Passing Strange, King Hedley II Top AUDELCO Awards

The Public Theater’s production of the now-Broadway-bound musical Passing Strange and Signature Theatre Company’s revival of August Wilson’s King Hedley II topped the 2006-2007 AUDELCO Awards, which were handed out at Aaron Davis Hall on Monday, November 19.

Passing Strange took home four awards, for Musical Production of the Year, Director of a Musical Production (Annie Dorsen), Outstanding Performance in a Musical, Male (Daniel Breaker), and Outstanding Musical Director (Heidi Rodenwald). King Hedley II also won four awards, including wins for actors Lynda Gravatt and Lou Myers, set designer David Gallo, and lighting designer Thom Weaver.

The plays Black Man Rising and The Guest at Central Park West tied for Dramatic Production of the Year. The former took home a total of four awards, including Outstanding Choreographer (Juson Williams), Outstanding Ensemble Performance, and Director of a Dramatic Production (Patricia Floyd), while the latter earned trophies for playwright Levy Lee Simon and lead actor John Marshall Jones.

Other winners included actors Daniel Beaty for his solo show Emergence-See!, Eartha Kitt for the musical Mimi Le Duck, and Petronia Paley for Electra. Take Wing and Soar’s production of Hamlet earned Audelcos for costume designer Ali Turns and sound designer David Wright.

Other notable nominees this year included actors Eisa Davis, Andre de Shields, Ann Duquesnay, Frankie Faison, Portia, and Vivian Reed; playwright Tanya Barfield; choreographer Karole Armitage; and directors Lou Bellamy, Derrick Sanders, and Leigh Silverman.