Two musicals received five awards, Camelot by 2nd Star Productions and Ragtime by Kensington Arts Theatre. Two plays received four awards, The Pillowman by Silver Spring Stage and Red by the Elden Street Players. Kensington Arts Theatre received the most awards, a total of seven for their productions of Ragtime and Next to Normal. Colonial Players was the only theater company to receive awards for three separate productions, 1776, Shipwrecked and Trying.

• 2nd Star Productions
• Aldersgate Church Community Theatre
• The Alliance Theatre
• The Arlington Players
• Capital City Players of DC
• Bowie Community Theatre
• Castaways Repertory Theatre
• Taking Flight Theatre Company
• Chevy Chase Players
• Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Damascus Theatre Company
• Dominion Stage
• Elden Street Players
• Fauquier Community Theatre
• Greenbelt Arts Center
• Hard Bargain Players
• Kensington Arts Theatre
• Laurel Mill Playhouse
• Little Theatre of Alexandria
• McLean Community Players
• Montgomery Playhouse
• Port City Playhouse
• Port Tobacco Players
• Prince George’s Little Theatre
• Prince William Little Theatre
• Providence Players of Fairfax
• Reston Community Players
• Rockville Little Theatre
• Rockville Musical Theatre
• St. Mark’s Players
• Silver Spring Stage
• Tantallon Community Players
• Vienna Theatre Company

Winners for outstanding technical achievements.

Outstanding Set Design in a Musical (TIE)

• Jared Davis, Avenue Q, Dominion Stage
• Jane B. Wingard, Camelot, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Set Design in a Play

• John Downing and Bill Glikbarg, Twentieth Century, Little Theatre of Alexandria

Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical

• Hector Lorenzini, Avenue Q, Dominion Stage

Outstanding Set Construction in a Play

• Richard Gilpin and Zachary Ball, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical

• Jane B. Wingard, Camelot, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Set Painting in a Play

• Mary Speed and Brian Garrison, Red, Elden Street Players

Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Musical

• Jane B. Wingard and Gail Bagaria, Camelot, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Play

• Paul Hennesy and Mike Mattheisen, Is He Dead?, Providence Players of Fairfax

Outstanding Properties in a Musical

• Joanne D. Wilson, Camelot, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Properties in a Play

• Susan d. Garvey, Red, Elden Street Players

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical

• Tommy Scott, Fiddler on the Roof, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play

• Ken and Patti Crowley, 33 Variations, Little Theatre of Alexandria

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical

• Kevin DeMine, Avenue Q, Dominion Stage

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play

• Sean Doyle, Shiloh Rules, Port City Playhouse

Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical

• Linda Swann, Camelot, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Costume Design in a Play

• Mary Wakefield, The Tempest, Rockville Little Theatre

Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical

• Shemika Berry, The Wiz, Tantallon Community Players

Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play

• Sally Cusenza, The Pillowman, Silver Spring Stage

Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical

• Beverly Hill van Joolen, 1776, Colonial Players of Annapolis

Outstanding Hair Design in a Play

• Rachel Royall, Life with Father, Aldersgate Churtch Community Theatre

Outstanding Special Effects

• Joshua McKerrow, Kat McKerrow, Maya Wilcox, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Laurel Mill Playhouse

Winners for outstanding performances by an actor or actress.

Outstanding cameo in a musical

• Lydia Kivrak as ‘Grandma Tzeitel’, Fiddler on the Roof, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding cameo in a play

• Jeffrey Gangwisch as ‘James’, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Laurel Mill Playhouse

Outstanding featured actress in a musical

• Eben K. Logan as ‘Sarah’, Ragtime, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding featured actor in a musical

• Ryan Burke as ‘Dan’, Next to Normal, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding featured actress in a play

• Christina Enoch Kemmerer as ‘Player #1’, Shipwrecked, Colonial Players of Annapolis

Outstanding featured actor in a play (TIE)

• Chris Daileader as ‘Michal’, The Pillowman, Silver Spring Stage
• Robert Tucker as ‘Player #2’, Shipwrecked, Colonial Players of Annapolis

Outstanding lead actress in a musical

• Emily Zickler as ‘Diana’, Next to Normal, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding lead actor in a musical

• Sayne-Kharyi Lewis as ‘Colehouse Walker’, Ragtime, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding lead actress in a play (TIE)

• Karen Grim as ‘Sarah Schorr’, Trying, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Mary-Anne Sullivan as ‘Dr. Katherine Brandt’, 33 Variations, Reston Community Players

Outstanding lead actor in a play

• Chad W. Fornwalt as ‘Katurian’, The Pillowman, Silver Spring Stage

Winners for outstanding achievement in overall production.

Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography

• William T. Fleming, The Pillowman, Silver Spring Stage

Outstanding Choreography

• Darnell Morris and Eben K. Logan, Ragtime, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding Music Direction

• Mayumi B. Griffie, Ragtime, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

• Evan Hoffmann, Caroline or Change, Elden Street Players

Outstanding Direction of a Play

• Gloria DuGan, Red, Elden Street Players

Outstanding Musical

• Ragtime, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding Play

• Red, Elden Street Players

Wins sorted by theatre and show.

2nd Star Productions

• Camelot
  • Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical, Linda Swann
  • Outstanding Properties in a Musical, Joanne D. Wilson
  • Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical, Jane B. Wingard and Gail Bagaria
  • Outstanding Set Design in a Musical, Jane B. Wingard
  • Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical, Jane B. Wingard

Aldersgate Church Community Theatre

• Life with Father
  • Outstanding Hair Design in a Play, Rachel Royall

Colonial Players

• 1776
  • Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical, Beverly Hill van Joolen
• Shipwrecked
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, Robert Tucker as “Player #2”
  • Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Christina Enoch Kremmerer as “Player #1”
• Trying
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play, Karen Grim as “Sarah Schorr”

Dominion Stage

• Avenue Q
  • Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical, Hector Lorenzini
  • Outstanding Set Design in a Musical, Jared Davis
  • Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical, Kevin DeMine

Elden Street Players

• Caroline or Change
  • Outstanding Direction of a Musical, Evan Hoffmann
• Red
  • Outstanding Direction of a Play, Gloria DuGan
  • Outstanding Play
  • Outstanding Properties in a Play, Susan d. Garvey
  • Outstanding Set Painting in a Play, Mary Speed

Kensington Arts Theatre

• Next to Normal
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, Ryan Burke as “Dan”
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical, Emily Zickler as “Diana”
• Ragtime
  • Outstanding Choreography, Darnell Morris & Eben K. Logan
  • Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Eben K. Logan as “Sarah”
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical, Sayne-Kharyi Lewis as “Colehouse Walker”
  • Outstanding Music Direction, Mayumi B. Griffie
  • Outstanding Musical

Laurel Mill Playhouse

• The Lieutenant of Inishmore
  • Outstanding Cameo in a Play, Jeffrey Gangwisch as “James”
  • Outstanding Special Effects, Joshua McKerrow et al

Little Theatre Of Alexandria

• 33 Variations
  • Outstanding Light Design in a Play, Ken & Patti Crowley
• Twentieth Century
  • Outstanding Set Design in a Play, John Downing & Bill Glikbarg

Port City Playhouse

• Shiloh Rules
  • Outstanding Sound Design in a Play, Sean Doyle

Port Tobacco Players

• Brighton Beach Memoirs
  • Outstanding Set Construction in a Play, Richard Gilpin & Zachary Ball
• Fiddler on the Roof
  • Outstanding Cameo in a Musical, Lydia Kivrak as “Grandma Tzeitel”
  • Outstanding Light Design in a Musical, Tommy Scott

Providence Players

• Is He Dead?
  • Outstanding Set Decoration in a Play, Paul Hennesy & Mike Mattheisen

Reston Community Players

• 33 Variations
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play, Mary-Anne Sullivan as “Dr. Katherine Brandt”

Rockville Little Theatre

• The Tempest
  • Outstanding Costume Design in a Play, Mary Wakefield

Silver Spring Stage

• The Pillowman
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, Chris Daileader as “Michal”
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play, Chad W. Fornwalt as “Katurian”
  • Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play, Sally Cusenza
  • Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography, William T. Fleming

Tantallon Community Theatre

• The Wiz
  • Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical, Shemika Berry

Two men on the brink of ruin have redemption at their fingertips, but only if they can best the other. Frost/Nixon, now playing at Silver Spring Stage, dramatizes (and fictionalizes) the story behind the 1977 televised interviews that former President Richard M. Nixon gave to British talk show host, David Frost. Frost sought to force Nixon to accept responsibility for his part in Watergate and to apologize to the American people. In his script, Peter Morgan intersperses dialogue from the actual interviews with imagined conversations between aides and between Frost and Nixon themselves, and Morgan postulates that Frost eventually succeeded, not through trickery, luck, or strategy, but rather by connecting with Nixon on a personal level and understanding his need to unburden.

The script itself is fascinating in its depiction of the two flawed men but less fascinating in its structure and supporting characters. Under Kevin O’Connell’s direction, Silver Spring Stage’s production retains the script’s strengths, as well as its weaknesses. As such, scenes of sublime dramatic tension are separated by wordy, uninvolving monologues and mini-subplots that are of little importance or interest.

Brendan Murray is especially engrossing as the playboy celebrity Frost. Murray ably constructs a complex character, for whom the stakes are very high in every scene even as he attempts to appear carefree. While he handles Frost’s British accent well, Murray is at his best in his silences; he is one of those gifted actors who can convey an entire inner monologue in a brief moment with only his eyes and his face. You learn more about Frost by watching Murray than you do by listening to him.

Michael Kharfen is almost as successful as Nixon. While not a spot-on impressionist, Kharfen ably evokes Nixon’s voice and physicality. In their scenes together, Kharfen and Murray work well sparring with each other, and it is great fun to watch the momentum move from one to the other. However, Kharfen’s Nixon is presented as a buffoon who got what he deserved; it might have provided more layered and nuanced drama to construct a multi-dimensional Nixon, one with enough leadership and charisma to entice voters and with enough humanity to make his fall more tragic.

O’Connell has fashioned a uniformly strong and focused ensemble. Of particular note were the elegant and understated Diana Partridge as Frost’s love interest and the intelligent and motivated David Dieudonne as one of Frost’s researchers. O’Connell also smartly moves the location of the interviews around the stage, providing differing views of the verbal boxing match.

Where O’Connell stumbles, however, is in not realizing that the slower, weaker portions of the script cannot sustain interest on their own, especially in a two-hour-intermissionless production. O’Connell and his designers and performers might have used any number of strategies to provide further dimension to the words — increased use of the ensemble in choreographed scene changes or as background extras, music or sound effects to underscore important moments and add interest, amped up investment and energy from the supporting players, or projections to set time or place, to name a few.

Instead, the color palette is black and brown, and the design elements are minimal. O’Connell himself designed the set, which consists of black walls, black curtains, and a few pieces of furniture that are carried in and out by the actors. Peter Caress’s lights are simple and seemed to serve only to isolate portions of the stage, rather than enhance the action or deepen the visual impact. While Crystal Simone Fergusson’s costumes and hair design were period appropriate, attractive, and varied (especially on the women), given the simplicity of the set and lights, the eye might have appreciated more pops of color.

O’Connell and company have presented Morgan’s script with intelligence and humor, but without adornment. However, a little adornment never hurt anybody. With a few bells and whistles, this interesting play might have grown into a riveting and consuming experience.

Cast

• Richard Nixon: Michael Kharfen
• Ollie, Mike Wallace, Technician, Partygoer: Gary Sullivan
• Studio Manager, Manolo Sanchez: Peter Orvetti
• Evonne Goolagong, Flight Attendent, Waitress, Studio Manager, Partygoer: Erica Smith
• Jim Reston: David Dieudonne
• David Frost: Brendan Murray
• Jack Brennan: Kevin Dykstra
• John Birt: Chris Tully
• Swifty Lazar: Mike Goll
• Caroline Cushing: Diana Partridge
• Bob Zelnick: Jack Scheer

Production Staff

• Producer: Devon Seybert
• Director: Kevin O’Connell
• Stage Manager: Pam Burks
• Set Designer & Set Decoration: Kevin O’Connell
• Painting: Pam Burks, Jamie Coupar & Devon Seybert
• Lighting Designer: Peter Caress
• Sound Designer: Jamie Coupar
• Crew: Kathleen Burke. Peter Caress, Jamie Coupar
• Costumer: Crystal Simone Ferguson
• Properties: Caroline Duffy
• Makeup and Hair Design: Crystal Simone Ferguson
• Dialect Coach: Gary Sullivan
• Artistic Liaison: Craig Allen Mummey
• Playbill: Leta Hall
• Playbill Cover Design: Craig Allen Mummey
• Subscription Brochure: Craig Allen Mummey
• Hospitality: Kathie Mack

Disclaimer: Silver Spring Stage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Fifteen companies received awards this year. The Arlington Players‘ production of A Little Night Music received the most awards of the musicals, with five, including Outstanding Musical. Fauquier Community Theatre received four awards for Into the Woods, as did Kensington Arts Theatre for Sunday in the Park with George. Providence Players received the most awards, with two plays (Side Man and You Can’t Take it With You) each receiving four awards. The Colonial Players production Going to St. Ives received three awards, including Outstanding Play. Fifteen companies received awards this year.

ShowBizRadio followed the ceremony live, the archive is available.

Winners for outstanding technical achievement

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Eleanor Dicks, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play: Robbie Snow, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Bette Williams, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play: Beth Harrison, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical: Kevin Boyce, Night of the Living Dead, The Musical, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play: Chip Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Tim Kirk, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play: Beth Harrison, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Properties in a Musical: Richard Perryman & Peter Fakoury, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Outstanding Properties in a Play: Susan Kaplan, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Ryan Mudd, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: John Downing, Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Musical: Tim Kirk, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Play: Lisa Church & Chip Gertzog, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: John Merritt, Ryan Mudd, Ben Simpson, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play: Raedun Knutsen & Chip Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical: Nancy Daugherty, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Play: Jane B. Wingard, Bloody Murder, 2nd Star Productions
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical: Kevin Garrett, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Play: Jimmy Gertzog & Chip Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Outstanding Special Effects: Jordan Rose & Doe B. Kim, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre

Winners for outstanding performance by an actor or actress

• Outstanding cameo in a musical (TIE): Chrissy Barnett Miller as “Jolene Oakes”, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Damascus Theatre Company AND Brenda Parker as “Church Soloist”, The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• Outstanding cameo in a play: Mark Yeager as “Beverly Weston”, August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• Outstanding featured actress in a musical: Annie Coffman as “Anne Egerman”, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Outstanding featured actor in a musical: Stephen Deininger as “Tateh”, Ragtime, Laurel Mill Playhouse
• Outstanding featured actress in a play: Gayle Nichols-Grimes as “Vernadette Simms”, The Dixie Swim Club, Port City Playhouse
• Outstanding featured actor in a play: John Shackelford as “Max Levene”, Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Outstanding lead actress in a musical: Jennifer Lyons Pagnard as “Mrs. Lovett”, Sweeney Todd, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Outstanding lead actor in a musical: Fred Nelson as “Tevye”, Fiddler on the Roof, 2nd Star Productions
• Outstanding lead actress in a play: Lolita-Marie as “May N’Kame”, Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Outstanding lead actor in a play: Matt Baughman as “Charlie Gordon”, Flowers for Algernon, Elden Street Players

Winners for outstanding achievement in overall production

• Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography: Carl Brandt Long, Deathtrap, McLean Community Players
• Outstanding Choreography: Taurean Maray Barber, The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• Outstanding Music Direction: John-Michael d’Haviland, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Outstanding Direction of a Musical (TIE): Christopher Dykton, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players AND Craig Petinatti, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Outstanding Direction of a Play: Edd Miller, Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Outstanding Musical: A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Outstanding Play: Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis

Winners sorted by theatre and show

2nd Star Productions

• Bloody Murder
  • Outstanding Set Painting in a Play, Jane B. Wingard
• Fiddler on the Roof
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical, Fred Nelson as “Tevye”

Arlington Players

• A Little Night Music
  • Outstanding Direction of a Musical, Christopher Dykton
  • Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Annie Coffman as “Anne Egerman”
  • Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical, Bette Williams
  • Outstanding Music Direction, John-Michael d’Haviland
  • Outstanding Musical

Colonial Players

• Going to St. Ives
  • Outstanding Direction of a Play, Edd Miller
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play, Lolita-Marie as “May N’Kame”
  • Outstanding Play

Damascus Theatre Company

• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
  • Outstanding Cameo in a Musical, Chrissy Barnett Miller as “Jolene Oakes”

Elden Street Players

• Flowers for Algernon
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play, Matt Baughman as “Charlie Gordon”

Fauquier Community Theatre

• Into the Woods
  • Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical, Tim Kirk
  • Outstanding Properties in a Musical, Richard Perryman & Peter Fakoury
  • Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical, Tim Kirk
  • Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical, Nancy Daugherty

Kensington Arts Theatre

• Night of the Living Dead, The Musical
  • Outstanding Light Design in a Musical, Kevin Boyce
• Sunday in the Park with George
  • Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical, Eleanor Dicks
  • Outstanding Direction of a Musical, Craig Pettinati
  • Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical, Kevin Garrett
  • Outstanding Special Effects, Jordan Rose & Doe B. Kim

Laurel Mill Playhouse

• Ragtime
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, Stephen Deininger as “Tateh”

Little Theatre Of Alexandria

• Heaven Can Wait
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, John Shackelford as “Max Levene”
  • Outstanding Set Construction in a Play, John Downing
• Sweeney Todd
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical, Jennifer Lyons Pagnard as “Mrs. Lovett”

McLean Community Players

• Deathtrap
  • Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography, Carl Brandt Long

Port City Playhouse

• The Dixie Swim Club
  • Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Gayle Nichols-Grimes as “Vernadette Simms”

Port Tobacco Players

• The Sound of Music
  • Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical, Ryan Mudd
  • Outstanding Set Design in a Musical, John Merritt, Ryan Mudd, Ben Simpson

Providence Players

• Side Man
  • Outstanding Light Design in a Play, Chip Gertzog
  • Outstanding Properties in a Play, Susan Kaplan
  • Outstanding Set Design in a Play, Raedun Knutsen & Chip Gertzog
  • Outstanding Sound Design in a Play, Jimmy Gertzog & Chip Gertzog
• You Can’t Take it With You
  • Outstanding Costume Design in a Play, Robbie Snow
  • Outstanding Hair Design in a Play, Beth Harrison
  • Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play, Beth Harrison
  • Outstanding Set Decoration in a Play, Lisa Church & Chip Gertzog

Reston Community Players

• August Osage County
  • Outstanding Cameo in a Play, Mark Yeager as “Beverly Weston”

Tantallon Community Theatre

• The Color Purple
  • Outstanding Cameo in a Musical, Brenda Parker as “Church Soloist”
  • Outstanding Choreography, Taurean Maray Barber

Acting a Tom Stoppard character is no easy thing. There’s the business of mastering the non-stop verbal pyrotechnics and wit the playwright gives most of his characters. More important, in a play like The Real Thing, now running at Silver Spring Stage (SSS), is the ability to convey to the audience the emotional content underlying the clever words.

The protagonist, Henry (Scott Courlander), a verbally fluid, witty, married playwright reminiscent of Stoppard himself, has a problem: while he has trouble writing love scenes that seem real, he is involved in an affair with the Annie (Emma Klemt), the wife of an actor in his current production. When we first see Henry and Annie together, they talk a great deal about being in love and their plans to leave Charlotte (Julia Morrissey) and Max (Patrick Miller), respectively, but the sense of passionate engagement that one might expect from two people about to turn their lives, and those of their spouses, upside down is missing.

Flash forward. Old partners discarded, Henry and Annie are now married. It is at this point that their passions come to the fore. Henry’s passion, expressed in a monologue that Courlander fluently delivers, is for the craft of writing plays, finding just the right words. Annie’s appears to be for a script being written by Brodie, a jailed Scottish antiwar protester who, alas, cannot write his way out of a paper bag. Their fencing over Brodie’s script stands in, to an extent, for unacknowledged tensions in their relationship, such as Henry’s disinclination to express jealousy of flirtations Annie may be having with others (a trait that also annoyed Charlotte). Yet the overt tone of their relationship remains one of good-humored surface affection and amity, maintained in large part by the smiling mask of Klemt’s somewhat distanced interpretation of Annie.

Henry believes in commitment. In one of the play’s strongest scenes, he and his precocious 17 year old daughter, Debbie (Katie Zitz) debate the subject, with Debbie insisting that there are no commitments, only bargains that must be remade daily. Exclusivity, she argues, amounts to colonization. No, Henry rejoins: what matters is to know someone inside and out, to love your partner at her worst, not just at her best. Courlander portrays this emotional deepening with conviction.

A test of his conviction arrives soon enough in the form of Billy (Conor Scanlon), a young actor portraying Brodie in the script that Henry has heavily rewritten at Annie’s instance. Releasing her inner cougar, Annie has responded to his overtures with an affair of her own. Henry, suspicious of her actions, is at last fully jealous, but concludes that to truly be committed to Annie, he must accept her infidelity and let it run its course.

Henry has the most interesting character arc in the play, and Courlander ably plots his progress from a man who keeps feeling at arm’s length through intellectual gymnastics to one who fully embraces the contradictions and pain of love and life (I was reminded of Sondheim’s “Being Alive” from Company). Klemt’s Annie, on the other hand, changes far less, seemingly content to remain on the relatively complacent surface of her relationships.

The supporting performances are strong. Morrissey’s Charlotte is particularly noteworthy, being in her two scenes the more interesting, and in some ways the more sympathetic, of Henry’s wives. Her warmly ironic presence in the second act scene with Henry, as she admits to several affairs during their marriage, is one of the show’s best moments. Zitz’s Debbie is the kind of smart, aware, energetic kid that would delight any parent. Scanlon’s Billy has the youthful enthusiasm and verbal facility that would believably attract someone like Annie, and Miller does what he can with Max, the rather thankless role of a cuckold who is devastated by Annie’s breezy betrayal. In the smallest role in the play, Brian McDermott plays Brodie as the sort of loutishly masculine fellow one might expect to become a soccer hooligan. With his size and ability to portray aggression, there could be a Stanley Kowalski in McDermott’s future.

More than any other show I’ve seen recently, the sound design of The Real Thing (by director Joseph Coracle, who also designed the set) is central to the production. I mean that literally: a 1980s-style stereo cabinet sits squarely in the middle of the stage throughout the production. As it comes time for each scene change, an actor puts a new record (a real record, the vinyl kind, thankfully) on the phonograph, and cast members dance as they change flats and set dressing pieces. This is the best solution I have yet seen to the often tedious business of set changes in the SSS space. The music played is itself important. As much as he is a self-described snob about words, Henry much prefers 1960s-70s pop (The Monkeys, The Everly Brothers, Neil Sedaka, etc.) to classical music, a preference faithfully and amusingly reflected in the sound design.

As much as the play’s themes focus on the meaning of love and commitment, and the effects of suspicion and betrayal upon the characters’ relationships, The Real Thing is still a play set in the sometimes odd and rarified atmosphere in which theater people live and breathe. The words, thoughts, and actions of Stoppard’s actors and writers have wider meaning to the extent that all the world is, in fact, a stage.

Director’s Note

From the director to several wonderful people: a big hug and a tremendous thank you to Bob Scott, who put his heart and soul into this show, to Andrea Spitz, for her unquenchable good humor and energy, and to my lovely bride Jenn for all the love, support, and encouragement.

And a few words from the writers who have nudged the world a little:
“The course of true love never did run smooth” (Shakespeare)
“To be able to say how much you love is to love little” (Petrarch)
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” (Albert Einstein)
“Live is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them-that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” (Lao Tzu)
“Whenever you’re near, I hear a symphony. Each time you speak to me, I hear a tender rhapsody of love. As you stand holding me, whispering how much you care, a thousand violins fill the air. Don’t let this moment end… Keep standing close to me… so close to me….. I hear a symphony… a tender melody.” (Diana Ross and the Supremes).

Cast

• Max: Patrick Miller
• Charlotte: Julia Morrissey
• Henry: Scott Courlander
• Annie: Emma Klemt
• Billy: Conor Scanlan
• Debbie: Katie Zitz
• Brodie: Brian McDermott

Production Staff

• Producer: Bob Scott
• Assistant Producer: Jason Damaso
• Director: Joseph Croacle
• Production Stage Manager: Katherine Offutt
• Set Designer: Joseph Coracle
• Master Carpenter: Bob Scott
• Assisted by: Alex Batselos, Nick Batselos, Jenn Coracle, Joseph
• Coracle, Seth Ghitelman, Harlene Leahy Mary Seng
• Painting: Jenn Coracle, Seth Ghitelman, Harlene Leahy Mary Seng
• Lighting Designer: James Robertson
• Sound Designer: Joseph Coracle
• Sound Engineer: Jamie Coupar
• Running Crew: Katherine Offutt, Bob Scott
• Costumer: Crystal Simone Fergusson
• Properties/Set Decoration & Dressing: Bob Benn
• Makeup and Hair Design: Eric Jones
• Artistic Liaison: Andrea Spitz
• Playbill: Leta Hall
• Playbill Cover Design: Craig Allen Mummey
• Subscription Brochure: Craig Allen Mummey
• Hospitality: Kathie Mack

Disclaimer: Silver Spring Stage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

• 2nd Star Productions
• Aldersgate Church Community Theatre
• The Alliance Theatre
• The Arlington Players
• Capital City Players of DC
• Bowie Community Theatre
• Castaways Repertory Theatre
• Taking Flight Theatre Company
• Chevy Chase Players
• Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Damascus Theatre Company
• Dominion Stage
• Elden Street Players
• Fauquier Community Theatre
• Greenbelt Arts Center
• Hard Bargain Players
• Kensington Arts Theatre
• Laurel Mill Playhouse
• Little Theatre of Alexandria
• McLean Community Players
• Montgomery Playhouse
• Port City Playhouse
• Port Tobacco Players
• Prince George’s Little Theatre
• Prince William Little Theatre
• Providence Players of Fairfax
• Reston Community Players
• Rockville Little Theatre
• Rockville Musical Theatre
• St. Mark’s Players
• Silver Spring Stage
• Tantallon Community Players
• Vienna Theatre Company

The nominations are provided by category and then by theater.

The Award Presentation will be held on March 17th at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. Tickets can be purchased for $15.50 at the Birchmere Box Office or through Ticketmaster (additional fees will apply). Last year the ceremony sold out, so order your tickets early!

In each of the thirty-eight categories, five nominees were selected based on the average scores of eight judges. In some categories, due to score ties, more than five nominees are announced. Nominations are provided in alphabetical order by nominee.

Nominations for outstanding technical achievements

Outstanding Set Design in a Musical

• Bill Brown & Chad Wheeler, Meet Me in St. Louis, Damascus Theatre Company
• Matt Karner, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Tim Kirk & Martha Lynch, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Russell Kopp, A Little Night Music, Arlington Players
• John Merritt, Ryan Mudd, Ben Simpson, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Set Design in a Play

• John Coscia, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• John Downing, Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• John Downing, Witness for the Prosecution, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Raedun Knutsen & Chip Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Jane B. Wingard, The Lion in Winter, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical

• Matt Karner & Joel Richon, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Tim Kirk & Kirk Noé, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Jim Korte & Bill Rippey, Meet Me in St. Louis, Damascus Theatre Company
• Ryan Mudd, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Joe Stine & John Merritt, The Wizard of Oz, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Set Construction in a Play

• John Coscia, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• John Downing, Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• John Downing, Witness for the Prosecution, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Chip Gertzog et al, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Bernie Gmiter, Bob Schroth, Bill Glikbarg, Deathtrap, McLean Community Players
• Timothy Hinton & David Johnson, August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• John Merritt, To Kill A Mockingbird, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical

• Nancy Daugherty et al, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Jill Hanger, Rhonna Johnson, Betsy Stevens, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Ronna Johnson, The Wizard of Oz, Port Tobacco Players
• Jane B. Wingard, Fiddler on the Roof, 2nd Star Productions
• Jane B. Wingard, Oklahoma, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Set Painting in a Play

• Erin Cumbo et al, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Port City Playhouse
• Chip Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Mary Hutzler, Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Jane B. Wingard, Bloody Murder, 2nd Star Productions
• Jane B. Wingard et al, The Lion in Winter, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Musical

• Sheila Draper, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Lindsey Hays, A Little Night Music, Arlington Players
• Ronna Johnson, The Wizard of Oz, Port Tobacco Players
• Tim Kirk, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Maria Littlefield, Meet Me in St. Louis, Damascus Theatre Company

Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Play

• Lisa Church & Chip Gertzog, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Edd Miller, Chapter Two, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Kathy White, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Dinnie Whitson, Cathy Farnsworth, Christine Whitson, Deathtrap, McLean Community Players
• Jane B. Wingard et al, The Lion in Winter, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Properties in a Musical

• Avery Burns, A Little Night Music, Arlington Players
• Terri Fortney-Beinert, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Maria Littlefield, Meet Me in St. Louis, Damascus Theatre Company
• Richard Perryman et al, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Joanne D. Wilson, Fiddler on the Roof, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Properties in a Play

• Emily Besuden, Jerry Gideon, Dick La Porte, Deathtrap, McLean Community Players
• Mary Jo Ford & Alexandra Lee, August Osage County, Reston Community Theatre
• Chip Gertzog, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Susan Kaplan, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Robbie Snow et al, Sleuth, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Joanne D. Wilson, The Lion in Winter, 2nd Star Productions

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical

• Kevin Boyce, Night of the Living Dead, The Musical, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Garret R. Hyde, Fiddler on the Roof, 2nd Star Productions
• Tim Kirk, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Ben Levine, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• B. Keith Ryder, A Little Night Music, Arlington Players
• Tommy Scott, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play

• Ken & Patti Crowley, August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• Ken & Patti Crowley, Cantorial, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Frank Florentine & Shirley Panek, Chapter Two, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Chip Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Bob Zeigler, Deathtrap, McLean Community Players

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical

• Keith Bell, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Kevin Garrett, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Tim Kirk, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Matt Rowe, Night of the Living Dead, The Musical, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Gerhard Straub, The Wizard of Oz, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play

• Chris Alpiar, Equus, Taking Flight Theatre Company
• Jamie Coupar, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Silver Spring Stage
• Jimmy Gertzog & Chip Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Stan Harris, Flowers for Algernon, Elden Street Players
• Janice Rivera, Cantorial, Little Theatre of Alexandria

Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical

• Pat Brennan, The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Pat Brennan, The Wizard of Oz, Port Tobacco Players
• Eleanor Dicks, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Grant Kevin Lane, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Susan Noé & Martha Lynch, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design in a Play

• Patricia Kratzer et al, Enchanted April, Silver Spring Stage
• Jean Schlichting & Kit Sibley, Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Robbie Snow, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Linda Swann, The Lion in Winter, 2nd Star Productions
• Beth Terranova, Cinderella Waltz, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Beth Terranova, Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis

Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical

• Heather Bauer & Kaitelyn Bauer, The Wizard of Oz, Port Tobacco Players
• Kristina Friedgen, Sweeney Todd, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Eric Jones, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Tim Kirk & Rebecca Carver, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Larissa Norris, Dreamgirls, Dominion Stage

Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play

• Laurie T. Freed & Cast, Enchanted April, Silver Spring Stage
• Beth Harrison, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Beth Harrison, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Sheila Hyman & Shemika Berry, The Taming of the Shrew, Castaways Repertory Theatre
• Sue Pinkman, Lend Me A Tenor, Reston Community Players

Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical

• Shemika Berry, The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• Kristina Friedgen, Sweeney Todd, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Malca Giblin, Dreamgirls, Dominion Stage
• Malca Giblin, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Bette Williams, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players

Outstanding Hair Design in a Play

• Beth Harrison, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Chanukan Jane Lilburne, Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Robin Parker & Hannah Wolf, All the King’s Women, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Gina Quaye, Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Arthur Rodger, Flowers for Algernon, Elden Street Players
• Bette Williams, Witness for the Prosecution, Little Theatre of Alexandria

Outstanding Special Effects

• John Decker & Kevin Boyce, Night of the Living Dead, The Musical, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Chip Gertzog, You Can’t Take It With You, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Tim Kirk, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Keith Linville, Joe Stine, John Merritt, The Wizard of Oz, Port Tobacco Players
• Jordan Rose & Doe B. Kim, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre

Nominations for outstanding performances by an actor or actress

Outstanding cameo in a musical

• Joseph Aquilina as “Kyle,” Legally Blonde, Reston Community Players
• Chrissy Barnett Miller as “Jolene Oakes,” Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Damascus Theatre Company
• Karen Batra as “Marge MacDougall,” Promises, Promises, The Arlington Players
• Erica Drezek as “Berthe,” Pippin, Greenbelt Arts Center
• Brenda Parker as “Church Soloist,” The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players

Outstanding cameo in a play

• Katherine Bisulca as “Sales Girl,” Red Scare on Sunset, Prince William Little Theatre
• Bob Burnett as “Beverly Carlton,” The Man Who Came to Dinner, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Carleigh Jones as “Doris,” The Hollow, Laurel Mill Playhouse
• Stuart Orloff as “Teen Charlie,” Flowers for Algernon, Elden Street Players
• Yvonne Paretzky as “Addie,” The Little Foxes, Rockville Little Theatre
• Shelley Rochester as “Mrs. Winsley,” Stop Kiss, Silver Spring Stage
• Mark Yeager as “Beverly Weston,” August Osage County, Reston Community Players

Outstanding featured actress in a musical

• Annie Coffman as “Anne Egerman,” A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Amy Dolan as “The Mother Abbess,” The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players
• Annie Ermlick as “Sister Mary Amnesia,” Nunsense, The Alliance Theatre
• Shanice Jones as “Sofia,” The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• Molly Hicks Larson as “Paulette Buonofuonte,” Legally Blonde, Reston Community Players
• Anne Marie Pinto as “Petra,” A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players

Outstanding featured actor in a musical

• Stephen Deininger as “Tateh,” Ragtime, Laurel Mill Playhouse
• Michael J. Galizia as “Jud Fry,” Oklahoma, 2nd Star Productions
• Malcolm Lee as “Jimmy Early,” Dreamgirls, Dominion Stage
• Gary Saddon as “Ali Hakim,” Oklahoma, 2nd Star Productions
• Stephen Yednock as “Nicely-Nicely Johnson,” Guys and Dolls, Tantallon Community Players

Outstanding featured actress in a play

• Monica Garcia as “Mother McGee,” Cinderella Waltz, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Lorraine Magee as “Virginia,” Clean House, Elden Street Players
• Gayle Nichols-Grimes as “Mattie Fae Aiken,” August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• Gayle Nichols-Grimes as “Vernadette Simms,” The Dixie Swim Club, Port City Playhouse
• Shelley Rochester as “Costanza,” Enchanted April, Silver Spring Stage
• Lois A. Stanziani as “Helga ten Dorp,” Deathtrap, McLean Community Players

Outstanding featured actor in a play

• Chuck Dluhy as “Roma,” Glengary Glen Ross, Elden Street Players
• Michael Kharfen as “Levene,” Glengary Glen Ross, Elden Street Players
• Stuart Rick as “Benjamin Hubbard,” The Little Foxes, Rockville Little Theatre
• John Shackelford as “Max Levene,” Heaven Can Wait, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Kevin Wallace as “Victor Fleming,” Moonlight and Magnolias, Colonial Players of Annapolis

Outstanding lead actress in a musical

• Madeline Botteri as “Monica,” Rooms, A Rock Romance, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Shawnee Louise Coleman-Lining as “Effie Melody White,” Dreamgirls, Dominion Stage
• Andrea Gerald as “Cellie,” The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• Jennifer Lyons Pagnard as “Mrs. Lovett,” Sweeney Todd, Little Theatre of Alexandria
• Farrell Parker as “Dot/Marie,” Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding lead actor in a musical

• Ryan Burke as “Georges/George,” Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Eric Jones as “Ian,” Rooms, A Rock Romance, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Fred Nelson as “Tevye,” Fiddler on the Roof, 2nd Star Productions
• Gabriel T. Potter as “Freddy Benson,” Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Damascus Theatre Company
• Brent Stone as “Fredrik Egerman,” A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players

Outstanding lead actress in a play

• Lolita-Marie as “May N’Kame,” Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Heather Quinn as “Dr. Cora Gage,” Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Lee Slivka as “Barbara Fordham,” August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• Mary Suib as “Violet Weston,” August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• Jo Sullivan as “Jennie Malone,” Chapter Two, Colonial Players of Annapolis

Outstanding lead actor in a play

• Dann Alagna as “Zed,” Cinderella Waltz, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Matt Baughman as “Charlie Gordon,” Flowers for Algernon, Elden Street Players
• Phil Hosford as “Ralph Wantage,” Frozen, Rockville Little Theatre
• Sandy Irving as “Richard Nixon,” Frost/Nixon, Greenbelt Arts Center
• Ryan Manning as “Max Levene,” Lend Me A Tenor, Reston Community Players

Nominations for outstanding achievement in overall production

Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography

• Steve Lada, August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• Steve Lada, Equus, Taking Flight Theatre Company
• Carl Brandt Long, Deathtrap, McLean Community Players
• Carl Brandt Long, Man of La Mancha, McLean Community Players
• Kevin Robertson, The Taming of the Shrew, Castaways Repertory Theatre

Outstanding Choreography

• Richelle “Rikki” Howie, Dreamgirls, Dominion Stage
• Martha Lynch, Into the Woods, Fauquier Community Theatre
• Taurean Maray Barber, The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• Vincent Musgrave, A Chorus Line, Rockville Musical Theatre
• Corinne Shumaker, The Music Man, Fauquier Community Theatre

Outstanding Music Direction

• LaVar Betts, The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• John-Michael d’Haviland, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• John-Michael d’Haviland, Dreamgirls, Dominion Stage
• John-Michael d’Haviland, Spring Awakening, Dominion Stage
• David Rohde, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

• Brian Douglas, Fiddler on the Roof, 2nd Star Productions
• Christopher Dykton, A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Craig Petinatti, Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• Joshua Redford, Legally Blonde, Reston Community Players
• Charla Rowe, The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players

Outstanding Direction of a Play

• Gloria DuGan, Flowers for Algernon, Elden Street Players
• Jimmy Gertzog, Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax
• Ron Giddings, Moonlight and Magnolias, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Edd Miller, Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Andrew JM Regiec, August Osage County, Reston Community Players

Outstanding Musical

• A Little Night Music, The Arlington Players
• Dreamgirls, Dominion Stage
• Sunday in the Park with George, Kensington Arts Theatre
• The Color Purple, Tantallon Community Players
• The Sound of Music, Port Tobacco Players

Outstanding Play

• August Osage County, Reston Community Players
• Flowers for Algernon, Elden Street Players
• Going to St. Ives, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Moonlight and Magnolias, Colonial Players of Annapolis
• Side Man, Providence Players of Fairfax

Nominations sorted by theatre and show

2nd Star Productions

4 productions received 14 nominations total

Bloody Murder

• Outstanding Set Painting in a Play: Jane B. Wingard

Fiddler on the Roof

• Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Brian Douglas
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Fred Nelson as “Tevye”
• Outstanding Light Design in a Musical: Garret R. Hyde
• Outstanding Properties in a Musical: Joanne D. Wilson
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical: Jane B. Wingard

Oklahoma

• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Michael J. Galizia as “Jud Fry”
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Gary Saddon as “Ali Hakim”
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical: Jane B. Wingard

The Lion in Winter

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play: Linda Swann
• Outstanding Properties in a Play: Joanne D. Wilson
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Play: Jane B. Wingard et al
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play: Jane B. Wingard
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Play: Jane B. Wingard et al

Alliance Theatre

1 production received 1 nomination

Nunsense

• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Annie Ermlick as “Sister Mary Amnesia”

Arlington Players

2 productions received 14 nominations total

A Little Night Music

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Grant Kevin Lane
• Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Christopher Dykton
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Annie Coffman as “Anne Egerman”
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Anne Marie Pinto as “Petra”
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Bette Williams
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Brent Stone as “Fredrik Egerman”
• Outstanding Light Design in a Musical: B. Keith Ryder
• Outstanding Music Direction: John-Michael d’Haviland
• Outstanding Musical
• Outstanding Properties in a Musical: Avery Burns
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical: Lindsey Hays
• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: Russell Kopp
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical: Keith Bell

Promises, Promises

• Outstanding Cameo in a Musical: Karen Batra as “Marge MacDougall”

Castaways Repertory Theatre

1 production received 2 nominations

The Taming of the Shrew

• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play: Sheila Hyman & Shemika Berry
• Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography: Kevin Robertson

Colonial Players

4 productions received 15 nominations total

Chapter Two

• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play: Jo Sullivan as “Jennie Malone”
• Outstanding Light Design in a Play: Frank Florentine & Shirley Panek
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Play: Edd Miller

Cinderella Waltz

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play: Beth Terranova
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Monica Garcia as “Mother McGee”
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play: Dann Alagna as “Zed”

Going to St. Ives

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play: Beth Terranova
• Outstanding Direction of a Play: Edd Miller
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play: Gina Quaye
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play: Lolita-Marie as “May N’Kame”
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play: Heather Quinn as “Dr. Cora Gage”
• Outstanding Play

Moonlight and Magnolias

• Outstanding Direction of a Play: Ron Giddings
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: Kevin Wallace as “Victor Fleming”
• Outstanding Play

Damascus Theatre Company

2 productions received 6 nominations total

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

• Outstanding Cameo in a Musical: Chrissy Barnett Miller as “Jolene Oakes”
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Gabriel T. Potter as “Freddy Benson”

Meet Me in St. Louis

• Outstanding Properties in a Musical: Maria Littlefield
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Jim Korte & Bill Rippey
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical: Maria Littlefield
• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: Bill Brown & Chad Wheeler

Dominion Stage

2 productions received 8 nominations total

Dreamgirls

• Outstanding Choreography: Richelle “Rikki” Howie
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Malcolm Lee as “Jimmy Early”
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Malca Giblin
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Shawnee Louise Coleman-Lining as “Effie Melody White”
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Larissa Norris
• Outstanding Music Direction: John-Michael d’Haviland
• Outstanding Musical

Spring Awakening

• Outstanding Music Direction: John-Michael d’Haviland

Elden Street Players

4 productions received 10 nominations total

Clean House

• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Lorraine Magee as “Virginia”

Flowers for Algernon

• Outstanding Cameo in a Play: Stuart Orloff as “Teen Charlie”
• Outstanding Direction of a Play: Gloria DuGan
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play: Arthur Rodger
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play: Matt Baughman as “Charlie Gordon”
• Outstanding Play
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Play: Stan Harris

Glengary Glen Ross

• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: Chuck Dluhy as “Roma”
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: Michael Kharfen as “Levene”

Rooms, A Rock Romance

• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: James Villarubia

Fauquier Community Theatre

3 productions received 13 nominations total

Into the Woods

• Outstanding Choreography: Martha Lynch
• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Susan Noe & Martha Lynch
• Outstanding Light Design in a Musical: Tim Kirk
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Tim Kirk & Rebecca Carver
• Outstanding Properties in a Musical: Richard Perryman et al
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Tim Kirk & Kirk Noe
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical: Tim Kirk
• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: Tim Kirk & Martha Lynch
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical: Nancy Daugherty et al
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical: Tim Kirk
• Outstanding Special Effects: Tim Kirk

The Man Who Came to Dinner

• Outstanding Cameo in a Play: Bob Burnett as “Beverly Carlton”

The Music Man

• Outstanding Choreography: Corinne Shumaker

Greenbelt Arts Center

2 productions received 2 nominations total

Frost/Nixon

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play: Sandy Irving as “Richard Nixon”

Pippin

• Outstanding Cameo in a Musical: Erica Drezek as “Berthe”

Kensington Arts Theatre

3 productions received 18 nominations total

Night of the Living Dead, The Musical

• Outstanding Light Design in a Musical: Kevin Boyce
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical: Matt Rowe
• Outstanding Special Effects: John Decker & Kevin Boyce

Rooms, A Rock Romance

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Eric Jones as “Ian”
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Madeline Botteri as “Monica”

Sunday in the Park with George

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Eleanor Dicks
• Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Craig Pettinati
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Malca Giblin
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Ryan Burke as “Georges/George”
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Farrell Parker as “Dot/Marie”
• Outstanding Light Design in a Musical: Ben Levine
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Eric Jones
• Outstanding Music Direction: David Rohde
• Outstanding Musical
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Matt Karner & Joel Richon
• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: Matt Karner
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical: Kevin Garrett
• Outstanding Special Effects: Jordan Rose & Doe B. Kim

Laurel Mill Playhouse

2 productions received 2 nominations total

Ragtime

• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Stephen Deininger as “Tateh”

The Hollow

• Outstanding Cameo in a Play: Carleigh Jones as “Doris”

Little Theatre Of Alexandria

5 productions received 15 nominations total

All the King’s Women

• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play: Robin Parker & Hannah Wolf

Cantorial

• Outstanding Light Design in a Play: Ken & Patti Crowley
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Play: Janice Rivera

Heaven Can Wait

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play: Jean Schlichting & Kit Sibley
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: John Shackelford as “Max Levene”
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play: Chanukan Jane Lilburne
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: John Downing
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play: John Downing
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Play: Mary Hutzler

Sweeney Todd

• Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Kristina Friedgen
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Jennifer Lyons Pagnard as “Mrs. Lovett”
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Kristina Friedgen

Witness for the Prosecution

• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play: Bette Williams
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: John Downing
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play: John Downing

Mclean Community Players

2 productions received 7 nominations total

Deathtrap

• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Lois A. Stanziani as “Helga ten Dorp”
• Outstanding Light Design in a Play: Bob Zeigler
• Outstanding Properties in a Play: Emily Besuden, Jerry Gideon, Dick La Porte
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: Bernie Gmiter, Bob Schroth, Bill Glikbarg
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Play: Dinnie Whitson, Cathy Farnsworth, Christine Whitson
• Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography: Carl Brandt Long

Man of La Mancha

• Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography: Carl Brandt Long

Port City Playhouse

2 productions received 2 nominations total

Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me

• Outstanding Set Painting in a Play: Erin Cumbo, et al

The Dixie Swim Club

• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Gayle Nichols-Grimes as “Vernadette Simms”

Port Tobacco Players

3 productions received 17 nominations total

The Sound of Music

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Pat Brennan
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Amy Dolan as “The Mother Abbess”
• Outstanding Light Design in a Musical: Tommy Scott
• Outstanding Musical
• Outstanding Properties in a Musical: Terri Fortney-Beinert
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Ryan Mudd
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical: Sheila Draper
• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: John Merritt, Ryan Mudd, Ben Simpson
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical: Jill Hanger, Rhonna Johnson, Betsy Stevens

The Wizard of Oz

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Pat Brennan
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Heather Bauer & Kaitelyn Bauer
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Joe Stine & John Merritt
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical: Ronna Johnson
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical: Ronna Johnson
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical: Gerhard Straub
• Outstanding Special Effects: Keith Linville, Joe Stine, John Merritt

To Kill A Mockingbird

• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: John Merritt

Prince William Little Theatre

1 production received 1 nomination

Red Scare on Sunset

• Outstanding Cameo in a Play: Katherine Bisulca as “Sales Girl”

Providence Players

3 productions received 19 nominations total

Side Man

• Outstanding Direction of a Play: Jimmy Gertzog
• Outstanding Light Design in a Play: Chip Gertzog
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play: Beth Harrison
• Outstanding Play
• Outstanding Properties in a Play: Susan Kaplan
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: Chip Gertzog et al
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Play: Kathy White
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play: Raedun Knutsen & Chip Gertzog
• Outstanding Set Painting in a Play: Chip Gertzog
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Play: Jimmy Gertzog & Chip Gertzog

Sleuth

• Outstanding Properties in a Play: Robbie Snow et al

You Can’t Take it With You

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play: Robbie Snow
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play: Beth Harrison
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play: Beth Harrison
• Outstanding Properties in a Play: Chip Gertzog
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: John Coscia
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Play: Lisa Church & Chip Gertzog
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play: John Coscia
• Outstanding Special Effects: Chip Gertzog

Reston Community Players

3 productions received 15 nominations total

August Osage County

• Outstanding Cameo in a Play: Mark Yeager as “Beverly Weston”
• Outstanding Direction of a Play: Andrew JM Regiec
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Gayle Nichols-Grimes as “Mattie Fae Aiken”
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play: Lee Slivka as “Barbara Fordham”
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play: Mary Suib as “Violet Weston”
• Outstanding Light Design in a Play: Ken & Patti Crowley
• Outstanding Play
• Outstanding Properties in a Play: Mary Jo Ford & Alexandra lee
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: Timothy Hinton & David Johnson
• Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography: Steve Lada

Legally Blonde

• Outstanding Cameo in a Musical: Joseph Aquilina as “Kyle”
• Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Joshua Redford
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Molly Hicks Larson as “Paulette Buonofuonte”

Lend Me A Tenor

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play: Ryan Manning as “Max Levene”
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play: Sue Pinkman

Rockville Little Theatre

2 productions received 3 nominations total

Frozen

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play: Phil Hosford as “Ralph Wantage”

The Little Foxes

• Outstanding Cameo in a Play: Yvonne Paretzky as “Addie”
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: Stuart Rick as “Benjamin Hubbard”

Rockville Musical Theatre

1 production received 1 nomination

A Chorus Line

• Outstanding Choreography: Vincent Musgrave

Silver Spring Stage

3 productions received 5 nominations total

Beauty Queen of Leenane

• Outstanding Sound Design in a Play: Jamie Coupar

Enchanted April

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play: Patricia Kratzer et al
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Shelley Rochester as “Costanza”
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play: Laurie T. Freed & Cast

Stop Kiss

• Outstanding Cameo in a Play: Shelley Rochester as “Mrs. Winsley”

Taking Flight Theatre Company

1 production received 2 nominations

Equus

• Outstanding Sound Design in a Play: Chris Alpiar
• Outstanding Stage Combat Choreography: Steve Lada

Tantallon Community Theatre

2 productions received 9 nominations total

Guys and Dolls

• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Stephen Yednock as “Nicely-Nicely Johnson”

The Color Purple

• Outstanding Cameo in a Musical: Brenda Parker as “Church Soloist”
• Outstanding Choreography: Taurean Maray Barber
• Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Charla Rowe
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Shanice Jones as “Sofia”
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Shemika Berry
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Andrea Gerald as “Cellie”
• Outstanding Music Direction: LaVar Betts
• Outstanding Musical

Ranking with the Minimata, Japan, mercury pollution disaster and the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, the story of the “radium girls” of the 1920s and 1930s remains one of the 20th century’s most shocking, and saddest, examples of corporate mass homicide. The Radium Dial Company hired thousands of young women, many in their teens, to paint luminous clock and watch face numbers with highly radioactive radium paint. The company, despite knowing the dangers, continued for many years to encourage workers to dip the paint brushes in their mouths to hone their points, resulting in horrific, fatal cancers and other diseases. The subject of widespread, sensational newspaper coverage (much of it, especially in the New York area, favorable to the workers and excoriating the company), the scandal became a powerful, long-lasting, part of popular culture. I first heard about it as a child from my mother, who had read the coverage as a young woman not far removed in age from many of the victims.

These Shining Lives, now in production at Silver Spring Stage, seeks to convey a deeply emotional understanding of the experience of the women involved, focusing on four friends at the company’s Ottawa, Illinois, plant. The play’s structure is something of a mashup: playwright Melanie Marnich seemingly was uncertain whether she was writing a portrait of a happy marriage facing tragedy, a female bonding story, a docudrama, or a polemic against corporate evil. The play’s scenes swing back and forth among these elements, creating an inconsistent tone and a choppy, sometimes plodding, pace.

That said, the quality of the acting in the Silver Spring production is uniformly high. As the central character, Catherine Donohue, Caitlyn Conley convincingly portrays her transitions from a radiant young wife, excited to have the chance to earn money at the best-paying business in town; to a loyal friend to her co-workers; to a worried woman who sees her health deteriorating for reasons she can’t understand; and finally to a woman who knows she is dying yet who has the courage to fight against the company that harmed her and her friends. Save one scene in which the script impels her to serious scenery-chewing in anguished response to her children’s offstage voices, Conley’s emotional tone is spot-on throughout her character’s journey.

Conley and David Dieudonne, as her husband, Tom, paint a persuasive picture of a couple deeply in love, dealing first with the strains of a woman working outside the home, in an era when that was uncommon, and then with Catherine’s fatal illness. Though Marnich’s writing for Tom waxes a bit over-lyrical at times (based on contemporary newspaper clippings, the historical Tom Donohue was considerably more plain-spoken), the way Catherine and Tom interact, in tender moments and in quarrels, sounds like a marriage. The two actors’ timing in their scenes together is impeccable.

There is also excellent ensemble work among Conley and her three friends: feisty, mouthy Charlotte (Toni Carmine); jokester Pearl (Anette Kalicki), and moralistic but kindly Frances (Harlene Leahy). They believably portray the women’s joy in comradeship as well as determination in the face of illness and death. Their nemesis is production line supervisor Rufus Reed (Bob Scott). Despite some decent instincts, the mendacity and cowardice of Scott’s organization man character make him the main target of the women’s – and the playwright’s – ire. It is curious that Marnich chose to make this middle-management type the primary villain of the piece, given that the company’s far more culpable owner, Joseph Kelly, who ran similar operations in New Jersey and other states with similarly dire results for his workers, gets off with scarcely a mention.

Jonathan Dyer, in a fine utility infielder turn as three different doctors, a radio announcer, and a judge, and Seth Ghitelman (also the show’s producer), as the women’s lawyer, round out the cast. The short scene in which Dyer, as the only doctor who will tell the women the truth, informs them of their fate, is the evening’s most dramatically gripping moment.

The production begins – or perhaps, better, doesn’t begin – with a nearly six-minute playing of k.d. lang’s version of “All I Need is the Air I Breathe” to an empty stage. Sweet song, but the play really doesn’t need an overture. (I found myself looking at the illuminated dial on my watch, wondering when we would get to see an actor.) The remainder of the sound design (by Mike House and Jamie Coupar), featuring heartbeats and lakeshore sounds, is effective. Peter Caress’s lighting design makes particularly nice use of blue lights for situations involving the characters’ exposure to the effects of radium. In addition to work benches and other small set dressing pieces, director Bob Benn’s functional set design consists of a series of white panels across the back of the stage, two portions of which open up to become part of the Donohue’s house and various offices, respectively. Given the prominence of the discussion of time in script, the house set ironically includes a stopped clock: it is always 6:48 at the Donohues’.

Catherine Donohue’s story and that of the radium industry in Ottawa are even more macabre than shown in These Shining Lives. Carole Langer’s 1987 documentary film Radium City notes that after the Radium Dial Company closed in the 1930s, Joseph Kelly almost immediately resumed production with a company called Luminous Processes Inc., which continued operations into the 1970s, still employing large numbers of young women. The factory was ultimately torn down, its radioactive debris scattered around the area, which became a nest of Superfund sites. As for Donahue, her remains were exhumed by the Argonne National Laboratory some four decades after her death for a study of the effects of radiation. The remains still had a radium concentration 1000 times the estimated safe dose.

Director’s Note

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” – Elie Wiesel

One day in 1931, while standing on the shore of Lake Michigan with her friends, Catherine Wolfe Donohue says :…the thing I’m afraid of …is being invisible. Disappearing. Without anyone knowing the truth. That just seems …wrong.”

So, in honor of the life and all too untimely death of Catherine, we are here, today, in witness of what she and her friends – her colleagues at Radium Dial Company – went through, so that we would know the truth about what happened to her and hundreds of other young women in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Illinois.

As a result of the research into the illnesses of these women, the people involved in the Manhattan Project were better protected from the toxic elements they were working with. The government program that was set up for the Manhattan Project eventually became what we now know of as OSHA – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration – an organization whose work is far too timely and has a lasting legacy – as recent events continue to prove, locally and beyond.

Photo Gallery

Caitlyn Conley (Catherine Donohue)	David Dieudonne (Tom Donohue), Caitlyn Conley (Catherine Donohue)
Harlene Leahy (Frances O’Connell), Caitlyn Conley (Catherine Donohue), Toni Carmine (Charlotte Purcell), Annette Kalicki (Pearl Payne)	Jonathan Dyer (Doctor), Caitlyn Conley (Catherine Donohue)
Caitlyn Conley (Catherine Donohue), Bob Scott (Rufus Reed), Toni Carmine (Charlotte Purcell)

Photos by Harvey Levine

Cast

• Catherine Wolfe Donohue: Caitlyn Conley
• Tom Donohue: David Dieudonne
• Charlotte Purcell (and Reporter, Jingle Singer: Toni Carmine
• Rufus Reed: Bob Scott
• Pearl Payne: Annette Kalicki
• Frances O’Connell (and Reporter, Jingle Singer): Harlene Leahy
• Dr. Rowntree, Dr. Dalitsch, Company Doctor, Radio Announcer, Judge: Jonathan Dyer
• Leonard Grossman: Seth Ghitelman
• Children’s voices: Ian Murray & Kelsey Murray

Production Staff

• Producer: Seth Ghitelman
• Director: Bob Benn
• Stage Manager: Jerry Schuchman
• Set Designer: Bob Benn
• Lighting Designer: Peter Caress
• Lighting Assistant: Don Slater
• Sound Designers: Mike House, Jamie Coupar
• Board Operators: Patrique Beard, Jamie Coupar, Brenda Ryan, Fred Williams
• Costume Designer: Harlene Leahy
• Master Carpenter: Pan Stolarz
• Scenic Painting: Bob Benn
• Set Construction and Painting Assistants: Steve Ammidown, Bob Benn, Caitlyn Conley, Seth Ghitelman, Harlene Leahy, Bob Scott, Mary Seng, Bob Thompson, Peter Wuttke
• Set Decoration & Dressing: Sonya Okin
• Porperties: Sonya Okin
• Hair Design: the Cast
• Artistic Liaison: Leta Hall
• Playbill Cover Design: Craig Allen Mummey
• Playbill: Leta Hall
• Subscription Brochure: Craig Allen Mummey
• Hospitality: Kathie Mack

Disclaimer: Silver Spring Stage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

In pair of episodes from The West Wing (“In the Shadow of Two Gunmen” Parts 1 and 2), flashbacks tell the story of then-candidate Jed Bartlett’s primary campaign for the Democratic nomination, during which — despite various mishaps — the candidate’s staff members bond and coalesce into the effective unit that ultimately runs the fictional White House. One might look at Beau Willimon’s Farragut North as the dark side of The West Wing, in which a Democratic presidential candidate’s staff implodes amidst multiple breaches of trust. Silver Spring Stage provides a strongly acted and well-paced view of the destruction.

The plot unfolds through a series of seductions and betrayals. Hot-shot press secretary Stephen Bellamy (Jonathan Feuer) regales his boss, Paul Zara (Bill Hurlburt), New York Times reporter Ida Horowitz (Leta Hall), and Ben, a lowly intern (Omar Latiri), with his story of how he seduced Horowitz into writing a favorable story. Sexually adventurous young intern Molly (Janey Robideau) then literally seduces Bellamy, landing in his bed for the night (Monica Lewinsky should have looked this good). Tom Duffy (Mario Font), the campaign manager for the opposing candidate, then attempts to seduce Bellamy into switching sides. A major weakness of the script is that the secret election dirty tricks scheme that Duffy uses to convince Bellamy that Bellamy’s candidate will lose is far too complex, involving far too many people, to have any hope of succeeding in a political atmosphere in which, as the rest of the play makes clear, nothing remains secret for long.

The acting is uniformly good, with Font carrying home top honors for his fully believable, detailed portrayal of a James Carville-like political operator, hardened and cynical to the core, as ready to abandon as to seduce his prey. As the smart, proud, arrogant Bellamy, whose loyalty to his candidate and colleagues fights a losing battle with his ambition, Fueer pulls off the interesting acting challenge of playing a character whose “arc” is nearly straight downward. Feuer makes it possible to understand a character that no one, including the Bellamy himself, can admire.

Hurlburt’s Zara, a veteran of many campaigns, is a combination of undiminished idealism and commitment and stern insistence on loyalty and serving the candidate’s interest, a boss who it is not hard to work for but whom one should not cross. Like Duffy, Zara knows how to knife someone quietly before the victim realizes it. Hall’s Horowitz enjoys the game of mutual seduction between reporter and source, able to play others and, when necessary, willing to allow herself to be played. Her strongest moment comes when she explains to Bellamy that the symbiosis they have enjoyed should not be confused with friendship.

Bellamy consistently bullies Ben, who at first appears to submissively accept the mistreatment. LaTri’s character grows in assertiveness and confidence as the play goes on, with Ben finally seizing the opportunity provided by Bellamy’s fall to engineer his own rise. After Molly’s first appearance, where she unsubtly arranges her rendezvous with Bellamy, Robideau deepens her characterization to include an honest and caring side absent from most of the other characters.

The functional set does turns as a restaurant, a lounge, two different bedrooms, an office, and an airport concourse. The scene changes are made efficiently. Unfortunately, the sound design accompanies the changes with excessively loud drum rolls and background conversational noise. The production would have been well advised to ratchet back the decibel level. The lighting design cleanly defined playing areas (e.g., the restaurant, Duffy’s office, Bellamy at a door at the end of the play) when the entire stage was not involved in a scene. On a number of occasions, there was successful split-second timing between the lights coming up full and an actor’s delivery of the first line of a scene.

Farragut North became the basis for a 2011 movie, The Ides of March, which considerably bulked up and sensationalized the play’s plot, adding characters like the candidate himself (played by George Clooney, who also directed). While any chance to see actors like Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti (who played Zara and Duffy, respectively) is worth the effort, Farragut North is a tighter, more cohesive piece, and Silver Spring Stage’s production is a winner.

Director’s Note

A key piece of my proposal to direct Farragut North was answering the challenge of producing this show just before the presidential election, amidst an environment of extreme election fatigue. Would be DC area be exhausted. Would the DC area be exhausted with campaigning by the time the play opens? My answer: no.

Campaign teams have created a high-stakes system where they absolutely must win in order to continue to play the game. In their political game book, no trick is too dirty, no lie is too outrageous and no spin is to ingenious if it gets your candidate over the top.

The presidential election is our area’s thrill-a-minute pastime. We are caught in the throes of election fever, hungry for another fix of strategy parsing and revelations of what string-pullers do behind the curtains.

This our World Series, our Super Bowl. We form alliances, know and understand the language, and all the stats, and enjoy playing armchair campaign manager or armchair candidate. And we remain fully invested through the final moments of the game.

But foremost, this is not a story about politics. Avoiding talk of ideological issues, this story focus not on the politics, but on the human drama of risk, ambition, decision-making, and consequences. It is about morality, couched in the world of politics — a tale about loyalty, excessive lust for power and costs one will endure to achieve it. Even those bored with politics will relate to the emotional trial of someone trying to advance himself, while still trying to do the right thing. It is as much about what drives the pursuit of victory as it us about the way political machinations have eclipsed what has really at stake in our elections: us.

Bridget Muehlberger

Photo Gallery

Leta Hall (Ida Horowitz), Bill Hurlbut (Paul Zara), Jonathan Feuer (Stephen Bellamy), Omar Latiri (Ben Fowles)	Jonathan Feuer (Stephen Bellamy) and Jason Damaso (Frank)
Jonathan Feuer (Stephen Bellamy) and Janey Robideau (Molly Pearson)	Jonathan Feuer (Stephen Bellamy) and Bill Hurlbut (Paul Zara)
Jonathan Feuer (Stephen Bellamy) and Mario Font (Tom Duffy)

Photos by Harvey Levine

Cast

• Stephen Bellamy: Jonathan Feuer
• Paul Zara: Bill Hurlbut
• Ida Horowitz: Leta Hall
• Ben Fowles: Omar Latiri
• Tom Duffy: Mario Font
• Molly Pearson: Janey Robideau
• Frank/Waiter: Jason Damaso

Production Staff

• Director: Bridget Muehlberger
• Assistant Director: Amy Sullivan
• Producers: Bridget Muehlberger, Natalie McManus
• Set Designer: Joy Wyne
• Set Dresser: Nancy Davis
• Lighting Designer: Chris Curtis
• Sound Designer: Kevin Garrett
• Properties: Sonya Okin
• Costume Designer: Crystal Fergusson
• Stage Manager: Adam Simms
• Assistant Stage Manager: Jasmine Alston

Disclaimer: Silver Spring Stage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Director Chris Curtis protests, a bit too emphatically, that Diana Son’s Stop Kiss is not about homophobia, gay bashing, or the civil rights of gays and lesbians. Talk all you want about marriage equality, nondiscrimination in employment, or ending bigotry in the military and churches, or the individuality of people in love, any society in which you cannot walk down a public street holding the hand of someone you love, or even kiss him or her, without fear of harassment or being beaten within an inch of your life, is a society that needs reminding of just those things that the director (and perhaps the playwright as well) insist the play is not about.

The script is well enough written so that it is not simply an editorial about this issue. Yet absent its central violent event (as in Greek tragedy, all the more powerful and frightening for being described rather than shown), Stop Kiss would be little more than a skillfully executed, rather sweet, romantic comedy.

The two protagonists, Callie (Cara Duckworth) and Sara (Caity Brown), are 30ish New Yorkers who meet, become friends, then very tentatively and almost unawares evolve into lovers. With her flighty, nervous manner and high-pitched voice, Brown’s Sara is nevertheless the braver of the two, willing to take stands, constantly pushing Callie to move off her ambivalence and declare herself with respect to all aspects of her life. Callie chronically “swerves,” far more likely to seek a safe, if unrewarding, course and to avoid issues than confronting them. In addition to shining in several monologues, such as her description of the attack that injures Sara, Duckworth does a fine job of portraying Callie’s development, under Sara’s influence, into a more definite person who is able to answer the question of who she is.

Brown and Duckworth very believably trace their characters’ growing involvement, particularly in scenes where, rather to their surprise, they begin to be aware of one another’s bodies. Their gradually falling in love is all the more credible for their not realizing for some time that anything of the sort is happening. Their kiss at the end of the show is the best stage kiss I have seen in some time, proceeding naturally, as it does, from the deepening of their characters’ feelings for each other.

Among the supporting cast, Shelley Rochester does two nice character bits as a kindly nurse and the woman who calls the police when she sees Sara and Callie being beaten. The men in the cast are less fortunate. As George, Callie’s shallow long-term friend with benefits, and Peter, Sara’s possessive former live-in boyfriend from St. Louis, David Dieudonne and Adam Adkins are not convincing as the sort of men that either woman would have put up with for several years (though Adkins did have a strong moment when he asked Callie why Sara had been protecting her). Stephen Doughtery rounds out the cast as a detective who rather intrusively probes the facts behind the assault (I admit to wishing that Benson and Stabler had been on the case).

The play is structured in 20+ non-chronological scenes, with no intermission. The set is pretty bare bones, consisting mostly of a sofa bed, a few chairs, and a table. A better arrangement of the set pieces might have made smoother some of the fairly laborious and time-consuming scene changes performed by the actors, mostly out of costume (Adkins and Dieudonne, in particular, do yeoman service in their stagehand capacities), which interrupted the pace and flow of the action at times.

Eric Scerbo’s costumes are highly varied and do a fine job of complementing the situations and feelings of Callie and Sara through the course of the play. At times, Sara’s costuming could profitably have given the tall, thin Brown a somewhat less angular, fuller look.

By the chronological end of the action, Callie, having only begun to be Sara’s lover before the attack, has committed to care for her. The emotional and practical challenges of being a caregiver for an individual who has suffered a traumatic brain injury, and the effects on a relationship of contending with what may well be a long-term disability, are beyond the scope of the script. The strength of Stop Kiss is that one is left hoping that two characters who are worth caring about will find the resources needed for the next steps on their path.

Director’s Note

As the playwright put it: this is not a play about homophobia, gay bashing, or the civil rights of gays and lesbians in America. This is a love story.

Which is, of course, not to say that these issues are merely incidental to the play, nor — sadly — that they have lost any relevance over the last decade.

But this is a love story. It is about the moment when you realize how you really feel about someone. The moment when you take those first, tentative steps. And, when that first try goes terribly, unimaginably, horrifyingly wrong, the moment when you choose to keep fighting.

We tend to want everything in neat categories, with clear labels: lesbian, traffic reporter, victim, teacher, friend. But in the end, it’s simply two people who choose to be together.

This is a love story.

Photo Gallery

Caity Brown (Sara), Cara Duckworth (Callie)	Stephen Dougherty (Detective Cole), Cara Duckworth (Callie)
David Dieudonne (George), Cara Duckworth (Callie)	Cara Duckworth (Callie), Shelley Rochester (Mrs. Winsley)
Caity Brown (Sara), Adam Adkins (Peter)

Photos by Harvey Levine

Cast

• Callie: Cara Duckworth
• Sara: Caity Brown
• Detective Cole: Stephen Dourgherty
• Mrs. Winsley: Shelly Rochester
• George: David Dieudonne
• Peter: Adam R. Adkins
• Nurse: Shelly Rochester

Production Staff

• Producer: Lennie Magida
• Director: Chris Curtis
• Stage Manager: Mallory Harney
• Set Designer: Chris Curtis & Zeke Slovak, Jr.
• Master Carpenter: Zeke Slovak, Jr.
• Scenic Painter: Chris Curtis & Mallory Harney
• Properties & Set Dressing: Sonya Okin
• Lighting Designer: James Robertson
• Sound Designer: Kevin Garrett
• Light & Sound Board Operators: Jasmine Alston, Chris Curtis, James Robertson, Adam Simms
• Costumer: Eric Scerbo
• Make-up & Hair Design: the Cast
• Artistic Liaison: Bridget Muehlberger
• Playbill Cover Design: Craig Allen Mummey
• Hospiitality: Kathie Mack
• Opening Night Reception: Lennie Magida, Richard Ley

Disclaimer: Silver Spring Stage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Matthew Barber’s romantic comedy Enchanted April is a slight, delicate thing, requiring subtle, nuanced characterization to carry its fanciful tale of the revitalization of the spirits and relationships of a quartet of disappointed British ladies on a 1922 vacation trip to an Italian villa. For lack of consistently strong acting, Silver Spring Stage’s production never weaves the enchantment the script contemplates.

One performance is a delight, however. Patricia Kratzer is note-perfect as Mrs. Graves, an imperious elderly widow who warms to friendship and learns to live for the present and future rather than in the past. Her transition is nicely paralleled by the colors of her costumes, starting with gloomy black and ending in radiant red. The richly realized details of her performance illuminate the reasons for Mrs. Graves’ behavior as well as making clear and understandable her gradual and seamless changes as she grows.

Little else in the production reaches this level. Annette Kalicki’s portrayal of Rose Arnott, whose depression over a miscarriage has caused her to cut herself off emotionally and sexually from her husband, is unconvincingly broad. As written, Rose is a character whose objectives and tactics are continually at odds. She wants to be close to her husband again, but her choices push him away. When we cannot see the longing beneath the distancing, her “how Rose got her groove back” transition in the second act seems very abrupt. If a couple weeks’ relaxation in a warm climate can lead an alienated, angry, and religiously rigid woman to pounce on her husband in “let’s get a room” fashion immediately upon his arrival, marital therapists everywhere could start collecting their unemployment checks.

Jonathan Dyer is more believable as Rose’s husband, Frederick, a charming novelist whose reaction to his wife’s rejection is, under his pen name, to pursue Lady Caroline Bramble (Sonia Motlagh), who coincidentally turns up as another guest at the villa. Dyer’s Frederick is an almost-cad who makes a rapid switch of affections in response to his wife’s renewed attention. Only in a British story would prospective lovers like Frederick and Caroline react in such an instant, understated, and very proper way to the termination of an affair before it had begun.

The primary disappointment in the production is its central character, Lotty Wilton, who Natalie McManus overplays as a frumpy, fast-talking, arm-waving ditz. Lotty’s transition to a happier person in the second act leaves her no less given to enthusiastic excess and no less annoying than she was at the outset. Lotty and her husband, Mellersh (Eric Henry), are evidently meant for each other: in his stiffness, stuffiness, and need for control, he is every bit as irritating as she is. Henry often appears physically uncomfortable in the role. During Mellersh’s crucial near-bath experience in the second act, Henry’s lack of sang-froid and choice to hold onto his towel dampen the most striking comic moment in the show.

The British accents in the show range from perfect (Kratzer, who is in fact British) through inconsistent (McManus and Kalicki) to nonexistent (Bob Scott, an agreeably gracious host as villa owner Anthony Wilding). There are numerous lines in Italian in the script, including all those for the villa’s stock comic character cook, Costanza (Shelly Rochester). She handles the Italian competently, as do Motlagh and Scott as Brits whose characters have varying degrees of fluency.

The absence of enchantment carries over into the physical production. The first act sound design features what may be a record number of thunderstorms for London in February. Aside from some brief piano interludes, there is little sound in the second act. The most notable aspect of the Act 1 set, appropriately dingy for the mood of the act, is what appear to be large carpets or blankets draped over flats which frame furniture groupings standing in for Rose’s and Lotty’s houses and their ladies’ club. The flats are removed for Act 2 to reveal a somewhat down-at-the-heels villa, with a planting area much of which is screened from the larger bank of seats on house right. There is a mysterious blue-framed black rectangle on the villa wall, the identity or purpose of which is never made clear.

To differentiate between the cold, rainy, and emotionally bleak London of the first act and the warm, sunny, and happy Italy of the second act, the lighting design changes from blues, white and shadows to yellows. In addition to Mrs. Graves’ well-conceived costume changes, Lady Caroline’s colorful lounge wear and short hair nicely accent her more contemporary character. Frederick’s natty second-act sport coat and boater say that he, too, has welcomed the 1920s.

Having unhappy, post-World War I English men and women find renewal in 1922 Italy creates an unmentioned, and unintended, historical irony. The early 1920s were not a happy time in Italy, and 1922 was the year that Mussolini first took power. For the next English generation — including, perhaps, the child that Lotty mentions that Rose and Frederick will have the next year — landing in Italy would have a quite different meaning.

Director’s Note

Welcome to Silver Spring Stage’s production of Enchanted April.

It was 1922, post World War 1 England, when British-born Elizabeth von Arnim decided to go to Portofino, Italy. She wanted to write a happy novel and rejuvenate her life after a failed second marriage. She stayed at Castle Browne, found high atop a hill, built in the 15th century. It was there, surrounded by the sun, sea breezes, acacia trees and wisteria, she wrote the classic novel, The Enchanted April. It was not until much later that this novel was adapted for stage and screen.

Enchanted April can best be understood within the framework of World War I. The war to end all wars was brutal for England. Millions of soldiers were killed and wounded in Europe. Added to this was the sharp decline of the British Empire. Countries, conquered by Britain, began to agitate for independence. The British economy began to decline. The world’s financial center moved from London to the United States of America. Fear of inflation and an economic depression was on the rise.

The women of England were caught between traditional, Victorian values (created by the upper classes), and the realities of their everyday life. And the reality was that women were becoming restless and desired change. Women had had a taste of independence during the wartime — they became heads of households, they fought for the right to vote, they helped with the war effort, and many found employment outside of the home. Sadly, there was hardly a family that had not been tragically touched by the war. The sense of loss permeated the environment and hung morosely in every home. Women lost husbands, sons, fathers, and parts of themselves.

By the end of World War I, the invigorating sense of freedom they had once experienced was gone, Women were expected to return to their lives, and the duties they held before the war began. There was, of course, one problem — they had tasted independence and did not want to go back: they simply could not go back. The play, Enchanted April, beautifully encapsulates the yearning of four British women, of differing age and rank, who journey to Italy to recapture a world of optimism, hope, love, and self.

Photo Gallery

Natalie McManus (Lotty), Bob Scott (Wilding), Annette Kalicki (Rose)	Patricia Kratzer (Mrs. Graves), Natalie McManus (Lotty)
Sonia Motlagh (Lady Caroline), Jonathan Dyer (Frederick)

Photos by Harvey Levine

The Cast

• Lotty Wilton: Natalie McManus
• Rose Arnott: Annette Kalicki
• Mellersh Wilton: Eric Henry
• Frederick Arnott: Jonathan Dyer
• Caroline Bramble: Sonia Motlagh
• Mrs. Graves: Patricia Kratzer
• Antony Wilding: Bob Scott
• Costanza: Shelley Rochester

Production Staff

• Producers: Pauline Griller-Mitchell & Jerry Schuchman
• Director: Laurie T. Freed
• Assistant Director: Lennie Magida
• Stage Manager: Ann-Lisa Okoye
• Set Designer: Anna Britton
• Master Carpenter: Erick Henry
• Scenic Painter: Anna Britton
• Construction & Painting Assistants: Ken Ambrose, Anna Britton, Lois Britton, Jonathan Dyer, Laurie Freed, Natalie McManus, Anna-Lisa Okoye, Jim Robertson, Jerry Schuchman, Bob Scott
• Properties: Nancy Eynon Lark
• Set Dressing: Anna Britton & Lois Britton
• Lighting Designer: Peter Caress
• Sound Designer: Nick Sampson
• Light & Sound Board Operators: Peter Caress, Nick Sampson, Jerry Schuchman
• Costumers: Patricia Kratzer, Kathie Mack, Anna-Lisa Okoye, Joan Roseboom
• Make-up & Hair Design: Laurie T. Freed & the Cast
• Artistic Liaison: Leta Hall
• Playbill Cover Design: Craig Allen Mummey
• Playbill: Leta Hall
• Subscription Brochure: Craig Allen Mummey
• Hospitality: Kathie Mack
• Opening Night Reception: Lennie Magida & Jerry Schuchman

Disclaimer: Silver Spring Stage provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.