Theater News

Catered Affair, Cry-Baby, et al. Win San Diego Critics Awards

Faith Prince in A Catered Affair
(© Craig Schwartz)
Faith Prince in A Catered Affair
(© Craig Schwartz)

The Broadway-bound musicals A Catered Affair and Cry-Baby were among the big winners of the San Diego Critics Circle Awards, which were presented on January 21. The group often awards multiple winners in some categories.

A Catered Affair, produced by the Old Globe and set to open at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theater on April 17, picked up seven awards: Outstanding New Musical, Outstanding Score (Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino), Outstanding Direction of a Musical (John Doyle), Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical (Tom Wopat and Faith Prince), and Outstanding Orchestrations (Don Sebesky).

Cry-Baby, produced at the La Jolla Playhouse and set to open at Broadway’s Marquis Theater on April 24, picked up awards for Outstanding Lyrics of a Musical (David Javerbaum); Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical, Female (Alli Mauzey), and Outstanding Choreography (Rob Ashford).

Jersey Boys was named Outstanding Touring Production, Cygnet Theater’s Yellowman was named Outstanding Dramatic Production, Itamar Moses’ The Four of Us, which opens at Manhattan Theatre Club in March, and Merry Fengar Gall’s Devil Dog Six were named Outstanding New Play, and Moonlight Stage’s West Side Story and Starlight Theatre’s Ragtime were named Outstanding Resident Musical.

Other winning performers included Chuck Cooper (Two Trains Running), Joshua Everett Johnson (The Adding Machine), Rosina Reynolds (Wit), James Sutorius (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), and Matthew Weeden (Torch Song Trilogy).

Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien, the longtime artistic director of the Old Globe, received the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the first annual Jack O’Brien Excellence in Directing Award was given to Esther Emery.

For a complete list of winners, visit www.sdcriticscircle.org.