Matthew Bourne, Kirk Douglas, Laurie Metcalf, Charles Strouse, et al. Win L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards

The winners of the 2009 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards were announced in a ceremony held on March 22 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, among the winners is Laurie Metcalf, who won one of the awards for Best Lead Performance for her work in Voice Lessons at the Zephyr Theatre.

The musical Minsky’s won all three of the awards for which it was nominated including one for Susan Birkenhead and Charles Strouse’s score. The production also picked up awards for Phil Reno’s music direction and Gregg Barnes’ costume design.

Three shows received Best Production awards: Mark Taper Forum’s Parade; Hudson Mainstage’s Life Could Be a Dream, which also garnered awards for Best Ensemble and a music direction award for Michael Paternostro; and the Matrix Theatre’s Stick Fly, which also received a Best Ensemble Award in addition to a Best Direction Award for Shirley Jo Finney.

Among the other winners are Matthew Bourne, Stephen Mear, and Geoffrey Garratt for their choreography for Mary Poppins, David Lander for his lighting design for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and Danny Hoch for Taking Over.

Special awards were given to Jason Robert Brown, who received The Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre and Kirk Douglas, who was honored for his lifetime contribution to Los Angeles Theatre.

For further information, visit www.ladramacriticscircle.com.