InterAct Theatre Company’s world premieres of Christopher Chen’s Caught and Jen Silverman’s The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane are among the plays garnering multiple 2015 Barrymore Award nominations this year.
Justin Jain and Bi Jean Ngo star in Christopher Chen’s superb new comedy, CAUGHT at InterAct. (Photo courtesy of Kate Raines/Plate3Photography)
Rick Shiomi. Photo by Lia Chang
Chen’s Caught is up for five 2015 Barrymore Awards including Outstanding Overall Production of a Play, Outstanding Direction of Play for 2015 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award winner Rick Shiomi, Outstanding Scenic Design (Melpomene Katakalos) the Independence Foundation Award for Outstanding New Play and the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist for actress Bi Jean Ngo.
Jen Silverman’s The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane has received eight nominations in the categories of Outstanding Overall Production of a Play, Outstanding Direction of a Play (Pirronne Yousefzadeh), Outstanding Lead Actress (Aimé Donna Kelly), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play (Lynette Freeman), Clear Sound Award for Outstanding Sound Design (Daniel Perelstein), Outstanding Original Music (Daniel Perelstein), the Independence Foundation Award for Outstanding New Play, and the Virginia Brown Martin Philadelphia Award.
Aimé Donna Kelly (left) and Lynnette R. Freeman in InterAct Theatre Company’s world-premiere production of ‘The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane,’ a play it commissioned. (Photo courtesy of Kate Raines/Plate3Photography)
During the 2014/15 theatre season, an all-volunteer team of dedicated artists, critics, and scholars saw over 100 professional productions featuring the work of more than 550 artists throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
The awards ceremony, celebrating the best of Philadelphia theatre, is on Monday, November 2 at 7pm at the Merriam Theater, 250 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102. More than 140 nominees will be celebrated and and this year’s award recipients in 26 categories will be announced, receiving cash prizes totaling $68,000. The Awards Ceremony is followed by an After-Party featuring cash bar with two complimentary drinks, hors d’oeuvres by 12th Street Catering. Tickets can be purchased here.
The Barrymore Awards have served as Philadelphia’s professional theatre awards program since 1994, recognizing artists for excellence and innovation while increasing public awareness of the richness and diversity of our city’s thriving theatre community. The Barrymore Awards are a nationally recognized symbol of excellence for professional theatre in our region, raising the bar for the work produced by local theatres and individual artists while generating coverage in local and national media. The Barrymore Awards also include cash awards that strengthen companies and individual artists’ abilities to pursue artistic work of the highest caliber. Theatre Philadelphia seeks to leverage the Barrymore Awards to provide high-value marketing exposure for all participating theatres and artists.
Congrats to all of the nominees.
Outstanding Overall Production of a Play
Caught (InterAct Theatre Company)
The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane (InterAct Theatre Company)
In the Blood (Theatre Horizon)
Rapture, Blister, Burn (The Wilma Theater)
To The Moon (1812 Productions)
The Whale (Theatre Exile)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Theatre Exile)
Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical
Field Hockey Hot (11th Hour Theatre Company)
Herringbone (Flashpoint Theatre Company)
Into the Woods (Theatre Horizon)
Ragtime (Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Outstanding Direction of a Play
Joe Canuso (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)
Matt Pfeiffer (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
Matt Pfeiffer (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
Joanna Settle (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
Rick Shiomi (Caught, InterAct Theatre Company)
Pirronne Yousefzadeh (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
Pirronne Yousefzadeh (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)
Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Keith Baker (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Matthew Decker (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Bill Fennelly (Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
Megan Nicole O’Brien (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play
Pearce Bunting (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)
Peter DeLaurier (QED, Lantern Theater Company)
Charlie DelMarcelle (The Glass Menagerie, Act II Playhouse)
Michael Genet (Fences, People’s Light)
Scott Greer (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
Scott Greer (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
Jered McLenigan (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Wilma Theater)
Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play
Carla Belver (The Glass Menagerie, Act II Playhouse)
Kim Carson (Nora, Delaware Theatre Company)
Melanye Finister (Fences, People’s Light)
Eleanor Handley (Lost in Yonkers, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Aimé Donna Kelly (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
Mary McDonnell (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
Catharine Slusar (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)
Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical
Derrick Cobey (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Ben Dibble (Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
Michael Thomas Holmes (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Steve Pacek (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical
Rachel Camp (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Kim Carson (Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon, People’s Light)
Liz Filios (Passion, Arden Theatre Company)
April Woodall (Souvenir, Montgomery Theater)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play
Akeem Davis (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)
Charlie DelMarcelle (The Jungle Book, Arden Theatre Company)
Dan Hodge (The Fair Maid of the West, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective)
Dave Johnson (The Taming of the Shrew, Lantern Theater Company)
Anthony Lawton (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
Graham Smith (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
Ed Swidey (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Wilma Theater)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play
K.O. DelMarcelle (Detroit, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
K.O. DelMarcelle (The Taming of the Shrew, Lantern Theater Company)
Lynette Freeman (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
Emilie Krause (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)
Campbell O’Hare (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
Campbell O’Hare (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
Susan Riley Stevens (Nora, Delaware Theatre Company)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical
Alex Bechtel (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Charlie DelMarcelle (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Michael Doherty (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Michael Phillip O’Brien (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical
Liz Filios (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Leigha Kato (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Ciji Prosser (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Leah Walton (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Outstanding Scenic Design
Scott Bradley (brownsville song (b-side for tray), Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Brian Dudkiewicz (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)
Melpomene Katakalos (Caught, InterAct Theatre Company)
Lance Kniskern (The Taming of the Shrew, Lantern Theater Company)
Kristen Robinson (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
Jason Simms (Lost in Yonkers, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Jason Simms (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Outstanding Costume Design
Esther Arroyo (Nora, Delaware Theatre Company)
Maggie Baker (Penelope, Inis Nua Theatre Company)
Marie Anne Chiment (Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon, People’s Light)
Marla Jurglanis (Bach at Leipzig, People’s Light)
Marla Jurglanis (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
Rosemarie McKelvey (La Bête, Arden Theatre Company)
Lauren Perigard (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Outstanding Lighting Design
Russell H. Champa (brownsville song (b-side for tray), Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Cecilia Durbin (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)
Dennis Parichy (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
Thom Weaver (Passion, Arden Theatre Company)
Thom Weaver (Rapture, Bister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
Thom Weaver (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
Yi Zhao (Hamlet, The Wilma Theater)
Clear Sound Award for Outstanding Sound Design
Christopher Colucci (The Hound of Baskervilles, Lantern Theater Company)
Christopher Colucci (Uncanny Valley, InterAct Theatre Company)
Christopher Colucci (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
Jorge Cousineau (Bach at Leipzig, People’s Light)
Daniel Perelstein (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
Daniel Perelstein (Passion, Arden Theatre Company)
Ryan Rumery (brownsville song (b-side for tray), Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Outstanding Original Music
Alex Bechtel (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
Christopher Colucci (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
ILL DOOTS (Hands Up: 6 Playwrights, 6 Testaments, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
Michael Ogborn (Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon, People’s Light)
Michael Ogborn (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Daniel Perelstein (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
Stew (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
Outstanding Choreography/Movement
Samantha Bellomo (Bach at Leipzig, People’s Light)
Stephen Casey (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Michael Cosenza (The Fair Maid of the West, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective)
Dann Dunn (Catch Me If You Can, The Eagle Theatre)
Ellie Mooney (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Ian Rose (As You Like It, Quintessence Theatre Group)
Ian Rose (The Three Musketeers, Quintessence Theatre Group)
Outstanding Music Direction
Dan Kazemi (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Dan Kazemi (Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
Amanda Morton (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
Ryan Touhey (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Outstanding Ensemble in a Play
Bach at Leipzig (People’s Light)
The Fair Maid of the West (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective)
The Hound of Baskervilles (Lantern Theater Company)
In the Blood (Theatre Horizon)
The Jungle Book (Arden Theatre Company)
Little Rock (Passage Theatre Company)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Theatre Exile)
Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical
Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon (People’s Light)
Field Hockey Hot (11th Hour Theatre Company)
Into the Woods (Theatre Horizon)
Ragtime (Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Independence Foundation Award for Outstanding New Play
Caught by Christopher Chen (InterAct Theatre Company)
The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane by Jen Silverman (InterAct Theatre Company)
Hands Up: 6 Playwrights, 6 Testaments by The New Black Fest (Flashpoint Theatre Company)
To The Moon by Jennifer Childs (1812 Productions)
F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist
Alex Bechtel
Benjamin Camp
Akeem Davis
Katherine Fritz
Bi Jean Ngo
Virginia Brown Martin Philadelphia Award
The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane (InterAct Theatre Company)
The Gun Show (Passage Theatre Company)
In the Blood (Theatre Horizon)
Speech and Debate (Azuka Theatre)
The Whale (Theatre Exile)
June and Steve Wolfson Award for an Evolving Theatre Company
The Berserker Residents
EgoPo Classic Theater
Flashpoint Theatre Company
Philadelphia Artists’ Collective
Quintessence Theatre Group
Simpatico Theatre Project
Lifetime Achievement Award
Johnnie Hobbs, Jr.
Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an award-winning filmmaker, a Best Actress nominee, a photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in FebOne1960.com Blog, Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
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