Condola Rashad in Ruined
(© Liz Lauren)
Lynn Nottage’s Ruined is among the nominees for the 15th annual Black Theater Alliance/Ira Aldridge (BTAA) Awards, which have been announced, according to a report in The Chicago Sun-Times. The BTAA Awards celebrate achievement by black artists working in Chicago area theater and dance. Productions from Chicago’s four major black-operated theaters are eligible, as are African-American-themed works produced by theaters throughout the city.
Ruined has been nominated in the “Best writing, play” category. The other nominees are Lydia Diamond’s Stage Black, Kevin Douglas’ No Experience Necessary!!!, Nambi E. Kelley’s Hope VI and Brian Tucker’s The St. James Infirmary.
Douglas’ play, produced by MPAACT, is also nominated as “Best Production, drama or comedy,” as are From the Mississippi Delta and Pill Hill, both produced by eta Creative Arts Foundation. Additionally, Experience and Pill are contenders in the “Best Ensemble” category, alongside Radical Hearsay and Diamond’s Stage Black.
Among the musical nominations: David Barr III and Joe Plummer’s I Gotcha: The Story of Joe Tex and the Soul Clan, Dawn Bless and Reuben Echoles’ A Tribute to the Black Crooners, Javon Johnson’s Sanctified, and McKinley Johnson’s Eye of the Storm.
The award winners will be announced at a black-tie event on October 5. Melba Moore, the Tony Award-winning actress and three-time Grammy-nominated recording artist, is scheduled to be on hand to accept the Black Alliance’s Award of Merit.
For further information, visit www.btaawards.org.
