Photo by Ned Averill-Snell
"Murder On The Orient Express" took home three of Stageworks Theatre's eight Tampa Bay Theatre awards.
The biggest winner was Stageworks Theatre with eight awards for three different productions, including four for “12 Angry Men,” which nabbed the Anna Brennen Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, newly named for the late Stageworks founder.
A real life couple, Nicole Jeanine Smith and Giles Davies, snagged the top acting honors for two different plays at Jobsite, but were not able to be present because they’re both working on the recently opened “Dracula.”
The Straz Center’s locally produced production of “Crowns” nabbed three awards including Outstanding Musical while “Nunsense A-Men “pulled down Outstanding Actor and Featured Actor in a Musical for Matthew McGee and JS McLaughlin, respectively.
The surprise of the evening was when the envelope was opened for Outstanding Director, Play.
“It's complicated,” read presenter Clayton Christopher. By just a whisker, the Outstanding Director is the late Patrick Brafford for “Boing, Boing” at the Early Bird Dinner Theater. Mr. Christopher held up his hand to silence the crowd and continued, “However . . . in an effort to recognize outstanding living artists, by just a few hundredths of a point . . . we have an unprecedented three way tie! Please join us in congratulating: Clareann Despain, Karla Hartley, and Rosemary Orlando”
The judges' scores are numeric and Patrick had the highest score. In an effort to recognize our living artists we decided to award the runner up as well,” Kim Rosenthal, President of Theatre Tampa Bay, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “The scores for Clareann, Karla and Rosemary were all within a few hundredths of a point so our judging team decided to acknowledge all 3 of them for Outstanding Direction of a Play.”
Special awards were also given to Powerstories Theatre, Naomi Randolph, and retiring Board President, Kimberly Rosenthal. The complete list of awards follows:
Outstanding Scenic Design Of A Play Or Musical
Frank Chavez, 12 Angry Men, Stageworks Theatre
Outstanding Costume Design Of A Play Or Musical
Saidah Ben Judah, Crowns, Straz Center
Outstanding Lighting Design Of A Play Or Musical
Joseph P. Oshrey, Gianni Schicchi/ Cavalleria Rusticana, Opera Tampa
Outstanding Sound Design Of A Play Or Musical
Jeremy Douglass, The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui, Jobsite Theater
Outstanding Direction Of A Play
Patrick Brafford (Deceased), Boeing-Boeing, Early Bird Dinner Theater
Three Way Tie:
Clareann Despain, Murder On The Orient Express, Stageworks Theatre
Karla Hartley, The Diary Of Anne Frank, Stageworks Theatre
Rosemary Orlando, 12 Angry Men, Stageworks Theatre
Outstanding Direction Of A Musical
Melissa Misener, The Pirates Of Penzance, Opera Tampa
Outstanding Choreography
Casey Hicks, Pirates Of Penzance, Opera Tampa
Outstanding Fight Direction
Giles Davies, The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui, Jobsite Theater
Outstanding Musical Direction
Latoya Mccormick, Crowns, Straz Center
Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Featured Role In A Play
Tr Butler, Murder On The Orient Express, Stageworks Theatre
Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Featured Role In A Play
Susan Haldeman, Murder On The Orient Express, Stageworks Theatre
Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Featured Role In A Musical
Js Mclaughlin, Nunsense: A-Men!, Straz Center
Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Featured Role In A Musical
Allison Deady, Cavalleria Rusticana, Opera Tampa
Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role In A Play
Giles Davies, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Jobsite Theater
Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role In A Play
Nicole Jeanine Smith, Animals Out Of Paper, Jobsite Theater
Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role In A Musical
Matthew Mcgee, Nunsense: A-Men!, Straz Center
Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role In A Musical
Kelly Curtin, La Fille Du Regiment, St. Pete Opera
Outstanding Performance By The Ensemble Of A Play
12 Angry Men, Stageworks Theatre
Outstanding Performance By The Ensemble Of A Musical
Nunsense: A-Men!, Straz Center
Outstanding Production Of A Musical
Crowns, Straz Center
Anna Brennen Award For Outstanding Production Of A Play
12 Angry Men, Stageworks Theatre
