2002 Theatre L.A .Ovation Award Winners Announced

With six wins each, Deaf West Theatre’s Big River and The Road Theatre Company’s Napoli Milionaria head the list of 2002 Theatre L.A. Ovation Award-winners. Also among the honorees are two productions that opened in Los Angeles and are now playing on Broadway: Into the Woods and Flower Drum Song received one and three wins, respectively. And The Actor’s Gang production of the Jessica Blank-Eric Jensen play The Exonerated, now playing Off-Broadway, got the nod for World Premiere Play. A total of 46 awards were given out at the ceremony held on Sunday, November 24 at the Orpheum Theatre.

The Theatre L.A. Ovation Awards were established in 1989 to celebrate artistic excellence in the Los Angeles theater world. The Theatre League Alliance (Theatre LA) is an assocation of theaters and producers supporting local theater by representing and promoting the theatrical community of greater Los Angeles. Below is the complete list of winners. (Categories in which there are multiple winners are marked with an asterisk*)

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World Premiere Play

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen
The Exonerated
(The Actors’ Gang)

World Premier Musical

Jillian Armenante, Alice Dodd, and Chris Jeffries
Laura Comstock’s Bag-Punching Dog
(Circle X Theatre Company)

Musical (Large Theatre)

Crazy For You
(Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities)

Play (Large Theatre)

The Laramie Project
(The Colony Theatre Company)

Musical (Intimate Theatre)

Big River
(Deaf West Theatre)

Play (Intimate Theatre)

After The Fall
(Fountain Theatre)

Lead Actor in a Musical*

David Engel
Crazy For You
(Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities)

Michael A. Shepperd
Steel: John Henry and the Shaker
(Oasis Theatre Company)

R. Christofer Sands

Pinafore!
(Celebration Theatre)

Lead Actor in a Play*

Joe Mellis
Coyote On A Fence
(Alliance Repertory Company)

Morlan Higgins
After The Fall
(Fountain Theatre)

Sam Anderson

Napoli Milionaria
(The Road Theatre Company)

Lead Actress in a Musical

Julie Dixon Jackson/Misty Cotton

Side Show
(The Colony Theatre Company)

Lead Actress in a Play*

Jeanne Sakata
Red
(East West Players)

Suanne Spoke
Napoli Milionaria
(The Road Theatre Company)

Tracy Middendorf

After The Fall

(Fountain Theatre)

Featured Actor in a Musical

Rod Keller
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
(The Colony Theatre Company)

Featured Actor in a Play

Al Mancini
The Time of Your Life
(Camelot Artists)

Featured Actress in a Musical

Jodi Long
Flower Drum Song
(Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum)

Featured Actress in a Play

Carol Kane
He Hunts
(Geffen Playhouse)

Solo Performance

Ann Randolph
Squeeze Box
(The Court Theatre)

Ensemble Performance*

Cast of Swing

(Musical Theatre West)

Cast of The Laramie Project
(The Colony Theatre Company)

Director of a Musical

Jeff Calhoun
Big River

(Deaf West Theatre)

Director of a Play*

Deborah La Vine
Napoli Milionaria
(The Road Theatre Company)

Nick De Gruccio
The Laramie Project
(The Colony Theatre Company)

Stephen Sachs

After The Fall
(Fountain Theatre)

Choreographer

Jeff Calhoun
Big River
(Deaf West Theatre)

Musical Direction

Steven Landau
Big River

(Deaf West Theatre)

Touring Company Production

The Full Monty
(Center Theatre Group: Ahmanson Theatre)

Lighting Design (Larger Theatre)

Tad Shannon
Do Jump!
(Geffen Playhouse)

Lighting Design (Intimate Theatre)*

Jerry Browning
Steel: John Henry and the Shaker
(Oasis Theatre Company)

Michael Gilliam
Big River

(Deaf West Theatre)

Robert Fromer
Street Stories
(Playwrights’ Arena)

Set Design (Larger Theatre)*

Don Llewellyn
Master Harold…and the Boys
(International City Theatre)

Douglas Schmidt

Into The Woods
(Center Theatre Group: Ahmanson Theatre)

John Lee Beatty
My Old Lady
(Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum)

Set Design (Intimate Theatre)*

Desma Murphy
Napoli Milionaria
(Road Theatre Company)

Joel Stoffer

Coyote On A Fence
(Alliance Repertory Company)

Ray Klausen
Big River

(Deaf West Theatre)

Costume Design (Larger Theatre)*

A. Jeffrey Schoenberg
Side Show
(The Colony Theatre Company)

Gregg Barnes
Flower Drum Song
(Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum)

Costume Design (Intimate Theatre)

Marci Hill

Napoli Milionaria
(The Road Theatre Company)

Sound Design (Larger Theatre)

Jon Gottlieb & Philip G. Allen
Flower Drum Song
(Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum)

Sound Design (Intimate Theatre)*

Bob Blackburn
Street Stories
(Playwrights’ Arena)

Dave Marling of Wav Magic
Napoli Milionaria
(The Road Theatre Company)