Ticketholder Awards 2013

An odd year for LA theatre. Often remarkably exhilarating, but then in comparison sometimes painfully disappointing. Of course, please remember I did not see everything offered in our über-prolific theatre town over the last dozen months (hardly, I’d have to be Steven Stanley for that) but still, for the first time in 23 years, I didn’t attend enough worthy musicals in 2013 to pick my traditional 10 choices to honor—and not one of the productions I did choose was homegrown. There is no clear winner here for musical score, either—just a couple of half-assed runners-up. The anomaly in my list this time out is obvious: the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in a Play picks, with more noteworthy performances to mention here than in any other category. I hereby dub 2013 the Year of Testosterone in LA theatre.

THE TOP 10 PLAY PRODUCTIONS OF 2013

1. A Parallelogram, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum

2. Annapurna, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

3. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum

4. The Nether, Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre

5. Tribes, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum

6. The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within

7. Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, LA Gay & Lesbian Center

8. Miss Julie[n], Orphean Circus, MorYork Gallery

9. Tomorrow, Skylight Theatre Company / Rogue Machine

10. Slipping, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre at the Lillian

  

SPECIAL ENCORE PRESENTATION AWARD

War Horse, Pantages Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Alcestis, Theatre @ Boston Court; Billy & Ray, Falcon Theatre; Blistered Hands and Bloody Mouths, Zombie Joe’s Underground; A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!, CTG, Douglas; Hot Cat, Theatre Movement Bazaar / Theatre of N.O.T.E.; Heart Song, Fountain Theatre; The Homosexuals, Celebration Theatre; Humor Abuse, CTG, Taper; Irma Vep, Falcon Theatre; The Normal Heart, Fountain Theatre; Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; The Snake Can, Odyssey Theatre; Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Antaeus Company; Sunny Afternoon, Gangbusters Theatre Company, Theatre Asylum; Walking the Tightrope, 24^th STreet Theatre; What Kind of God?, Lillian Theatre;

                                             

THE TOP 10 MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS OF 2013

1. Sleeping Beauty, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

2. One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse

3. Backbeat, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

4. Peter & the Starcatcher, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

5. Sister Act, Pantages Theatre

6. Evita, Pantages Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: End of the Rainbow, CTG, Ahmanson; The Wizard of Oz, Pantages;

 

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY

Nick Offerman, Annapurna, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

RUNNERS-UP: Kevin Blake, Billy & Ray, Falcon; Michael Blomgren, Notes from Underground, Zombie Joe Underground Theatre; Mark Bramhall, Walking the Tightrope, 24^th STreet Theatre; Ezra Buzzington, Neverwhere, Scared Fools; Brian Dare, The Homosexuals, Celebration; Danny DeVito, The Sunshine Boys, CTG, Ahmanson; Brian Dennehy, The Steward of Christendom, CTG, Taper; Russell Harvard, Tribes, CTG, Taper; Judd Hirsch, The Sunshine Boys, CTG, Ahmanson; Tom Irwin, A Parallelogram, CTG, Taper; Robert Joy, The Nether, CTG, Douglas; Dylan Kenin, Miss Julie[n], Orphean Circus, MorYork Gallery; Bryan Krasner, Neverwhere, Scared Fools; Dakin Matthews, The Nether, CTG, Douglas; Seth Numrich, Slipping, Rattlestick; Shaun O’Hagan, Billy & Ray, Falcon; Laurence Pressman, A Heap of Livin’, Odyssey; Richard Schiff, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; Daniel David Stewart, Sixty Miles to Silver Lake, Lounge Theatre; Jamie Torcellini, Irma Vep, Falcon

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Salome Jens, Tomorrow, Skylight Theatre Company / Rogue Machine

RUNNERS-UP: Jayne Brook, A Heap of Livin’, Odyssey; Anne Gee Byrd, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Antaeus; Pamela Dunlap, Heart Song, Fountain; Marin Ireland, A Parallelogram, CTG, Taper; Megan Mullaly, Annapurna, Odyssey; Rebecca Mozo, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Antaeus; Teya Patt, A Bright Room Called Day, Coeurage Theatre Co., Susan Pourfar, Tribes, CTG, Taper; Paige Lindsey White, Walking the Tightrope, 24^th STreet Theatre

 

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Josh Young, Evita, Pantages Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Nick Blood, Backbeat, CTG, Ahmanson; E. Clayton Cornelious, Sister Act, Pantages; Dominic North, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; John Sanders, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Mary Bridget Davies, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse

RUNNERS-UP: Tracie Bennett, End of the Rainbow, CTG, Ahmanson; Leanne Best, Backbeat, CTG, Ahmanson; Carolyn Bowman, Evita, Pantages; Ta’Rea Campbell, Sister Act, Pantages; Hannah Vassalo, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; Diane Vincent, Nuttin’ But Hutton, NoHo Arts; Danielle Wade, The Wizard of Oz, Pantages

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Bill Brochtrup, The Normal Heart, Fountain Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Carlo Alban, A Parallelogram, CTG, Taper; Tony Amendola, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Antaeus; MacLeod Andrews, Slipping, Rattlestick; Justin Bartha, The Sunshine Boys, CTG, Ahmanson; Andrew Bourgeois, Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite, Visceral Company; Will Brill, Tribes, CTG, Mark Taper; Bill Brochtrup, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Antaeus; Benjamin Campbell, Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers, Blank; Brett Donaldson, What Kind of God?, Lillian; Tony Duran, Walking the Tightrope, 24^th STreet Theatre; Jackson Evans, Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers, Blank; Matt Gottlieb, The Normal Heart, Fountain; Arye Gross, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; Maxwell Hamilton, Slipping, Rattlestick; Butch Klein, The Homosexuals, Celebration; Fred Koehler, The Normal Heart, Fountain; James Lancaster, The Steward of Christendom, CTG, Taper; Stephen O’Mahoney, The Normal Heart, Fountain; Robert Owens-Greygrass, The Bird House, Native Voices at the Autry; Steve Peterson, Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite, Visceral Company; Kevin Quinn, Tomorrow, Skylight; Kurt Quinn, The Homosexuals, Celebration; Nick Santoro, Alcestis, Boston Court

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Marylouise Burke, A Parallelogram, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum

RUNNERS-UP:
Erin Anderson, A Bright Room Called Day, Coeurage Theatre Co., Didi Conn, A Heap of Livin’, Odyssey; Emily M. Faris, What Kind of God?, Lillian; Brighid Fleming, The Nether, CTG, Douglas; Valorie Hubbard, Blistered Hands and Bloody Mouths, Zombie Joe’s Underground; Trisha LaFache, Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers, Blank; Lisa Pelikan, The Normal Heart, Fountain; Kelly Schumann, The Homosexuals, Celebration; Ali Spuck, Billy & Ray, Falcon; Abby Wilde, The Steward of Christendom, CTG, Taper

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Michael Cumpsty, End of the Rainbow, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Charles Barksdale, Sister Act, Pantages; Chad Borden, Nuttin’ But Hutton, NoHo Arts; Oliver Bennett, Backbeat, CTG, Ahmanson; David Benoit, Jekyll & Hyde, Pantages; Tom Jackson Greaves, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; Justin Jones, Nuttin’ But Hutton, NoHo Arts; Jamie McKnight, The Wizard of Oz, Pantages; Liam Mower, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; Nigel (as Toto), The Wizard of Oz, Pantages; Edward Tournier, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson; Daniel Westwick, Backbeat, CTG, Ahmanson

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Hollis Resnik, Sister Act, Pantages Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Sabrina Elayne Carten, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse; Teal Wicks, Jekyll & Hyde, Pantages

 

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A PLAY

Joanna Chase, Paul Haitkin, Michael Hanson, Elizabeth Herron, Carl J. Johnson, Che Landon, Ed F. Martin, Ann Noble, Dylan Seaton, Christine Sloane, Paul Witten, Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, LA Gay & Lesbian Center

RUNNERS-UP:

Gil Hagen-Hill, Daniel Houston-Davila, Belinda Howell, Susan Kussman, Gregg Lawrence; Brecht on Brecht, The Other Theatre Company at Atwater Playhouse

Frank Caeti, Amanda Blake Davis, Ithamar Enriquez, Brendan Jennings, Joe Liss, Jamie Moyer, Ron West, A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!, CTG, Douglas

Caleb Austin, Gary Ballard, Guerin Barry, Dorrie Braun, Josh Clark, Steve Coombs, James Ferrero, Matt Foyer, Lili Fuller, Henry Funk, Cristina Gerla, Lindsey Ginter, Matt Gottlieb, Mark Jacobson, Andrew Hellenthal, Jill Hill, Rayna Jaber, Fionn James, Jennifer Losi, Douglas Rory Milliron, Nicholas Neve, Robert Oriel, Jesse Peri, Stephen Rockwell, Korey Simeone, Deborah Strang, Kristina Teves; The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within

Blaire Chandler, Crystal Diaz, David Guerra, Eric Neil Gutierrez, David LM McIntyre, Jenny Soo; Hot Cat, Theatre Movement Bazaar and Theatre of N.O.T.E.

Skye Barrett, Gabriel Brown, Keith David, January LaVoy, Vivian Nixon, Nataniel James Potvin, Raynor Scheine, Erica Tazel, John Douglas Thompson, Glynn Turman, Lillias White; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum

Diane Cary, Gregory Harrison, Jane Kaczmarek, James Lancaster, Joel Polis, Sharon Sharth; The Snake Can, Odyssey Theatre

Jim Boelsen, Patrick Flanagan, Michael Franco, Marvin Gay, Gil Glasgow, Andy Hirsch, Darrett Sanders, Dustin Sisney, Donnie Smith, Janellen Steininger, Mark St. Amant, LQ Victor, Justin Welborn, Sunny Afternoon, Gangbusters Theatre Company, Theatre Asylum

 

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A MUSICAL

Sleeping Beauty, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

 

NEW DISCOVERY 2013

Timothy Walker, Through a Glass Darkly, Raven Playhouse

RUNNERS-UP: Skye Barrett, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, CTG, Taper; Anastasia Charlambous, Blistered Hands and Bloody Mouths, Zombie Joe’s Underground; Sam LaFrance, Blistered Hands and Bloody Mouths, Zombie Joe’s Underground; Oscar Pereira, Miss Julie[n], Orphean Circus, MorYork Gallery; Nathaniel James Potvin, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, CTG, Taper

 

BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE

Lorenzo Pisone, Humor Abuse, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum

 

BEST CABARET PERFORMANCE

Joey Arias, Lightning Strikes, Bootleg Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Karen Gedissman, Catalina Jazz Club; Lillias White, Catalina Jazz Club

 

BEST PLAYWRIGHT

Donald Freed, Tomorrow, Skylight Theatre Company / Rogue Machine

RUNNERS-UP: Mike Bencivenga, Billy & Ray, Falcon; Philip Dawkins, The Homosexuals, Celebration; Kathryn Graf, The Snake Can, Odyssey; Jennifer Haley, The Nether, CTG, Douglas; Steve Julian, What Kind of God?, Lillian; Sam LaFrance, Blistered Hands and Bloody Mouths, Zombie Joe’s Underground; Christian Levatino, Sunny Afternoon, Theatre Asylum; Bruce Norris, A Parallelogram, CTG, Taper; Nina Raine, Tribes, CTG, Taper; Stephen Sachs, Heart Song, Fountain; Daniel Talbott, Slipping, Rattlestick; Sharr White, Annapurna, Odyssey

 

BEST ADAPTATION OR TRANSLATION

Richard Alger, Hot Cat, Theatre Movement Bazaar / Theatre of N.O.T.E.

RUNNERS-UP: Matthew Bourne, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; E.P. Dowdall, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; Rick Elice, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson; Frank Galati, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within; Peter Gwinn and Bobby Mort, A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!, CTG, Douglas; Mike Kenny, Walking the Tightrope, 24^th STreet Theatre; Nancy Keystone, Alcestis, Boston Court; Ken Roht and Erik Patterson, Miss Julie[n], Orphean Circus, MorYork Gallery; Dan Spurgeon, Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite, Visceral Company; Zombie Joe, Notes from Underground, Zombie Joe Underground

 

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY

Bart DeLorenzo, Annapurna, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

RUNNERS-UP: David Cromer, Tribes, CTG, Taper; Damian Cruden, Tomorrow, Skylight; Debbie Devine, Walking the Tightrope, 24th STreet Theatre; Neel Keller, The Nether, CTG, Douglas; Tina Kronis, Hot Cat, Theatre Movement Bazaar/Theatre of N.O.T.E.; Robin Larsen, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Antaeus; Jeremy Lelliott, A Bright Room Called Day, Coeurage Theatre Co., Garry Marshall, Billy & Ray, Falcon; Michael Matthews, The Homosexuals, Celebration; Michael Michetti, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within; Phylicia Rashad, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, CTG, Taper; Ken Roht, Miss Julie[n], Orphean Circus, MorYork Gallery; Ken Sawyer, Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, LA Gay & Lesbian Center; Anna D. Shapiro, A Parallelogram, CTG, Taper; Dan Spurgeon, Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite, Visceral Company; Jenny Sullivan, Irma Vep, Falcon; Daniel Talbott, Slipping, Rattlestick

 

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, Peter & the Starcatcher, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Matthew Bourne, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; Jeff Calhoun, Jekyll & Hyde, Pantages; Michael Grandage, Evita, Pantages; Randy Johnson, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse; David Leveaux, Backbeat, CTG, Ahmanson; Jerry Zaks, Sister Act, Pantages

 

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

RUNNERS-UP: Wayne Barker, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson; Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, Sister Act, Pantages

 

BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION

Len Rhodes, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse

RUNNERS-UP: Kristian Hoffman, Lightning Strikes, Bootleg; Brent-Alan Huffman, Sister Act, Pantages; Sam Kriger, Nuttin’ But Hutton, NoHo Arts; Robert Oriel, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within; Paul Stacey, Backbeat, CTG, Ahmanson; William Waldrop, Evita, Pantages

 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Matthew Bourne, Sleeping Beauty, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Rob Ashford, Evita, Pantages; Tina Kronis, Hot Cat, Theatre Movement Bazaar/Theatre of N.O.T.E.; Lee Martino, Nuttin’ But Hutton, NoHo Arts

 

BEST SET DESIGN

Adrian W. Jones, The Nether, Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre

Allen Moyer, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center

RUNNERS UP: Hildegard Bechtler, The Sunshine Boys, CTG, Ahmanson; Les Brotherston, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; Kevin Depinet, The Steward of Christendom, CTG, Taper; William Dudley, End of the Rainbow, CTG, Ahmanson; Jeffery P. Eisenmann, The Snake Can, Odyssey; Melissa Ficociello, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within; Keith Mitchell, Billy & Ray, Falcon; Scott Pask, Tribes, CTG, Taper; Tobin Ost, Jekyll & Hyde, Pantages; Justin Townsend, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse; Thomas A. Walsh, Annapurna, Odyssey; Donnyale Werle, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson

 

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Les Brotherston, Sleeping Beauty, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Jeff Cone, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse; Michael Krass, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; Gary Lennon, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within; Kellsy MacKilligan, Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers, Blank; Karen Perry, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, CTG, Taper; Todd Rosenthal, A Parallelogram, CTG, Taper; A. Jeffrey Schoenberg, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Antaeus; Paloma Young, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson  

 

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

Christopher Kuhl, The Nether, Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Christopher Akerlind, End of the Rainbow, CTG, Ahmanson; Leigh Allen, Slipping, Rattlestick; Neil Austin, Evita, Pantages; Paule Constable, Sleeping Beauty, CTG, Ahmanson; Jeff Croiter, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson; Elizabeth Harper, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within; David Lander, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; Jeff McLaughlin, Tomorrow, Skylight; Leah Piehl, The Steward of Christendom, CTG, Taper; Jeremy Pivnik, Billy & Ray, Falcon; R. Christopher Stokes, The Normal Heart, Fountain; Justin Townsend, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse

 

BEST SOUND DESIGN

Richard Brooker, Backbeat, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Janie Bullard, Slipping, Rattlestick; Joseph V. Calarco, A Bright Room Called Day, Coeurage Theatre Co., Carl Casella, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse; Jon Gottlieb, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; Rebecca Kessin, Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers, Blank; Robert Oriel, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within; Gareth Owen, End of the Rainbow, CTG, Ahmanson; Darron L West, Peter & the Starcatcher, CTG, Ahmanson; John Zalewski, The Nether, CTG, Douglas; John Zalewski, Walking the Tightrope, 24^th STreet Theatre

 

BEST STUNT / FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY

Andrew Amani, Neverwhere, Sacred Fools  

 

BEST CGI / VIDEO DESIGN

Timothy Bird and Nina Dunn, Backbeat, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

RUNNERS-UP: Daniel Brodie, Jekyll & Hyde, Pantages; Daniel Brodie, The Wizard of Oz, Pantages; Adam Flemming, The Normal Heart, Fountain; Matthew Hill, Walking the Tightrope, 24^th STreet Theatre; Hana S. Kim, The Snake Can, Odyssey

 

SPECIAL EVENTS and PERFORMANCES

Totem, Cirque du Soleil, Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro

 

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Band, One Night with Janis Joplin, Pasadena Playhouse; Paul Huntley, Hair and Wig Design, Parfumerie, Wallis Annenberg Center; Puppet Design, John Burton, Dan Spurgeon, Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite, Visceral Company; Monica Lisa Sabedra, Hair, Makeup and Wig Design, The Grapes of Wrath, A Noise Within