THE NORTIE NOMINATIONS ARE IN!! CONGRATULATIONS ONE AND ALL!!

As president of The Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA) I am happy to announce two dozen nominations of outstanding productions, actors, directors, designers and ensembles, with winners to be revealed at the 36th Annual Elliot Norton Awards on Monday, May 21, 2018 at 7 PM, at the Huntington Avenue Theatre.

Tickets are priced at $35.00; savvy shoppers will take advantage of $10 off the regular ticket price (available through May 11), using the code NORTIES10. Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 20 at the Boston Theatre Scene Box Office, at www.bostontheatrescene.com or by calling (617) 933-8600.

2018 Elliot Norton Prize Winner for Sustained Excellence

This year’s recipient of the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence is Leigh Barrett who has sustained Boston theater audiences with her expressive musical theater performances, vocal range, and versatility for decades. A Special Citation will be awarded to Robert J. Eagle, to honor his 50 years at Reagle Music Theatre in Waltham

The 36th annual Elliot Norton Awards celebrates the Boston area’s theater community, future artists, and the importance of the arts in our country. The ceremony will feature musical performances by nominees and students from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the awarding of The Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence and a post-ceremony party. Supported by a matching grant from Broadway In Boston, a portion of the evening’s proceeds will be donated to the musical theater program of Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

 

As president of the BTCA, I’ve been thinking about what a tumultuous year this has been, socially and politically. Time’s Up! #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, students marching for their lives– people are finding their voices, challenging the status quo and fueling change. Our theater community is on the cutting edge, channeling these voices, igniting dialogue with provocative casting and staging, creating world premieres, putting fresh eyes on the classics, and importing voices from around the globe. Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winners are among us, evidence of the caliber and reach of our work.

Once again, our nominees will perform their hearts out onstage as they do every night all around the city, keeping it real in an era of fake news, highlighting the importance of art and artists in expressing the truth of our humanity. Supported by a matching grant from Broadway In Boston, we are awarding a portion of our proceeds to support the next generation of artists. This year’s recipient is the musical theater program of Boston Conservatory at Berklee, whose students will take the stage along with our professional performers! Get ready for terrific musical performances from our nominees and a fabulous after party in Huntington Theatre Company’s Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley Studio 210!

The 2018 awards are presented with the support of Huntington Theatre Company, and The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center is sponsoring the 36th Anniversary reception after the ceremony.

The Elliot Norton Awards are presented annually by The Boston Theater Critics Association (Don Aucoin, Jared Bowen, Terry Byrne, Carolyn Clay, Iris Fanger, Jeremy D. Goodwin, Joyce Kulhawik, Kilian Melloy, Bob Nesti, and Ed Siegel) to honor the outstanding productions, directors, designers, and performers that audiences have seen on greater Boston stages throughout the year.

The Elliot Norton Awards are name for the eminent Boston Theater critic Elliot Norton, who remained an active supporter of drama, both locally and nationally, until his death in 2003 at the age of 100. The Boston Theater community carries on his legacy and can be proud of its remarkable growth at a time in our nation’s history when the arts are struggling to survive.

Special and honored guests at the awards in past years comprise a Who’s Who of distinguished artists who have graced Boston’s stages, including: Cherry Jones, Lea DeLaria, Mary Louise Wilson, Olympia Dukakis, Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, Al Pacino, Edward Albee, Brian Dennehy, August Wilson, Julie Harris, Sir Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave, and Jason Robards.

 

Boston Theater Critics Association 36th Annual Elliot Norton Awards

 Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence

Leigh Barrett

The 2018 Elliot Norton Award nominees

The awards for outstanding visiting production, actor and actress will be announced shortly.

Outstanding Production, Large Theater

Beckett in Brief (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company)

A Guide for the Homesick (Huntington Theatre Company)

Skeleton Crew (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Production, Midsize Theater

Constellations (Underground Railway Theater)

Ideation (New Repertory Theatre/Boston Center for American Performance)

Shakespeare in Love (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

Outstanding Production, Small Theater

Elemeno Pea (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre)

Hype Man: a break beat play (Company One Theatre)

The 39 Steps (Moonbox Productions)

Outstanding Production, Fringe Theater

A Dead Man’s Diary: A Theatrical Novel (Arlekin Players Theatre)

Or, (Maiden Phoenix and Simple Machine)

3/Fifths’ Trapped in a Traveling Minstrel Show (Sleeping Weazel)

Outstanding Musical Production

Merrily We Roll Along, Huntington Theatre Company

Arrabal, American Repertory Theater

In the Heights, Wheelock Family Theatre

 Outstanding Design, Large Theater

Arrabal (American Repertory Theater) Scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, costumes by Clint Ramos, lighting by Vincent Colbert, sound by Peter McBoyle, projections by Peter Nigrini, wig and make-up design by Rachel Padula

Home (ArtsEmerson) Scenic design by Steven Dufala, costumes by Karen Young, lighting by Christopher Kuhl, sound by Brandon Wolcott, illusions by Steve Cuiffo

The Humans (Boch Center Shubert Theatre) Scenic design by David Zinn, costumes by Sarah Laux, lighting by Justin Townsend, sound by Fitz Patton

Outstanding Design, Midsize, Small or Fringe Theater

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (SpeakEasy Stage Company) Scenic design by Christopher and Justin Swader, costumes by Gail Astrid Buckley, lighting by Jeff Adelberg, sound by David Remedios, props by Joe Stallone

A Dead Man’s Diary: A Theatrical Novel (Arlekin Players Theatre) Stage design by Nikolay Simonov, lighting by Stephen Petrelli, composer Jakov Jakoulov, video by Svetlana Vakhutinsky and Aleksey Shemyatovsky

In the Heights (Wheelock Family Theatre) Set design by Jenna McFarland Lord, costumes by Marian Bertone, lighting by Franklin Meissner Jr., sound by Andrew Duncan Will, props by Matthew T. Lazure

Outstanding Actor, Large Theater

McKinley Belcher III, A Guide for the Homesick (Huntington Theatre Company)

Brett Gelman, Tartuffe (Huntington Theatre Company)

Will Lyman, Beckett in Brief (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company)

Outstanding Actress, Large Theater

Nancy E. Carroll, Ripcord (Huntington Theatre Company)

Toccarra Cash, Skeleton Crew (Huntington Theatre Company)

Gracyn Mix, Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company)

Outstanding Actor, Midsize Theater

Barlow Adamson, Paradise (Underground Railway Theater)

Jacob Athyal, Guards at the Taj (Underground Railway Theater)

Richard Snee, Exit the King (Actors’ Shakespeare Project)

 Outstanding Actress, Midsize Theater

Marianna Bassham, Constellations (Underground Railway Theater) and Julius Caesar (Actors’ Shakespeare Project)

Caitlin Nasema Cassidy, Paradise (Underground Railway Theater)

Bobbie Steinbach, Julius Caesar (Actors’ Shakespeare Project)

Outstanding Actor, Small or Fringe Theater

Barlow Adamson, Elemeno Pea (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre)

Michael Poignand, Or, (Maiden Phoenix and Simple Machine)

Brooks Reeves, Three Sisters (Apollinaire Theatre Company)

Outstanding Actress, Small or Fringe Theater

Aina Adler, Faceless (Zeitgeist Stage Company)

Kaylyn Bancroft, Or, (Maiden Phoenix and Simple Machine)

Lindsay Eagle, Fat Pig (Flat Earth Theatre)

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actor

Will McGarrahan, Souvenir (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

Diego Klock-Perez, In the Heights (Wheelock Family Theatre)

Mark Umbers, Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress

Leigh Barrett, Souvenir (Lyric Stage Company of Boston) and Gypsy (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

Aimee Doherty, Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Company)

Eden Espinosa, Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Director, Large Theater

Lee Sunday Evans, Home (ArtsEmerson)

Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Company)

Sergio Trujillo, Arrabal (American Repertory Theater)

Outstanding Director, Midsize Theater

Rachel Bertone, In the Heights (Wheelock Family Theatre) and Gypsy (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

Scott Edmiston, Constellations (Underground Railway Theater) and Shakespeare in Love (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

Summer L. Williams, Barbecue (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

Outstanding Director, Small or Fringe Theater

Allison Olivia Choat, The 39 Steps (Moonbox Productions)

Shawn LaCount, Hype Man: a break beat play (Company One Theatre)

Mark Rayment, 3/Fifths’ Trapped in a Traveling Minstrel Show (Sleeping Weazel)

Outstanding New Script

Laura Maria Censabella, Paradise (Underground Railway Theater)

Idris Goodwin, Hype Man: a break beat play (Company One Theatre)

Ken Urban, A Guide for the Homesick (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Solo Performance

Keith Hamilton Cobb, American Moor (O.W.I. Bureau of Theatre and Phoenix Theatre Ensemble)

Debra Wise, Homebody (Underground Railway Theater)

Haneefah Wood, Bad Dates (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Musical Direction

Kadahj Bennett, Hype Man: a break beat play (Company One Theatre)

David Reiffel, Man of La Mancha (New Repertory Theatre) and Shakespeare in Love (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

Matthew Stern, Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Ensemble

Hype Man: a break beat play (Company One Theatre)

In the Heights (Wheelock Family Theatre)

Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Company)