Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The party's over: a look back at the Fourth Annual St. Louis Theater Circle Awards

The St. Louis Theater Circle critics at the 2016 awards
So, (to paraphrase Mr. Kipling a bit) the tumult and the shouting have died after the Fourth Annual St. Louis Theater Circle Awards last night. The general consensus appears to be that we have really hit our stride with this one, with a new and very classy venue at the Skip Viragh Center on the Chaminade campus, slick media production from HEC-TV, and an all-around positive vibe from everyone in attendance, regardless of who did or didn't get an award or nomination.

Speaking of the awards, though, here's the official list of who got what. For those of you keeping score, the companies that got the largest number of awards were Stages St. Louis and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis with five awards each. Next were Opera Theatre of St. Louis and St. Louis Actors' Studio with four each; Mustard Seed Theatre, Shakespeare Festival, and Upstream Theater with two each; and one each for Insight Theatre Company, Max and Louie Productions, Metro Theatre Company, Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, The Black Rep, Union Avenue Opera, and West End Players Guild.

As someone who reviews classical music as well as theatre, I was struck by how well our local opera companies did this time around. I thought it was especially notable that the awards for outstanding actor/actress in a musical both went to opera productions. That says something, I think, about the dedication local opera companies have to the theatrical aspects of their craft.

The event was broadcast live on HEC-TV and, for those of you who missed it, will be available on their web site shortly. Thanks to them for all their great work on this project.

Congratulations are also due to some Theater Circle members who go above and beyond the call of duty in helping put this whole shebang together. Specifically:
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Judith Newmark for her script
  • Andrea Torrance of St. Louis Theater Snob for pulling all the production photos together
  • Bob Wilcox and Gerry Kowarsky for their work with HEC-TV
  • Executive Board member Mark Bretz of Ladue News for his tireless work behind the scenes, along with Judith and our administrator Eleanor Mullin
  • The original Funny Lady herself, Donna Weinsting, for her hilarious opening monologue
It was fun, folks. See you next year. And meanwhile, keep reading our reviews. And here's the complete list:

Category
Person
Show
Company
Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Betsy Bowman
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Michael Brightman
Mr. Marmalade
West End Players Guild
Actress in a Comedy
Kari Ely
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Actor in a Comedy
Jeremy Webb
Buyer and Cellar
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Lighting Design in a Play
Peter E. Sargent
Angel Street
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Sound Design in a Play
Greg Mackender and Rusty Wandall
Antony and Cleopatra
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis
Costume Design in a Play
Beth Ashby
An Invitation Out
Mustard Seed Theatre
Set Design in a Play
Wilson Chin
Angel Street
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Supporting Actress in a Drama
Jennifer Theby-Quinn
Afflicted: Daughters of Salem
Metro Theater Company
Supporting Actor in a Drama
John Flack
Sublime Intimacy
Max & Louie Productions
Actress in a Drama
Amy Loui
The Amish Project
Mustard Seed Theatre
Actor in a Drama
J. Samuel Davis
Bashir Lazhar
Upstream Theater
New Play
Nancy Bell
The World Begun
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis
Musical Director
George Manahan
Emmeline
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Choreographer
Keith Tyrone Williams
Once on This Island
The Black Rep
Supporting Actress in a Musical
Zoe Vonder Haar
The Full Monty
Stages St. Louis
Supporting Actor in a Musical
Joneal Joplin
The Fantasticks
Insight Theatre Company
Lighting Design in a Musical
Christopher Akerlind
Emmeline
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Set Design in a Musical
Shoko Kambara
The Barber of
Seville Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Costume Design in a Musical
Brad Musgrove
Anything Goes
Stages St. Louis
Actress in a Musical
Joyce El- Khoury
Emmeline
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Actor in a Musical
Jordan Shanahan
Rigoletto
Union Avenue Opera
Ensemble in a Comedy

The 39 Steps
Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble
Ensemble in a Drama

All the Way
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Ensemble in a Musical

Anything Goes Stages
St. Louis
Director of a Comedy
John Contini
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Director of a Drama
Patrick Siler
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Upstream Theater
Director of a Musical
Michael Hamilton
Anything Goes
Stages St. Louis
Production of a Comedy

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Production of a Drama

All the Way
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Production of a Musical

Anything Goes
Stages St. Louis

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