Theater News

Paramount Theatre and Drury Lane Productions Lead Equity Jeff Award Nominations

Stage and screen star Michael Shannon announced the nominees.

A scene from Lisa D'Amour's Airline Highway at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
A scene from Lisa D'Amour's Airline Highway at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
(© Michael Brosilow)

The nominees have been announced for Chicago's 47th Annual Equity Jeff Awards, which honor outstanding theater produced within the immediate Chicago area from the 2014-15 season. The awards ceremony will be held October 5 at Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, with performers Cheryl Lynn Bruce and E. Faye Butler emceeing.

This year, Paramount Theatre, in its first year of eligibility, led the nominations with 16 nods, all for musicals in the Large Theatre category, including Les Misérables and The Who's Tommy. Drury Lane Productions also had an impressive showing, with 13 nominations, including five for Billy Elliot, the Musical and three each for Camelot and West Side Story.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company led in nominations for plays at Large Theatres with five of its 12 going to the pre-Broadway engagement of Airline Highway.

The list of nominees is as follows:

PRODUCTION – PLAY – LARGE
Airline Highway – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
The Diary of Anne Frank – Writers Theatre
The Little FoxesGoodman Theatre
Moby DickLookingglass Theatre Company in association with The Actors’ Gymnasium
Native SonCourt Theatre and American Blues Theater

PRODUCTION – PLAY – MIDSIZE
All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites
The Downpour – Route 66 Theatre Company
The RoyaleAmerican Theater Company
Travesties – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
The White Road – Irish Theatre of Chicago

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – LARGE
Billy Elliot, the Musical – Drury Lane Productions
City of Angels – The Marriott Theatre
The King and I – The Marriott Theatre
Les Misérables – Paramount Theatre
Mary Poppins – Paramount Theatre
The Who’s Tommy – Paramount Theatre

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – MIDSIZE
The Addams FamilyMercury Theater Chicago
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – Porchlight Music Theatre
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Porchlight Music Theatre

PRODUCTION – REVUE
Men of Soul With a Tribute to Bill WithersBlack Ensemble Theatre
Panic on Cloud 9 – The Second City
Ring of Fire, The Music of Johnny Cash – Mercury Theater Chicago and
Theatre at the Center
Sondheim on Sondheim – Porchlight Music Theatre

DIRECTOR – PLAY
Jaime Castañeda – The Royale – American Theater Company
David Catlin – Moby Dick – Lookingglass Theatre Company in association with
The Actors’ Gymnasium
Sean Graney – All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites
Nick Sandys – Travesties – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Erica Weiss – The Downpour – Route 66 Theatre Company
Henry Wishcamper – The Little Foxes" – Goodman Theatre

DIRECTOR – MUSICAL
Nick Bowling – City of Angels – The Marriott Theatre
Nick Bowling – The King and I – The Marriott Theatre
Jim Corti – Les Misérables – Paramount Theatre
Jim Corti – The Who’s Tommy – Paramount Theatre
Rachel Rockwell – Billy Elliot, the Musical – Drury Lane Productions
Rachel Rockwell – Mary Poppins – Paramount Theatre

DIRECTOR – REVUE
Nick Bowling – Sondheim on Sondheim – Porchlight Music Theatre
Daryl Brooks – Men of Soul With a Tribute to Bill Withers – Black Ensemble Theater
Brian Russell – Ring of Fire, The Music of Johnny Cash – Mercury Theater Chicago and
Theatre at the Center

ENSEMBLE
Airline Highway – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites
The Apple Family Plays – TimeLine Theatre Company
The Humans – American Theater Company
The Project(s) – American Theater Company
A Q Brothers’ Christmas CarolChicago Shakespeare Theater
Season on the Line – The House Theatre of Chicago
The White Road – Irish Theatre of Chicago

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Allen Gilmore (Vladimir) – Waiting for Godot – Court Theatre
Francis Guinan (Tommy) – The Night Alive – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Francis Guinan (Ray) – White Guy on the BusNorthlight Theatre
Jerod Haynes (Bigger) – Native Son – Court Theatre and American Blues Theater
Jerod Haynes (Jay) – The Royale – American Theater Company
Mark L. Montgomery (Anthony Reilly) – Outside Mullingar – Northlight Theatre
Larry Yando (King Lear) – King Lear – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Anthony Crivello (Louis Prima) – Louis & Keely ‘Live’ at the Sahara – HackFeld LLC
Nicholas Dantes (Billy) – Billy Elliot, the Musical – Drury Lane Productions
Devin DeSantis (Tommy) – The Who’s Tommy – Paramount Theatre
Karl Hamilton (Gomez Addams) – The Addams Family – Mercury Theater Chicago
Bill Larkin (Prologus/Pseudolus) – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Porchlight Music Theatre

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Brenda Barrie (Robin) – The Downpour – Route 66 Theatre Company
Janet Ulrich Brooks (Sonia) – Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike – Goodman Theatre
Hillary Clemens (Crystal) – BethanyThe Gift Theatre
Kate Fry (Rosemary Muldoon) – Outside Mullingar – Northlight Theatre
Mariann Mayberry (Shelley) – Grand Concourse – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Lia D. Mortensen (Julianna) – The Other Place – Profiles Theatre
Caroline Neff (Hazel) – The Downpour – Route 66 Theatre Company
Eileen Niccolai (Serafina Delle Rose) – The Rose TattooShattered Globe Theatre

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Shoshana Bean (Cee Cee Bloom) – Beaches, A New Musical – Drury Lane Productions
in association with Jennifer Maloney-Prezioso
Rebecca Finnegan (Nellie Lovett) – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Porchlight Music Theatre
Heidi Kettenring (Anna Leonowens) – The King and I – Marriott Theatre
Megan McGinnis (Marianne Dashwood) – Sense and Sensibility
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Susie McMonagle (Mrs. Wilkinson) – Billy Elliot, the Musical – Drury Lane Productions

ACTOR OR ACTRESS IN A REVUE
Michael Monroe Goodman (Young Johnny) – Ring of Fire, The Music of Johnny Cash
Mercury Theater Chicago and Theatre at the Center
Cory Goodrich (June Carter Cash) – Ring of Fire, The Music of Johnny Cash
Mercury Theater Chicago and Theatre at the Center
John Hartman (Ensemble) – Panic on Cloud 9 – The Second City
James Earl Jones II (Ensemble) – Sondheim on Sondheim – Porchlight Music Theatre
Kent M. Lewis (Johnny) – Ring of Fire, The Music of Johnny Cash
Mercury Theater Chicago and Theatre at the Center

SOLO PERFORMANCE
Ronald Keaton (Winston Churchill) – Churchill – SoloChicago Theatre and
Greenhouse Theater Center
Linda Reiter (Mary) – The Testament of MaryVictory Gardens Theatre
Kelvin Roston, Jr. (Donny) – Twisted MelodiesCongo Square Theatre Company
Steven Strafford (Himself) – Methtacular!About Face Theatre
in association with Justin Brill

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Greg Matthew Anderson (Tristan Tzara) – Travesties – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Behzad Dabu (Amit) – Samsara – Victory Gardens Theater
Anthony Fleming III (Queequeg/Ensemble) – Moby Dick – Lookingglass Theatre Company
in association with The Actors’ Gymnasium
K. Todd Freeman (Sissy Na Na) – Airline Highway – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Nic Grelli (Alvaro Mangiacavallo) – The Rose Tattoo – Shattered Globe Theatre
Larry Yando (Benjamin Hubbard) – The Little Foxes – Goodman Theatre

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Matthew Crowle (Hysterium) – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Porchlight Music Theatre
Devin DeSantis (Marius) – Les Misérables – Paramount Theatre
Sean Allan Krill (Colonel Brandon) – Sense and Sensibility – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Ross Lehman (Moonface Martin) – Anything Goes – Marriott Theatre
Travis Taylor (Lancelot) – Camelot – Drury Lane Productions

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Annabel Armour (Virginia) – The Clean House – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Dana Black (Actor 6) – Abraham Lincoln Was a F*gg*t – About Face Theatre
Kate Buddeke (Tanya) – Airline Highway – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Kate Buddeke (Terry) – Side Man – American Blues Theater
Patrese D. McClain (Shatique) – White Guy on the Bus – Northlight Theatre
Cassidy Slaughter-Mason (Avery Willard) – Rapture, Blister, Burn – Goodman Theatre

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Michelle Aravena (Anita) – West Side Story – Drury Lane Productions
Kristen Choi (Lady Thiang) – The King and I – Marriott Theatre
Marya Grandy (Hildy Esterhazy) – On the Town – Marriott Theatre
Meghan Murphy (Oolie/Donna) – City of Angels – Marriott Theatre
Colette Todd (Sandra Bloom) – Big Fish – Theatre at the Center

NEW WORK – PLAY
Bruce Graham – White Guy on the Bus – Northlight Theatre
Laura Jacqmin – Look, We Are BreathingRivendell Theatre Ensemble
Rohina Malik – The Mecca TalesChicago Dramatists
PJ Paparelli and Joshua Jaeger – The Project(s) – American Theater Company
Caitlin Parrish – The Downpour – Route 66 Theatre Company
Mat Smart – The Royal Society of Antarctica – The Gift Theatre

NEW WORK – MUSICAL
Paul Gordon – Sense and Sensibility – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
GQ, JQ, Jackson Doran, Postell Pringle – A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Jessica Thebus, Andre Pluess and Amanda Dehnert – Shining Lives: A Musical
Northlight Theatre

NEW ADAPTATION
David Catlin – Moby Dick – Lookingglass Theatre Company in association with
The Actors’ Gymnasium
Sean Graney – All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites
Nambi E. Kelley – Native Son – Court Theatre and American Blues Theater

CHOREOGRAPHY
Brock Clawson – The Who’s Tommy – Paramount Theatre
Rhett Guter – West Side Story – Drury Lane Productions
Danny Herman – All Shook Up – Theatre at the Center
Rachel Rockwell – Billy Elliot, the Musical – Drury Lane Productions
Alex Sanchez – On the Town – Marriott Theatre

ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A PLAY
Victoria Deiorio – The White Road – Irish Theatre of Chicago
Andrew Hansen – My Name Is Asher LevTimeLine Theatre Company
Henry Marsh – Pericles – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Richard Woodbury – The Little Foxes – Goodman Theatre

MUSIC DIRECTION
Austin Cook – Sondheim on Sondheim – Porchlight Music Theatre
Paul Litteral – Louis & Keely ‘Live’ at the Sahara – HackFeld LLC
Doug Peck – The Secret Garden – Court Theatre
Malcolm Ruhl – Ring of Fire, The Music of Johnny Cash – Mercury Theater Chicago and
Theatre at the Center
Tom Vendafreddo – Les Misérables – Paramount Theatre

SCENIC DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Ira Amyx and Merje Veski – The White Road – Irish Theatre of Chicago
John Holt – Accidentally Like a MartyrA Red Orchid Theatre
Jeffrey D. Kmiec – Watch on the RhineThe Artistic Home[
Angela Weber Miller – The GravediggerFirst Folio Theatre[
Sarah Ross – The Rose Tattoo – Shattered Globe Theatre
Grant Sabin – Yankee Tavern – American Blues Theater

SCENIC DESIGN – LARGE
Linda Buchanan – Two Trains Running – Goodman Theatre
Kevin Depinet – The Game’s Afoot – Drury Lane Productions
Kevin Depinet and Jeffrey D. Kmiec – Les Misérables – Paramount Theatre
Jack Magaw – The Diary of Anne Frank – Writers Theatre
Scott Pask – Airline Highway – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Todd Rosenthal – The Little Foxes – Goodman Theatre
Joey Wade – Grand Concourse – Steppenwolf Theatre Company

LIGHTING DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Brian Sidney Bembridge – The Royale – American Theater Company
Maggie Fullilove-Nugent – Endgame – The Hypocrites
Lee Keenan – The Hammer Trinity, Part 3: The Excelsior King
The House Theatre of Chicago
Jared Moore – All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites
Julian Pike – The White Road – Irish Theatre of Chicago

LIGHTING DESIGN – LARGE
Lee Fiskness – Camelot – Drury Lane Productions
Greg Hofmann – The Who’s Tommy – Paramount Theatre
Jesse Klug – Les Misérables – Paramount Theatre
Jesse Klug – Pericles – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Marc Stubblefield – Native Son – Court Theatre and American Blues Theater

COSTUME DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Mara Blumenfeld and Mieka Van Der Ploeg – Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric PlayTheater Wit
Rachel Lambert – Travesties – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Frances Maggio – The Addams Family – Mercury Theater Chicago
Bill Morey – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Porchlight Music Theatre
Alison Siple – All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites

COSTUME DESIGN – LARGE
Dede M. Ayite – Marie Antoinette – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Theresa Ham – Mary Poppins – Paramount Theatre
Susan E. Mickey – Sense and Sensibility – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Nancy Missimi – The King and I – Marriott Theatre
Nancy Missimi – La Cage aux Folles – Marriott Theatre

SOUND DESIGN – MIDSIZE
John Corkill and Alex Monroe – Macbeth – The Artistic Home
Victoria Deiorio – The White Road – Irish Theatre of Chicago
Joshua Horvath – The Hammer Trinity, Part 3: The Excelsior King
The House Theatre of Chicago
Kevin O'Donnell – All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites
Rick Sims – Side Man – American Blues Theater
Rick Sims – Twisted Melodies – Congo Square Theatre Company

SOUND DESIGN – LARGE
Joshua Horvath – Native Son – Court Theatre and American Blues Theater
Lindsay Jones – King Lear – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Lindsay Jones – Marie Antoinette – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Andre Pluess – Iphigenia in Aulis – Court Theatre
Josh Schmidt – The Diary of Anne Frank – Writers Theatre
Rick Sims – Moby Dick – Lookingglass Theatre Company in association with
The Actors’ Gymnasium

PROJECTIONS/VIDEO DESIGN
Smooch Medina – The White Road – Irish Theatre of Chicago
Aaron Rhyne – Pericles – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Jeff Sugg – Marie Antoinette – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Mike Tutaj – Mary Poppins – Paramount Theatre
Mike Tutaj – Sondheim on Sondheim – Porchlight Music Theatre
Mike Tutaj – The Who’s Tommy – Paramount Theatre

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY
David Blixt – Macbeth – The Artistic Home
Ryan Bourque – All Our Tragic – The Hypocrites
Matt Hawkins – West Side Story – Drury Lane Productions
John Tovar – Camelot – Drury Lane Productions

ARTISTIC SPECIALIZATION
Dave Bova – Hair and Makeup Design – Marie Antoinette – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Jesse Mooney-Bullock – Puppet Design – The Hammer Trinity, Part 3: The Excelsior King
The House Theatre of Chicago
Marco Ramirez and Stephanie Paul – Rhythm and Percussion – The Royale
American Theater Company
Isaac Schoepp – Rigging Design – Moby Dick – Lookingglass Theatre Company in association with
The Actors’ Gymnasium