The 2015 Sappie Awards
I'm actually way later on this than I intended but life is busy and I've been enjoying the last several weeks away from the theatre. Don't get me wrong, I'm gearing up for a 2015-2016 season full court press but a few nights at home doing nothing hasn't been the worst thing ever.
So like last year I've decided to make up some categories and recognize my favorites from the theatre season. This is just one man's opinion so please take it with a grain of salt. If you disagree with any of my choices, great! Start a blog and write about it! And if you agree with everything I have written . . . well, that's just creepy.
Here we go!
Chris Collins-Pisano as "Emmett" and Lawson Young as "Elle" in LEGALLY BLONDE
BEST MUSICAL: Legally Blonde, UC-CCM
Others considered (in alphabetical order:) 110 in the Shade, UC-CCM Blood Brothers, UC-CCM Elf, Broadway Across America Hands on a Hardbody, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Hot Mikado, Wright State University Ragtime, Fairfield Summer Theatre
I struggled with this one a lot as I really loved all of the contenders. HANDS ON A HARDBODY told a great story with inventive staging. 110 IN THE SHADE featured some of the best acting and direction all year, and HOT MIKADO was an unexpected surprise. But ultimately it was Lawson Young (and Sarah Bishop - I saw them both) whose performance(s) as Elle Woods put this over the top. Seeing their unique twists on the character demonstrated that whole was as good if not better than the sum of its parts.
Regina Pugh as Juliana Smithson and Kelly Mengelkoch as The Woman in THE OTHER PLACE / Photo by Ryan Kurtz
BEST PLAY: The Other Place, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
All New People, Untethered Theatre August: Osage County, Clifton Players Black Fly Spring, Xavier University The Comedy of Errors, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company Death and the Maiden, Diogenes Theatre Company The Little Dog Laughed, New Edgecliff Theatre Outside Mullingar, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati A Streetcar Named Desire, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts
This was an exceptionally strong year for plays and I had another tough time settling on my choice. The dark comedy of ALL NEW PEOPLE was a breath of fresh air. BLACK FLY SPRING featured strong direction (by the star of THE OTHER PLACE ironically enough) and solid performances and one of the best sets of the year. THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is the first time I walked away from Shakespeare understanding everything that occurred on stage and thought the comedy was tighter than it was silly. And A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE was mesmerizing. The tension in DEATH AND THE MAIDEN was palpable, but ultimately it was the story of Regina Pugh's character and her chemistry with her long-suffering husband and estranged daughter that left me breathless.
Ryan Garrett with the amazing Katie Langham in "Speech and Debate"
LEADING PERFORMANCE IN A PLAY: Katie Langham - Speech and Debate, UC-CCM DeeDee Batteast - Raisin in the Sun, Ball State University Sherman Fracher - The Birds, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company Dale Hodges - August: Osage County, Clifton Players and Untethered Theatre Kim Long - A Streetcar Named Desire, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts Regina Pugh - The Other Place, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Leah Strasser - Buckeye by Elizabeth Harris
While Kim Long totally nailed her performance in "Streetcar" and Dale Hodges anchored the huge ensemble of "August" it was Katie Langham's tour de force performance in SPEECH AND DEBATE that made me a fan for life. It is a shame the show only ran for such a limited time because had more people seen it, this actress would be a hot commodity. So funny, but yet so full of honesty and heart. I truly can't praise her enough.
SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE - PLAY: Maggie Lou Rader - A Streetcar Named Desire, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts Michael Bath, Death and the Maiden, Diogenes Theatre Company Carol Brammer - August: Osage County, Clifton Players and Untethered Theatre Company Daniel Britt - Any Given Monday, Mad Anthony Theatre Company Giles Davies, Death and the Maiden, Diogenes Theatre Company Piper Davis - Harry and the Thief, Know Theatre of Cincinnati Kelly Mengelkoch - The Other Place, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Simon Powell - In the Heat of the Night, Falcon Theatre Alec Shaw, Buzzer, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Rader took this role and gave it depth, spunk, and a fresh perspective. She's quickly become one of my favorite actresses to watch. I enjoyed Giles physicality despite being restrained for most of the show a lot and Piper Davis as Harriet Tubman was perfect casting. Mengelkoch and Shaw both had me on the edge of my seat in their respective performances but it was the unexpected greatness from the entire play - aided by Rader's unique characterization - that puts her over the top.
Lead Performance - Musical: Brianna Barnes - 110 in the Shade, UC-CCM Jeremy Braley - Big, Hamilton Rotary Club Charlie Clark - Hands on a Hardbody, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Clara Cox - Peter Pan, UC-CCM Justin Glaser - Sweeney Todd, The Carnegie Sean Jones - The Hot Mikado, Wright State University Kaela O'Connor - Ragtime, Fairfield Summer Theatre Emma Stratton - Anything Goes, Broadway Across America Lawson Young - Legally Blonde, UC-CCM
Mark my words, Brianna Barnes is a star in the making. Truly a triple-threat, she can sing, dance, but most of all she can act. She (and the lovely direction by Vince DeGeorge) forced me to return after intermission even though I wasn't feeling well. That's talent.
West Side Story / Photo by Mikki Schnaffner
Supporting Performance - Musical: Layan Elwanzani - West Side Story, The Carnegie John Battagliese - 110 in the Shade, UC-CCM Jasmine Easler - The Hot Mikado, Wright State University Phil Fiorini - Hands on a Hardbody, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Dallas Padoven - Hands on a Hardbody, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Sara Mackie - Hands on a Hardbody, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Derrick Jordan - Ragtime, Fairfield Summer Theatre
I think Layan Elwanzani's performance left many wondering "who's this girl and where did she come from?" Alas, she's graduated from WSU and moved to New York where hopefully she can wow audiences in the same way she did in West Side Story.
Company of HANDS ON A HARDBODY / Photos by Ryan Kurtz
Ensemble Performance - Musical: The Cast of Hands on a Hardbody, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati The Cast of Blood Brothers, UC-CCM The Cast of Cinderella, Broadway Across America The Cast of The Hot Mikado, Wright State University The Cast of Into the Woods, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts The Cast of Murder Ballad, Stone on a Walk Theatre Company The Cast of Ragtime, Fairfield Summer Theatre
Truly an ensemble-driven musical, this wonderful musical at Ensemble Theatre featured a very large cast with no weak links (even Jim Hopkins, who jumped into his role with a few hours notice was on point.) All of the others listed deserve to be mentioned but Hardbody out did them all.
Christine Dye and Bob Allen
Ensemble Performance - Play: August: Osage County, Clifton Players and Untethered Theatre Company All New People, Untethered Theatre Company Black Fly Spring, Xavier University Circle Mirror Transformation, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Death and The Maiden, Diogenes Theatre Company In the Heat of the Night, Falcon Theatre Little Women, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company The Comedy of Errors, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company Meth: A love story, #theatrecompany Occupational Pleasures, Homegrown Theatre Company The Other Place, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Outside Mullingar, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati A Raisin in the Sun, Ball State University A Streetcar Named Desire, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts
There were so many great plays this season but none more anticipated than August. Maybe because everyone wondered just how they were going to pull off this grand-scale production in such a small space. But this space is used to holding a lot of talent - and this ensemble was chock full of A-list actors. A true "oh I gotta see that" production, for sure.
Best Duo Performance: Jon Kovach and Joanna Leister in Taking Shakespeare, Human Race Theatre Dale Hodges and Reggie Willis in Driving Miss Daisy. The Carnegie Sola Thompson and Joysoline Smith in Dream Pill, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Maya Farhat and Griff Bludowrth in The Last Five Years, Xavier University Cathy Springfield and Sherry McCamley in She's Crazy: Mental Health and Other Myths Susan Haefner and Michael Marotta in Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Two handers are risky; if one or the other (or potentially both) aren't good then its hard to cover. Fortunately for all of the shows on this list, everyone was top-notch. But none was better than the dynamic duo of Kovac and Leister - they made me care about Othello but even moreso made me care about the characters they inhabited.
Torie Wiggins
Best Solo Performance: Torie Wiggins in Twilight, Los Angeles, 1992 - Diognese Theatre Company Antoinette LaVecchia in I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti - Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Bruce Cromer in An Iliad - Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Michael Hall in Zombie Logue - Hugo West Theatricals David Levy - Eight Reindeer Monologues, Falcon Theatre Corrine Mollenhoff in A Handmaid's Tale - Know Theatre of Cincinnati Leah Strasser - Eight Reindeer Monologues, Falcon Theatre Kelsey Torstveit in Mouthy Bitch - Toss the Bonnet Productions
Torie Wiggins is a prolific actress; she works a lot and she gets a lot of different roles. But she showed why she's cast in such diverse parts in TWILIGHT. She's at her best when she's all-in to a project and she gave 110% to her multiple roles in this mesmerizing docudrama. This is the finest I've ever seen her. To beat out Cromer's amazing turn in AN ILIAD is quite an accomplishment in its own right.
Best Director: Vince DeGeorge, 110 in the Shade, UC-CCM Kevin Brunck, Big: The Musical, Hamilton Rotary Club Civic Theatre Ryan Heinreich, Ragtime, Fairfield Summer Theatre Greg Hellems, The Hot Mikado, Wright State University Diane Lala, Legally Blonde, UC-CCM D. Lynn Myers, Hands on a Hardbody, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Blake Robison, The Music Man in Concert, Cincinnati Pops Stephen Skiles, Spring Awakening, Xavier University Matthew Wilson, Into the Woods, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts
Brunck wrangled what seemed like a cast of thousands. Heinrich reminded us that community theatre can be as grand as any other productions. Hellems took an outdated script and gave it quirky new life. But it was DeGeorge who staged such a beautiful piece with a limited budget, a black box, and the most talented young performers in the region that he gets the nod from me.
Jeremy Dubin
Best Director - Play: Jeremy Dubin - A Midsummer Night's Dream Ed Cohen - In the Heat of the Night Jared Doren - All New People Patrick Flick - The Comedy of Errors Richard Hess - Speech and Debate Lindsay Augusta Mercer - Death and the Maiden D. Lynn Myers - The Other Place Greg Procaccino - A Streetcar Named Desire Regina Pugh - Black Fly Spring Ed Stern - Outside Mullingar Tara Williams - Eight Reindeer Monologues
Dubin gets my vote because for the first time I watched one of Shakespeare's plays, followed the action without any confusion, and never once felt sleepy or bored. He instilled in these Xavier students the meaning of the words they were saying in a way that few can. I walked away from this one hopeful that I might deepen my love for the Bard - and that Xavier will continue to show its promise as the city's best new theatre program.
The Musical Theatre Class of 2015
Favorite Non-Traditional Piece: CCM Senior Showcase Awaited - Crossroads Community Church Carols for a Cause - CCM Fndraiser The Cast of the CCM Freshman Showcase, UC-CCM Dream Pill - Freedom Center It's My Party: Patricia Linhart and Julie Spangler's Faculty Concert Perfect Harmony - a CCM cabaret Saturday the 14th - Serials, Know Theatre So In Tents - Serials 2, Know Theatre Wyatt's Bed - 16-year-old Isaiah Reaves first play
If at least a third of these just-graduated CCMers aren't on Broadway or on a national tour within the next three years, then something is wrong. Strong vocalists, amazing dancers, and all around some of the most driven performers we've seen in some time, they have all the tools to be successful.
And there you have it, my picks for the best of last season. I saw a lot of theatre; I won't be able to duplicate that this year nor am I going to try but it was so much fun running to the theatre 3-4 times a week. Most importantly I got to connect with some great people and have made some great friends along the way. If you made this list at all, then I consider you a star whether you "won" or not.
It looks to be a fantastic season coming up and I'm anticipating some stunning performances and glorious productions. I hope you'll venture out and see as much as you can and I hope you'll follow my journey while I do the same.
See you at the theatre!