Theater News

2005-06 Connecticut Critics Circle Award Winners Announced

Glenn Lawrence and Christeena Riggs in Li'l Abner
(Photo © Diane Soboleski)
Glenn Lawrence and
Christeena Riggs in Li’l Abner
(Photo © Diane Soboleski)

The winners of the 2005-2006 Connecticut Critics Circle Awards have been announced. The ceremony will take place on Monday, June 12 at the Westport Country Playhouse.

The group, which was founded in 1990, is comprised of theater reviewers, feature writers, columnist, and braodcasters who cover Connecticut’s professional theater in the state, as well as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York.

This year’s big winner was the Long Wharf Theatre’s production of Underneath the Lintel, which picked up trophies for Outstanding Play, Actor in a Play (Mark Nelson), and Director (Eric Ting). Other notable winners include actors Lynda Gravátt, Ernestine Jackson, Bruce Connelly, and Glenn Lawrence.

A complete list of winners follows below:

Outstanding Production of a Play
Underneath the Lintel (Long Wharf Theatre)


Outstanding Production of a Musical
Sweet Charity (Downtown Cabaret Theatre)


Outstanding Actress in a Play
Lynda Gravátt in A Raisin in the Sun (Hartford Stage)


Outstanding Actor in a Play
Mark Nelson in Underneath the Lintel (Long Wharf Theatre)


Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Ernestine Jackson in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Long Wharf Theatre)


Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Bruce Connelly in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Seven Angels Theatre)


Outstanding Director of a Play
Eric Ting for Underneath the Lintel (Long Wharf Theatre)


Outstanding Director of a Musical
Owen Thompson for The Mikado (River Rep)


Outstanding Choreography
Scott Thompson for Sweet Charity (Downtown Cabaret Theatre)


Outstanding Set Design
Tony Straiges for The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (Hartford Stage)


Outstanding Lighting Design
Clifton Taylor for Journey’s End (Westport Country Playhouse)


Outstanding Costume Design
Linda Fisher and Randall E. Klein for David Copperfield (Westport Country Playhouse)


Outstanding Sound Design
Arielle Edwards for dance of the holy ghosts (Yale Rep)


Outstanding Ensemble
Curtis Billings, Mike Boland, Leon Addison Brown, Natalie Brown, Kevin Cutts, Robert Hannon Davis, Susan Fay, William Jay Marshall, Chandler Parker, Erica Tazel in The Exonerated (TheaterWorks)


Outstanding Road Show
2 Pianos 4 Hands (Hartford Stage)


Debut Award
Glenn Lawrence in Li’l Abner (Goodspeed Musicals)


Tom Killen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Connecticut Theatre
The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism