There are times when a script may just “read” better on the page, than as a full-scale, live theatrical production. For this reviewer, Underneath the Lintel (2001), a very early work by Glen Berger, is one of those scripts. The starting point of the play, the mysterious return of a 113 year overdue library book, a Baedeker travel guide, brings initial promise.

With the overdue book begins detective work by an obsessive Dutch librarian, played by Paul Morella. The librarian seeks to find the book’s borrower in order to levy a fine. He chases down clues as if in a television procedural drama but with far less action, beyond the clicking of a slide projector and writings on a chalk board. With an unclaimed dry-cleaning ticket and words scribbled in the margins of the returned library book he takes off on a search that involves crossing two millenniums in historical time travel.

Over the course of the intermission free 90 minutes, the librarian’s search transforms into a spiritual hunt; a metaphysical lecture-like monodrama into the legendary “Wandering Jew” cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming. The monodrama also delves into how someone can leave a long-lasting mark in life.

Unfortunately, the production is far too long a crafty monologue by a bookish character. Morella does his best to lift the script up into theatrically. We see him dressed in a rumpled ill-fitting brown suit and vest with any number of tics. Morella has a shy, fussy demeanor. He even wears an old-fashioned date-stamper on a chain around his neck. With some self-importance, he claims that every date in history is within the date-stamper. All that is necessary is to move little adjustment wheels.

The setting for Underneath the Lintel is a static physical location; a somewhat shabby, lecture room where the librarian presents his journey’s findings. His lecture is entitled, “An Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences.” The stage is strewn with objects including books, playing cards and suitcases. There are also blackboards, a screen for slide projections and a clothes line to pin his “evidences” on. Morella uses all the space available to him to give visual interest to the production. He even uses the chalkboards to nice effect.

As the play begins to end, Morella tidies things up. His librarian character provides some simply stated words of regret for not returning the love of one woman who cared for him. We hear his proposal about the book borrower. We witness his impulsive, exuberant efforts to leave his own mark for all to see. Unfortunately, these seem rather late to unmoor the play from its un-dramatic ways.

At the very end of the production, Morella’s librarian has an unanticipated revelation. The formerly acquiescent librarian no longer moves at a deliberate pace carefully choosing his words. He is full of joy and defiance dancing to himself with hands high in the air accompanied by klezmer music as the lights fade to black. Who had he become?

Many in the audience stood to give the production a standing ovation on the night your reviewer was in attendance.

Photo Gallery

Paul Morella as The Librarian	Paul Morella as The Librarian
Paul Morella as The Librarian	Paul Morella as The Librarian

Photos by Chris Banks

Cast

• The Librarian: Paul Morella

Design and Artistic Team

• Director: John Vreeke
• Original Scenic Design: James Kronzer
• Costume Design: Ivania Stack
• Lighting Design/Master Electrician: Alexander Keen
• Sound Design: Robert Garner
• Stage Manager: William E. Cruttenden III
• Stage Manager: Marne Anderson (after 4/29)

Disclaimer: MetroStage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

From beginning to end, the talented actor Marcus Kyd as Guy de Bonheur, makes us care. In a taut, one actor, one-act The Thousandth Night by Carol Wolf the poised Kyd takes on about three dozen roles beyond just de Bonheur to draw us into a world of ever-increasing fear and suspense that permeates MetroStage’s production.

The Thousandth Night is accomplished with Wolf’s theatrical conceit; the re-telling of the tales of Queen Scheherazade and her “Arabian Nights.” Why that? Remember Scheherazade used her 1001 nights of storytelling to save her own life. In Wolf’s The Thousandth Night there is a different life at stake; and the time and location are far from ancient Baghdad. But a life and a way of life are at stake.

It is 1943. We are outside a small train station in occupied Paris. Regularly, beams of light from an on-coming locomotive headlight cuts through the darkness behind the large windows of the station. The beams of light and clacking train wheels leave ominous sensations.

Soon enough the MetroStage audience finds itself not merely an observing group of strangers witnessing a theater production. Under Kyd’s well-done skills as a story-teller, the audience becomes active, anxious participants as Kyd becomes de Bonheur who becomes a full cast of other characters. All to plead for survival. All de Bonheur asks as he looks directly out into the audience, is for them to “just” let him flee rather than consign him to a box car ride to oblivion. Why has he asked the audience? Well, in this production the audience has morphed to become French gendarme.

Over the course of the 85-minute evening the audience is tangled on its own rope as the performance moves from florid story telling with small moments of alarm to the reverse. The fright of de Bonheur becomes the focus and Scheherazade’s 1001 stories reside to the background. More and more is learned of de Bonheur. He is the very last alive of a band of actors; him and articles of clothing in an old theatrical suitcase.

By the time de Bonheur turns to walk away into his fate, the audience has watched perhaps three dozen different characters that range from wide; a hunchback to a tailor, a doctor, a baker, the baker’s wife, a soldier, a daughter, a vizar, a genie and the list goes on. A key character is a narrator named Jaafar. Characterizations are accomplished by Kyd as de Bonheur with small changes in his voice’s pitch and cadence and mannerisms along with assorted scarves and hats.

The unrushed, assured direction by multiple Helen Hayes nominee John Vreeke is understated; that is a virtuous choice. Vreeke doesn’t overpower or overwhelm which would cause someone to look away or mentally leave the production. His unfussy, non-melodramatic direction provides the opportunity for an audience to come under the spell of Kyd’s story-telling abilities. The lighting by Alexander Keen and Robert Garner’s sound design are masterful in their simplicity, artfullness and overall effect of dread. Over the course of the production terror grows as train whistles grow louder and louder, then stop. One wonders, “what next?”

In program notes, Carolyn Griffin, MetroStage artistic director wrote, “Storytelling is at its best with underlying themes of the power of the individual against all odds and the universal search for the meaning of life.” That is The Thousandth Night.

The Thousandth Night is a unique approach to contemplating the unthinkable of history and the real world. It is poignant, gripping and well-accomplished.

Photo Gallery

Marcus Kyd as Guy de Bonheur	Marcus Kyd as Guy de Bonheur
Marcus Kyd as Guy de Bonheur

Photos provided by MetroStage

Cast

• Guy de Bonheur: Marcus Kyd

Production and Design Team

• Director: John Vreeke
• Original Scenic Design: James Kronzer
• Costume Design: Ivania Stack
• Lighting Design/Master Electrician: Alexander keen
• Sound Design: Robert Garner
• Stage Manager: William E. Cruttenden III
• Stage Manager (after 4/29): Marne Anderson

Disclaimer: MetroStage provided a complimentary media ticket to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Get this destination into your car’s navigation system; MetroStage. You don’t want to miss out on the admirable production of Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song featuring Freda Payne. This tight musical biography of Ella Fitzgerald, conceived and directed by Maurice Hines, is a tuneful journey into the timeless American Song Book as stylized by Miss Ella Fitzgerald. With the book by Lee Summers, the show charts Fitzgerald’s long performing life on stage as an effervescent singer with a style all her own, as well as her private hard-knock life.

Powered by nearly 30 songs, the show chronicles Fitzgerald’s life through a series of flashbacks. The book feels, and the actors provide, more than just a veneer of historical facts. The production moves from her life as a shy, unrooted 15-year-old to become a winner of an amateur night talent contest at the famed Apollo in Harlem in 1934, to her work with the legendary band leader Chick Webb at the Savoy Ballroom, to performing at a Cote D’Azur jazz club in the south of France in the mid 1960’s. The show also pinpoints a number of seminal events and people in her life.

Ella provides an understanding of how Fitzgerald personified an entertainer whose fans could cross racial and social boundaries both in the United States and around the World. It gives a glimpse into her winning and resilient personality. It provides an essence of Fitzgerald as someone who soothed private hurts and self-doubt with performances before an appreciative live audience. There is sufficient theatrical connective tissue that the production is not merely a concert with a spotlight, a standing microphone and a performer.

Payne possesses a multiple octave range reminiscent of Fitzgerald that your reviewer remembers from his own more youthful days and recordings. She brings a felt joy to her singing and a “center” to her acting. She has a rhythm, style and phrasing in her vocals that smoothly moves around and into songs that range from the Big Band Swing era to the quite different tempo and nuance of the Bebop sounds after World War II and into the Mad Men Era.

When singing cute songs such as “A Tisket, A Tasket” or “Goody Goody” Payne’s face, body movement and delivery are like a big open bright smile. With ballads such as “The Man I Love”, or “The Nearness of You” she brought a hush to the audience as the lights dimmed and it was just her breathing slowly, wistfully, her heart on her sleeve. With swing numbers such as “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing” or “Sweet Georgia Brown” she had a wonderfully lively bounce with each word and syllable. If your reviewer could have danced he would have, but he settled for tapping his foot unobserved.

“You’ve Changed” sung in a duet by Payne with the on-stage string bassist Yusef Chisholm in the role of jazz bassist Ray Brown who was Fitzgerald’s husband. Their duet is a sung-through, back-and-forth, husband-and-wife verbal spat.

Ella Fitzgerald’s legendary scat singing was in full force for the entire evening thanks to Payne’s good chops. Payne’s scat work is a treasure as she imitating horns and brass or using nonsense words, sounds and syllables. It appeared all so effortless, though we all know better that rehearsal after rehearsal makes such a performance appear effortless.

In a stroke of well-honed theatrical instinct Hines has Payne perform the legendary “Mack the Knife” ala Fitzgerald who “forgot” some of the words at a concert in Berlin. Payne closed her eyes and launched into an amusing, far from the usual cynic’s rendering of the Brecht’s masterpiece. As she “forgot” words she filled some of the vocal spaces with references to other singers of those days such as Bobby Darin and Louis Armstrong who performed up-tempo versions of “Mack.”

Under the confident, solid, handiwork of musical director William Knowles, the five-member band is a swingin’, free wheeling, right on the money group. They moved through the strong percussive rhythms of swing music propelling along under Payne’s vocals; and then launched into the distinct tempo and riffs of Bebop.

Featured with Payne is Wynonna Smith in two roles; the young Ella and as half-sister Frances. She is a skylark when she sings and her presence as young Ella is one of sweet, endearing enthusiastic fortitude. Smith has performed on Broadway and locally at Arena Stage. Helen Hayes awardee Roz White is a veteran of MetroStage productions including last year’s Gee’s Bend. In Ella she is Georgina, a cousin of Fitzgerald’s who is the solid presence in her life and travails. She is the one always there, no matter what the public or private turmoil. Tom Wiggin is Norman Granz, a man of moxey with a quiet determined “bulldozer” approach to bringing jazz to wider audiences and ending segregation in the entertainment industry. He acts with a deliberate mien and without raising a voice as he takes on the powers of the time to create the celebrated touring Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. Wiggin has had a long career in television in “As the World Turns” as well as film and stage work.

The MetroStage set by Carl Gudenius does what it has to give dramatic action to the proceedings. There is a small family area with table and chairs at audience left, a cramped dressing room with glass-mirror at audience right and a center stage a bandstand. Scotty Sherman’s costumes for Payne are a variety of gorgeous evening sparkling evening pencil dresses that show off her figure, capped off with little bolero-style jackets.

Projections at the top rear of the set by John Traub provide a sense of time, location and “place.” When photographs are projected of Black soldiers during WWII and of the segregated times that Ella confronted for much of her career, they provide an important link to larger issues and a bigger context for Fitzgerald’s life and times.

By the time Ella passed away in 1996, she had recorded over 200 albums, won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. The scope and breadth of her song selections was huge. She recorded the Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks between 1956 and 1964. These eight albums included over 250 songs by the likes of Ellington, Porter, the Gershwins, Mercer, Arlen, Berlin, and Rodgers & Hart. Her arrangers included Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Billy Strayhorn. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and received The Kennedy Center Honors.

Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song is not a show about a faded relic of the deep past performed as a star-turn. Nor is it just for those with a deep memory of Ella Fitzgerald. This is a production for anyone who loves astonishing music and wants to know about one of the true cornerstones and interpreters of 20th century American popular music. You will find yourself smitten watching both Payne as Payne and Payne in character as Ella Fitzgerald coming into her own on stage. In both instances, Payne becomes more comfortable and connected with the audience as the evening progresses.

In Ella we are absorbed by the performance of Freda Payne, who many will well remember from their own youthful days listening to “Band of Gold.” Performing in Ella, Payne has a charm and a warm patina that sparkles like the sequins on her costumes. We are fortunate to have Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song cast a light on a long winter night’s darkness.

Note: Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song was first staged at the Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 2004. Freda Payne performed as Ella Fitzgerald in that production. Crossroads Theatre Company was the recipient of the 1999 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in the United States.

Photo Gallery

Freda Payne as Ella Fitzgerald	Freda Payne as Ella Fitzgerald
Roz White as Georgiana and Wynonna Smith playing Young Ella	Solo of Freda Payne as Ella Fitzgerald
Roz White as Ella’s cousin Georgiana, Wynonna Smith as Ella’s younger sister Frances, and Freda Payne as Ella	Freda Payne as Ella Fitzgerald and Tom Wiggin as her manager Norman Granz

Photos by Chris Banks

Cast

• Ella: Freda Payne
• Young Ella/Frances: Wynonna Smith
• Georgiana: Roz White
• Norman Granz: Tom Wiggin

Band

• William Knowles: Piano
• Greg Holloway: Drums
• Grant Langford: Saxophone
• Doug Pierce: Trumpet
• Yuset Chisholm: Bass

Production & Designers

• Conceived and Directed by Maurice Hines
• Book by Lee Summers
• Music Director/Additional Orchestra: William Knowles
• Original Orchestration: Frank Owens
• Set Design: Carl Gudenius
• Costume Design: Scotty Sherman
• Lighting Design: Alexander Keen
• Sound Design: Robert Garner
• Projection Design: John Traub
• Stage Manager: William E. Cruttenden III
• Technical Director: Jason Kznarich
• Wing Master: Nat Lewis

Disclaimer: MetroStage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

• Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, August – October 2012 Schedule
• A Broadway Christmas Carol, November – December 2012 Schedule
• Ladies Swing the Blues: A Jazz Fable, January – March 2013 Schedule
• Ghost-Writer, April – May 2013 Schedule

Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues.

• 23 different companies received nominations.
• Shakespeare Theatre Company and the Kennedy Center each had six different productions nominated.
• Arena Stage received 23 total nominations, STC 22, Folger 19, and Kennedy Center 18
• The most nominated show was Candide, by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, with 12 nominations.

View the nominations by category or by company.

Nominations Listed by Category

Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production

• Diane Coburn Bruning, Improbable Frequency, Solas Nua
• Ben Cunis, King Arthur, Synetic Theater
• Parker Esse, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Maurice Hines, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
• Irina Tsikurishvili, King Arthur, Synetic Theater
• Irina Tsikurishvili, Othello, Synetic Theater

Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production

• Mara Blumenfeld, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Murell Horton, The Liar, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• William Ivey Long, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Reggie Ray, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
• Anastasia Ryurikov Simes, Othello, Synetic Theater

Outstanding Director, Resident Musical

• Toby Orenstein, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre
• Eric Schaeffer, Chess, Signature Theatre
• Molly Smith, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Molly Smith, The Light in the Piazza, Arena Stage
• Mary Zimmerman, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Director, Resident Play

• Kasi Campbell, Travels With My Aunt, Rep Stage
• Joseph Haj, Hamlet, Folger Theatre
• Robert Richmond, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Howard Shalwitz, Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Paata Tsikurishvili, Othello, Synetic Theater
• Paata Tsikurishvili, The Master and Margarita, Synetic Theater

Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production

• Steel Burkhardt, Hair, The Kennedy Center
• Brent Michael DiRoma, Avenue Q, The Broadway Musical, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood, The Kennedy Center
• Gavin Lee, Mary Poppins, The Kennedy Center
• David Pittsinger, South Pacific, The Kennedy Center

Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical

• Maurice Hines, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
• Marc Kudisch, Sycamore Trees, Signature Theatre
• Geoff Packard, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Nicholas Rodriguez, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Bobby Smith, Annie, Olney Theatre Center
• Cody Williams, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage

Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production

• Carmen Cusack, South Pacific, The Kennedy Center
• Jaqueline Grabois, Avenue Q, The Broadway Musical, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Caroline Sheen, Mary Poppins, The Kennedy Center
• Kacie Sheik, Hair, The Kennedy Center
• Caren Lyn Tackett, Hair, The Kennedy Center

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical

• E. Faye Butler, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Eleasha Gamble, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Carrie A. Johnson, Annie, Olney Theatre Center
• Lauren Molina, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Jill Paice, Chess, Signature Theatre
• Hollis Resnik, The Light in the Piazza, Arena Stage

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play

• Lise Bruneau, Mikveh, Theater J
• Naomi Jacobson, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Sarah Marshall, Mikveh, Theater J
• Jennifer Mendenhall, Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Erika Rose, In Darfur, Theater J
• Holly Twyford, Orestes, A Tragic Romp, Folger Theatre

Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production

• Colin K. Bills, Antony and Cleopatra, Synetic Theater
• Colin K. Bills, The Master and Margarita, Synetic Theater
• Dan Covey, On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning, Rep Stage
• T.J. Gerckens, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Klyph Stanford, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Justin Townsend, Hamlet, Folger Theatre

Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production

• George Fulginiti-Shakar, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Jon Kalbfleisch, Sunset Boulevard, Signature Theatre
• Daniel Kluger, Orestes, A Tragic Romp, Folger Theatre
• Fred Lassen, Sycamore Trees, Signature Theatre
• Konstantine Lortkipandze, Othello, Synetic Theater
• Doug Peck, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Paul Sportelli, The Light in the Piazza, Arena Stage
• James Sugg, Orestes, A Tragic Romp, Folger Theatre

Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production

• Tony Cisek, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Simon Higlett, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• James Kronzer, Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Eugene Lee, Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Derek McLane, The Lisbon Traviata, The Kennedy Center
• Daniel Ostling, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production

• Anthony Cochrane, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Jack Herrick, Hamlet, Folger Theatre
• Irakli Kavsadze, Othello, Synetic Theater
• Konstantine Lortkipandze, Othello, Synetic Theater
• Matthew M. Nielson, Hamlet, Folger Theatre
• Matt Otto, Johnny Meister and the Stitch, Solas Nua
• Michael Rasbury, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Tom Teasley, The Ramayana, Constellation Theatre Company

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical

• Ed Dixon, Sunset Boulevard, Signature Theatre
• James Konicek, Annie, Olney Theatre Center
• Jeremy Kushnier, Chess, Signature Theatre
• John Manzari, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
• Leo Manzari, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
• Jesse J. Perez, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Larry Yando, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play

• Louis Butelli, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Adam Green, The Liar, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Michael Tolaydo, New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza, Theater J
• Ted van Griethuysen, All’s Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Paxton Whitehead, All’s Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical

• MaryLee Adams, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre
• Lauren ‘Coco’ Cohn, Glimpses of the Moon, MetroStage
• Jesaira Glover, Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre
• Marva Hicks, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
• Hollis Resnik, Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Jenna Sokolowski, Annie, Olney Theatre Center

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play

• Colleen Delany, Pirates! A Boy at Sea, Imagination Stage
• Naomi Jacobson, Richard II, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• MacKenzie Meehan, Circle Mirror Transformation, The Studio Theatre
• Phylicia Rashad, every tongue confess, Arena Stage
• Dawn Ursula, Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production

• Ellen Harvey, Mary Poppins, The Kennedy Center
• Jodi Kimura, South Pacific, The Kennedy Center
• Marc Kudisch, Golden Age, The Kennedy Center
• Josh Lamon, Hair, The Kennedy Center
• Hoon Lee, Golden Age, The Kennedy Center

The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical

• every tongue confess, Marcus Gardley, Arena Stage
• Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred), music by Zina Goldrich, The Kennedy Center Family Theater
• Sycamore Trees, book, music & lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon, Signature Theatre
• Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred), book & lyrics by Marcy Heisler, The Kennedy Center Family Theater
• The Liar, David Ives, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, musical arrangements by Deborah Wicks La Puma, The Kennedy Center Family Theater
• Sycamore Trees, book by Nina Mankin, Signature Theatre
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, music by Michael Silversher, The Kennedy Center Family Theater
• Pirates! A Boy at Sea, Charles Way, Imagination Stage
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, script & lyrics by Mo Willems, The Kennedy Center Family Theater

The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play

• Philip Fletcher, Othello, Synetic Theater
• John Glover, The Lisbon Traviata, The Kennedy Center
• Graham Michael Hamilton, Hamlet, Folger Theatre
• Mitchell Hébert, Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Bill Largess, The Foreigner, The Bay Theatre Company, Inc.
• Alex Mills, Othello, Synetic Theater
• Cody Nickell, Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Ian Merrill Peakes, Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Johnny Ramey, Superior Donuts, The Studio Theatre
• Alexander Strain, New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza, Theater J

Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical

• Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre
• If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Adventure Theatre
• Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred), The Kennedy Center Family Theater
• Sycamore Trees, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play

• American Buffalo, The Studio Theatre
• Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• Orestes, A Tragic Romp, Folger Theatre
• Othello, Synetic Theater
• Travels With My Aunt, Rep Stage

Outstanding Non-Resident Production

• Avenue Q, The Broadway Musical, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• The Last Cargo Cult, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Mary Poppins, The Kennedy Center
• South Pacific, The Kennedy Center
• Thurgood, The Kennedy Center

Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences

• If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Adventure Theatre
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, The Kennedy Center Family Theater
• The Nutcracker, The Puppet Co.
• Pirates! A Boy at Sea, Imagination Stage
• Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred), The Kennedy Center Family Theater
• The Red Balloon, Adventure Theatre

Outstanding Resident Musical

• Annie, Olney Theatre Center
• Candide, Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, Arena Stage
• Hairspray, Toby’s Dinner Theatre
• The Light in the Piazza, Arena Stage
• Little Shop of Horrors, Ford’s Theatre
• Oklahoma!, Arena Stage
• Sweeney Todd, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Resident Play

• Clybourne Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Hamlet, Folger Theatre
• Henry VIII, Folger Theatre
• The Master and Margarita, Synetic Theater
• New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza, Theater J
• Orestes, A Tragic Romp, Folger Theatre
• Othello, Synetic Theater
• Superior Donuts, The Studio Theatre

The John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company

• No Rules Theatre Company
• Factory 449: a theatre collective

Nominations listed By Company Name

Adventure Theatre

• If You Give a Pig a Pancake
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical
  • Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences
• The Red Balloon
  • Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences

Arena Stage

• Oklahoma!
  • Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production, Parker Esse
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Musical, Molly Smith
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical, Nicholas Rodriguez
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical, Cody Williams
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical, E. Faye Butler
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical, Eleasha Gamble
  • Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production, George Fulginiti-Shakar
  • Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production, Eugene Lee
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical
  • Outstanding Resident Musical
• Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies
  • Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production, Maurice Hines
  • Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production, Reggie Ray
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical, Maurice Hines
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, John Manzari
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, Leo Manzari
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical, Marva Hicks
  • Outstanding Resident Musical
• The Light in the Piazza
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Musical, Molly Smith
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical, Hollis Resnik
  • Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production, Paul Sportelli
  • Outstanding Resident Musical
• every tongue confess
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, Phylicia Rashad
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, Marcus Gardley

The Bay Theatre Company, Inc.

• The Foreigner
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Bill Largess

Constellation Theatre Company

• The Ramayana
  • Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production, Tom Teasley

Factory 449: a theatre collective

• The John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company

Folger Theatre

• Henry VIII
  • Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production, William Ivey Long
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Play, Robert Richmond
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play, Naomi Jacobson
  • Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production, Klyph Stanford
  • Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production, Tony Cisek
  • Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production, Anthony Cochrane
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play, Louis Butelli
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Ian Merrill Peakes
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play
  • Outstanding Resident Play
• Hamlet
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Play, Joseph Haj
  • Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production, Justin Townsend
  • Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production, Matthew M. Nielson
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Graham Michael Hamilton
  • Outstanding Resident Play
• Orestes, A Tragic Romp
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play, Holly Twyford
  • Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production, James Sugg
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play
  • Outstanding Resident Play

Ford’s Theatre

• Little Shop of Horrors
  • Outstanding Resident Musical

Imagination Stage

• Pirates! A Boy at Sea
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, Colleen Delany
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, Charles Way
  • Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences

The Kennedy Center

• Hair
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production, Steel Burkhardt
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production, Kacie Sheik
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production, Caren Lyn Tackett
  • Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production, Josh Lamon
• Thurgood
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production, Laurence Fishburne
  • Outstanding Non-Resident Production
• Mary Poppins
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production, Gavin Lee
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production, Caroline Sheen
  • Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production, Ellen Harvey
  • Outstanding Non-Resident Production
• South Pacific
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production, David Pittsinger
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production, Carmen Cusack
  • Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production, Jodi Kimura
  • Outstanding Non-Resident Production
• The Lisbon Traviata
  • Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production, Derek McLane
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, John Glover
• Golden Age
  • Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production, Marc Kudisch
  • Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production, Hoon Lee

The Kennedy Center Family Theater

• Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred)
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, music by Zina Goldrich
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, book & lyrics by Marcy Heisler
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical
  • Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, music by Michael Silversher
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, script & lyrics by Mo Willems
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, musical arrangements by Deborah Wicks La Puma
  • Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences

MetroStage

• Glimpses of the Moon
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical, Lauren ‘Coco’ Cohn

No Rules Theatre Company

• The John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company

Olney Theatre Center

• Annie
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical, Bobby Smith
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical, Carrie A. Johnson
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, James Konicek
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical, Jenna Sokolowski
  • Outstanding Resident Musical

The Puppet Co.

• The Nutcracker
  • Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences

Rep Stage

• Travels With My Aunt
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Play, Kasi Campbell
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play
• On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning
  • Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production, Dan Covey

Shakespeare Theatre Company

• Candide
  • Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production, Mara Blumenfeld
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Musical, Mary Zimmerman
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical, Geoff Packard
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical, Lauren Molina
  • Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production, T.J. Gerckens
  • Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production, Doug Peck
  • Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production, Daniel Ostling
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, Jesse J. Perez
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, Larry Yando
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical, Hollis Resnik
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical
  • Outstanding Resident Musical
• The Liar
  • Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production, Murell Horton
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play, Adam Green
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, David Ives
• Avenue Q, The Broadway Musical
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production, Brent Michael DiRoma
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production, Jaqueline Grabois
  • Outstanding Non-Resident Production
• Mrs. Warren’s Profession
  • Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production, Simon Higlett
• All’s Well That Ends Well
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play, Ted van Griethuysen
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play, Paxton Whitehead
• Richard II
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, Naomi Jacobson

Signature Theatre

• Chess
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Musical, Eric Schaeffer
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical, Jill Paice
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, Jeremy Kushnier
• Sycamore Trees
  • Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical, Marc Kudisch
  • Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production, Fred Lassen
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, book, music & lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, book by Nina Mankin
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical
• Sunset Boulevard
  • Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production, Jon Kalbfleisch
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, Ed Dixon
• Sweeney Todd
  • Outstanding Resident Musical

Solas Nua

• Improbable Frequency
  • Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production, Diane Coburn Bruning
• Johnny Meister and the Stitch
  • Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production, Matt Otto

The Studio Theatre

• Circle Mirror Transformation
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, MacKenzie Meehan
• Superior Donuts
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Johnny Ramey
  • Outstanding Resident Play
• American Buffalo
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play

Synetic Theater

• King Arthur
  • Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production, Irina Tsikurishvili
• Othello
  • Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production, Irina Tsikurishvili
  • Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production, Anastasia Ryurikov Simes
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Play, Paata Tsikurishvili
  • Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production, Konstantine Lortkipandze
  • Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production, Irakli Kavsadze
  • Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production, Konstantine Lortkipandze
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Philip Fletcher
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Alex Mills
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play
  • Outstanding Resident Play
• The Master and Margarita
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Play, Paata Tsikurishvili
  • Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production, Colin K. Bills
  • Outstanding Resident Play
• Antony and Cleopatra
  • Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production, Colin K. Bills

Theater J

• Mikveh
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play, Lise Bruneau
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play, Sarah Marshall
• In Darfur
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play, Erika Rose
• New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play, Michael Tolaydo
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Alexander Strain
  • Outstanding Resident Play

Toby’s Dinner Theatre

• Hairspray
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Musical, Toby Orenstein
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical, MaryLee Adams
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical, Jesaira Glover
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical
  • Outstanding Resident Musical

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

• Clybourne Park
  • Outstanding Director, Resident Play, Howard Shalwitz
  • Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play, Jennifer Mendenhall
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, Dawn Ursula
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Mitchell Hébert
  • The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, Cody Nickell
  • Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production, James Kronzer
  • Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play
  • Outstanding Resident Play
• The Last Cargo Cult
  • Outstanding Non-Resident Production

• The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), August – September 2009
• Pearl Bailey…By Request, November – December 2009
• Mahalia (A Gospel Musical), January – February 2010
• Tiny Dancer, April – May 2010

Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues.

Laura: This is the ShowBizRadio.net review of Tick, Tick, Boom performed by MetroStage in Alexandria, Virginia. Mike and I saw the performance on Sunday evening October 28th, 2007.

Mike: I had a great time at this show. It was just so full of energy and the story was encouraging and I really cared about what was happening to the people. I really had a good time.

Laura: I felt this show was good. It drew you in. A little Rent-esque, but I enjoyed Rent also when we rented that on DVD. I really had a good time.

Mike: Tick, Tick, Boom is a musical. Music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. A pop rock musical about facing crossroads in life and holding onto dreams. It tells the story of Jonathan, a promising young composer on the eve of his 30th birthday. His girlfriend wants to get married and move out of the city. His best friend is making big bucks on Madison Avenue. Jonathan is still waiting tables and trying to write the great American musical before time and, unbeknownst to him, life, passes him by.

Laura: Jon, the almost 30 year old who is trying to write the greatest Broadway musical, was played by Stephen Gregory Smith. He did a good job. All three of the actors had really strong voices. Because it was an intimate theater, it did kind of draw you in. There were times when I thought he was looking at me, which is kind of an eerie feeling when you’re that close to the stage.

Mike: A note in the playbill mentions that Stephen Gregory Smith is 29 and this is kind of life imitating art. I turned 39 a couple weeks ago and I wanted to tell him that 30 is just a number! So chill, but I couldn’t do that. He had to learn that lesson himself. We all kind of have to do that. He did a great job. I liked the song, ’30/90′ that opened the show. It set the tone and getting us pulled into the show to see what was going to happen. And gave us lots of different situations that we knew we would have to deal with.

Laura: Michael, Jon’s childhood friend, was played by Matt Pearson. He had a lot of expression. His voice was a little bit soft, but it was still powerful. He had some really good dance numbers. He was real upbeat. It was fun to watch him and I cared about what happened to him.

Mike: I really cared about all the actors in the show. Michael did make an announcement that I thought was coming, but I wasn’t sure what it was and I did guess wrong what that announcement was. I also liked how easily Michael and Susan could become other characters on stage and that was nice not having to worry about a huge cast for a lot of small parts.

Susan was played by Felicia Curry. She had a lot of great songs. ‘The Green Green Dress’ early in the show. You got to see her playful side. Then the song that was later ‘Sugar’ was another fun song. At the beginning of that show I thought hey were going in a different way and I got sucked into that.

Laura: There was a live band at Tick, Tick, Boom. The four instrumentalists did a really good job. It was the Keyboard, Bass, Drums, and Guitar. They all four moved pretty fast.

Mike: The simple set gave the actors lots of room to move. They were constantly rearranging two metal folding chairs and the keyboard, which unfortunately did unplug once (one of those pesky little things that just kind of happens). Stephen Smith covered well for that small problem. I also liked the feel of the set. It had a couple levels and like Laura was saying earlier, you are right there on the stage level and if you’re sitting on the very front row, you are actually looking up at the stage, like at a rock concert.

Laura: The show did start a little bit late. It was about an hour and forty five minutes with no intermission. Tick, Tick, Boom is playing through November the 25th. Thursday and Friday at 8 PM. Saturday at 3 PM and 8 PM, and Sunday performances at 3 and 7 PM at Metro Stage in Alexandria, Virginia. I think you’ll enjoy this show.

Mike: If you like rock music, if you like new kinds of musicals, you will enjoy this show. The three characters are very engaging and you do really want to see what happens to them to see if Jon’s dreams come true or not.

Laura: If you’ve seen this show, please feel free to leave a comment on our website at ShowBizRadio.net. We’d also like to invite you to join our free mailing list so you can keep informed of auditions and schedules going on in the Northern Virginia, DC, Maryland region..

Mike: And now, on with the show.

Cast

• Jon: Stephen Gregory Smith
• Michael: Matt Pearson
• Susan: Felicia Curry

Band

• Keyboard: Derek Bowley
• Drums: Jon Jester
• Bass: Mike Kozemchak
• Guitar: Steven Walker

Crew

• Director/Choreographer: Matthew Gardiner
• Music Director: Derek Bowley
• Band Supervisor: Steve McWilliams
• Set Designer: Adam Koch
• Lighting Designer: Mark Lanks
• Costume Designer: Sasha Ludwig-Siegel
• Sound Designer: Matt Rowe
• Stage Manager: Jessica Winfield
• ASM/Follow Spot Operator: Dannielle Hutchinson
• Master Electrician: Sean McNally
• Carpenters: Brandon Guilliams, Lonnie Martin, James Mulhern
• Scenic Charge/ Props: Kevin Laughon
• Light Board Operator: Brandon Guilliams
• Sound Board Operator: Kevin Laughon