - Design by Sue Martin with Moira McGovern

Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company - Design by Jennifer Griego

Ripcord - Cinnabar Theater - Design by Elly Lichenstein

Urinetown - Spreckels Theatre Company - Design by Jennifer Griego

The Wolves - Raven Players - Design by Richard Sheppard

* Outstanding Costume Design

Sandra Ish - Escanaba in Da Moonlight - Left Edge Theatre

Pamela Johnson - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - Spreckels Theatre Company

Pamela Johnson - Urinetown - Spreckels Theatre Company

Jolie O'Dell - Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater

Skipper Skeoch - A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Spreckels Theatre Company

* Outstanding Lighting Design

April George - Escanaba in Da Moonlight - Left Edge Theatre

Eddy Hansen - Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company

Eddy Hansen - Urinetown - Spreckels Theatre Company

Wayne Hovey - Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater

Missy Weaver - The Seafarer - Main Stage West

* Outstanding Sound Design

Doug Faxon - Boom - Main Stage West

Doug Faxon - The Seafarer - Main Stage West

Jessica Johnson - Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company

Jessica Johnson - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - Spreckels Theatre Company

Jessica Johnson - Urinetown - Spreckels Theatre Company

* Outstanding Scenic Design

Elizabeth Bazzano & Eddy Hansen - Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company

Elizabeth Bazzano - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - Spreckels Theatre Company

David Lear - The Seafarer - Main Stage West

Peter Q. Parish - Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater

Argo Thompson - Escanaba in Da Moonlight - Left Edge Theatre

* Outstanding Choreography

Bridget Codoni - Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater

Joseph Favalora - Gypsy - 6th Street Playhouse

Lisa Ferreira - Merman's Apprentice - Sonoma Arts Live

Michella Snider - A Christmas Story (tap sequence) - Sonoma Arts Live

Michella Snider - A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Spreckels Theatre Company

* Outstanding Musical Direction

John Bannister - Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story - 6th Street Playhouse

Mary Chun - Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater

Jim Coleman - A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Spreckels Theatre Company

Sherrill Peterson - Daddy Long Legs - Sonoma Arts Live

Lucas Sherman - Urinetown - Spreckels Theatre Company

* Outstanding Ensemble

Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company

A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Spreckels Theatre Company

The Laramie Project - Raven Players

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - Spreckels Theatre Company

The Seafarer - Main Stage West

* Outstanding Solo Performance/Production

Mark Bradbury - Polar Bears - Left Edge Theatre - Directed by David Templeton

Patrick Varner - Fully Committed - 6th Street Playhouse - Directed by Lennie Dean

* Outstanding Musical Production

Daddy Long Legs - Sonoma Arts Live - Directed by Michael Ross

A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Spreckels Theatre Company - Directed by Michael Ross

Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater - Directed by Nathan Cummings

Merman's Apprentice - Sonoma Arts Live - Directed by Jaime Love & Larry Williams

Urinetown - Spreckels Theatre Company - Directed by Jay Manley

* Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical

Daniela Innocenti Beem - Merman's Apprentice - Sonoma Arts Live

Madison Genovese - Daddy Long Legs - Sonoma Arts Live

Kyle Jurrasic - Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story - 6th Street Playhouse

Michael McGurk - Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater

Tim Setzer - A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Spreckels Theatre Company

* Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Musical

Keith Baker - Little Shop of Horrors - Cinnabar Theater

Denise Elia-Yen - Urinetown - Spreckels Theatre Company

Schary Pearl Fugitt - A Christmas Story - Sonoma Arts Live

Madison Genovese - A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Spreckels Theatre Company

Roger Michelson - Gypsy - 6th Street Playhouse

* Outstanding Comedy Production

Body Awareness - Main Stage West - Directed by John Shillington

Escanaba in Da Moonlight - Left Edge Theatre - Directed by Argo Thompson

Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company - Directed by Elizabeth Craven

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - Spreckels Theatre Company - Directed by Sheri Lee Miller

Ripcord - Cinnabar Theater - Directed by James Pelican

* Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy

Kate Brickley - Ripcord - Cinnabar Theater

Sarah McKereghan - Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company

Karina Pugh - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - Spreckels Theatre Company

Lydia Revelos - Body Awareness - Main Stage West

Val Sinckler - Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company

* Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy

Jeff Coté - Eureka Day - Spreckels Theatre Company

Taylor Diffenderfer - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - Spreckels Theatre Company

Kimberly Kalember - Escanaba in Da Moonlight - Left Edge Theatre

Elijah Pinkham - Body Awareness - Main Stage West

Kyle Stoner - Ripcord - Cinnabar Theater

* Outstanding Drama Production

Between Riverside and Crazy - Left Edge Theatre - Directed by Argo Thompson

Heisenberg - Left Edge Theatre - Directed by Carla Spindt

Luna Gale - Cinnabar Theater - Directed By Jessica Litwak

Mary's Wedding - Main Stage West - Directed by Missy Weaver

The Seafarer - Main Stage West - Directed by David Lear

* Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama

Keith Baker - The Seafarer - Main Stage West

John Craven - Heisenberg - Left Edge Theatre

Corey Jackson - Between Riverside and Crazy - Left Edge Theatre

Liz Jahren - Luna Gale - Cinnabar Theater

Edward McCloud - The Seafarer - Main Stage West

* Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Drama

Sam Ademola - Between Riverside and Crazy - Left Edge Theatre

Kevin Bordi - The Seafarer - Main Stage West

John Craven - The Seafarer - Main Stage West

Kellie Donnelly - Luna Gale - Cinnabar Theater

Pilar Gonzalez - Between Riverside and Crazy - Left Edge Theatre

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Click HERE for more information about the MTJA (including previous years' honorees).