Lynn Nottage, William Petersen, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, et. al. Win Jeff Awards

Lynn Nottage, William Petersen, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, and E. Faye Butler are among the artists who won Joseph Jefferson Equity Awards, honoring the best in professional Chicago-area theater, on Monday night.

TimeLine Theater’s production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys won a total of five awards, including best play at a midsize theater. Lynn Nottage’s Ruined, which premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theater and went on to an extended Off Broadway run, won for new work, and tied for play at a large theater with Steppenwolf’s staging of Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer. Other awards that went to Ruined include one for Ekulona for actress in a principal role and one for Dominic Kanza for his original incidental music for the production.

Another tie was between Petersen, for his work in Blackbird and Larry Neumann, for his performance in Moon for the Misbegotten.

The Court Theater’s production of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, or Change led in the musical categories, winning awards for musical for a large theater, director Charles Newell, music director Doug Peck, and Butler as musical actress in a principal role. Joseph Anthony Foronda, currently starring in Yeast Nation, also won an award for his performance in Miss Saigon at Drury Lane Oakbrook.

Among the other productions honored were Tomorrow Morning, A Minister’s Wife, Jon, and Studs Terkel’s Not Working.

For further information, visit www.jeffawards.org.