Equity Jeff Award Nominations Announced

It's an embarrassment of riches. Or nominations. This year the judges handing out nominations for the equity side of Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Awards went big, with ten nods in the Director of a Play category and nine each for large and midsize plays.

Meanwhile, they made the usual head-scratching choices, singling out only Caroline O'Connor among the four leads of Chicago Shakespeare's "Follies," when she was by far the least successful of the four. Sorry, Susan Moniz! I loved you.

That "Follies" led the pack with seven nominations, including one for the production itself (large musical), supporting actress Hollis Resnick (who was terrific), director Gary Griffin, musical director Brad Haak, choreographer Alex Sanchez and costume designer Virgil C. Johnson.

Other productions with seven nominations include "Death and Harry Houdini" at the House Theatre of Chicago, and "Invisible Man," at Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions.

The cast of "The Iceman Cometh" at the Goodman, one of the most talked-about shows of the year, was given an "ensemble" nomination along with individual nods for Brian Dennehy, as Larry Slade, director Robert Falls, scenic designer Kevin Depinet, lighting designer Natasha Katz, and the show itself in the large play category.

"Clybourne Park" at Steppenwolf was another show with its ensemble outshining individuals, as the cast as a whole, along with director Amy Morton and scenic designer Todd Rosenthal, were nominated. Rosenthal collected more nominations than most shows, with his work on "An Iliad" at Court Theatre and "Red" at the Goodman also honored. 

Other big name shows -- "Elizabeth Rex" at Chicago Shakes, "Angels in America" and "An Iliad" at Court Theatre, "The March" at Steppenwolf, "Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting" and "Eastland" at Lookingglass -- were handed multiple nominations, as well.

Like Rosenthal, lighting designer Jesse Klug, scenic designer Jack Magaw, sound designer Kevin O'Donnell, and production/media designer Mike Tutaj each received three nominations.

And IWU's Amanda Dehnert ("Eastland") and ISU's Gary Griffin ("Follies") were both nominated for best direction of a large musical.

For the complete list of nominations, click here. Theatre in Chicago and the Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones have some interesting commentary on the nominations, too.

A "Reckoning" Season Coming Up for Steppenwolf in 2012-13

Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company has not only launched a splashy new look for their website, but also announced their upcoming 2012-13 season.

They're calling their upcoming season "The Reckoning," with the teaser "There comes a moment when we are called to account. Will our deeds be repaid? Will our secrets be revealed? Will we get what we deserve?"

All of which sounds like a very Steppenwolf season.

The five plays they've chosen to represent "what happens when the past comes knocking" are:

GOOD PEOPLE, by David Lindsay-Abaire. September 13 to November 11, 2012.
Lindsay-Abaire's Boston-based play opened on Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club just about a year ago, with a production directed by Daniel Sullivan and starring Frances McDormand as a down-on-her-luck single mother who turns up on the doorstep of an old boyfriend who turned out to be a lot more successful than anybody else in the neighborhood. McDormand won the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in "Good People." For Steppenwolf, ensemble member K. Todd Freeman will direct, with Alana Arenas, IWU alum Mariann Mayberry and Molly Regan in the cast.

THE MOTHERF*CKER WITH THE HAT, by Stephen Adly Guirgis. December 27, 2012 to March 3, 2013.
Everybody wanted to know how the Times and other papers would refer to this play. I don't think the asterisk is fooling anybody, but apparently, "Motherf*cker" is what we're all going with. It, too, played on Broadway last year, with comedian Chris Rock as a parole and drug abuse counselor. Cast members Bobby Cannavale, Yul Vázquez and Elizabeth Rodriguez were all nominated for Tonys, as was director Anna D. Shapiro, who will also be at the helm for this new production at Steppenwolf. Will Shapiro take the play and its comic storyline about a guy just out of prison who thinks his girlfriend is cheating on him in a new direction this time?

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, by Harold Pinter. January 24 to May 19, 2013.
This Pinter classic, full of menace, dread and murky motives, is about a birthday party in a dumpy seaside town, with two surprise guests who turn everything upside-down. "The Birthday Party" will be directed for Steppenwolf by Austin Pendleton, who recently visited ISU, with ISU alumni Francis Guinan and Moira Harris in the cast along with John Mahoney, Ian Barford and Harris's daughter Sophia Sinise.

HEAD OF PASSES, by Tarell Alvin McCraney. April 4 to June 9, 2013.
Another birthday party! McCraney's brand-new play is nowhere near Pinter's England, however. She sets her party "at the Mississippi River's mouth," which I'm assuming means New Orleans, with a family gathering that exposes old, dark secrets. McCraney's "Brother/Sister Plays" were directed by Tina Landau, who will also take on "Head of Passes." Look for Alana Arenas, K. Todd Freeman, U of I grad Jon Michael Hill, Tim Hopper and James Vincent Meredith, who memorably appeared at the Station Theatre in Urbana before his Steppenwolf tenure.

BELLEVILLE, by Amy Herzog. June 27 to August 25, 2013.
No, not Belleville, Illinois. Herzog's suspense drama is is set in the artsy, gentrified Belleville neighborhood in Paris, the one that appeared in "The Triplets of  Belleville." Zack and Abby, a pair of American 20-somethings, think they've found the perfect place to be hip and trendy, idealistic and Bohemian, young and in love. But there are ominous cracks in their marriage from the very start, contrasting their experience in Paris with the more stable French-African married couple who are their landlords. "Belleville" will be directed by Anne Kaufman, with omnipresent ensemble member Alana Arenas as well as Kate Arrington in the cast. Fun fact about playwright Amy Herzog: Her grandfather was Arthur Herzog, Jr., who wrote the song "God Bless the Child."

For information about subscriptions to Steppenwolf's "Reckoning" season, click here.

Primus Prize Awarded to Jamie Pachino

Just got this press release from the ATCA and thought I would share...

SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN FOR 2010 PRIMUS PRIZE (see details at end)

The Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation and the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) are pleased to announce that playwright Jamie Pachino of Los Angeles has been awarded the $10,000 2009 Francesca Primus Prize for her play Splitting Infinity. Included is a trip to this summer’s ATCA conference at the O’Neill Theater Center in Connecticut.

The Primus Prize is given annually to an emerging woman theater artist, either playwright, artistic director or director.

Splitting Infinity focuses on Leigh, a Nobel Prize–winning astrophysicist, who pursues evidence of God through physics. The polarity between faith and science finds dramatic expression in two relationships, the first with a handsome rabbi, Saul, and the other with Robbie, a young graduate student who idolizes her.

Splitting Infinity was commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theatre and premiered at the Geva Theatre, directed by Mark Cuddy and starring Elizabeth Hess and Michael Rupert. It has had subsequent productions at San Jose Rep, Florida Stage and elsewhere. It has already received such recognition as the Laurie Foundation Theatre Visionary Award and the STAGE International Script Competition (Professional Artists Lab/California NanoSystems Institute), plus awards from the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition, the Ashland New Plays Festival, and the Becket Arts Festival.

Kirsten Brandt, who directed the production at San Jose Rep, acclaims Pachino’s “lyric style” and says the theater chose the play because of its “inherent theatricality,” complex main characters that provide great roles and “ability to make an audience think.” The San Jose Mercury News named it one of the top 10 productions of 2008.

Informed of her award, playwright Pachino said, “The Primus Prize is one that is extremely respected by women playwrights and I am so honored and delighted to be recognized.”

Pachino was selected from 41 nominees by a nationwide committee of critics, headed by Barbara Bannon (Salt Lake City) and composed of Marianne Evett, Glenda Frank, Judith Reynolds and Herb Simpson.

Given the number of contenders for the award, the committee also chose two to receive $1,000 Primus Citations, funded by ATCA: Jennifer Haley of North Hollywood, CA, for Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, which premiered at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, directed by Kip Fagan; and Kathryn Walat of New York City for Bleeding Kansas, which premiered at the Hanger Theatre in Ithaca, N.Y., directed by Kevin Moriarity.

“The Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation was established to recognize and support emerging women artists who are making a difference in the theater community in which they work,” said Barry Primus, the foundation head. Founded in 1997 in memory of actress, critic and ATCA member Francesca Primus, the Primus Prize was originally administered by the Denver Center Theatre Company and limited to playwrights. ATCA began overseeing the award in 2004.

Pachino has been writing plays for more than a decade, and her work includes Waving Goodbye, The Return to Morality, Aurora’s Motive, and Race. Her plays have been produced and developed at theaters ranging from Steppenwolf to the American Conservatory Theatre, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and Northlight Theatre. She also has extensive writing credits for both film and television, and she is an actress and choreographer.

ATCA is the nationwide organization of theater critics, an affiliate of the International Association of Theatre Critics. In addition to the Primus Prize, it administers the $40,000 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award and the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award. ATCA members also recommend a regional theater for the annual Tony Award and vote on induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR 2010 PRIMUS PRIZE
DEADLINE FEBRUARY 28

Submissions for the 2010 Primus Prize are now being accepted. The prize operates on an open submission basis—an applicant may submit herself or be nominated by another individual or organization.

Historically the award has been given to an outstanding female playwright, but the committee may also consider directors or artistic directors. To qualify for consideration, a playwright must have had a fully staged, professional production of her script within 2009. For other artists, there must also have been some significant achievement in the calendar year. But in both cases, the committee will consider a body of work going back several years.

A submission must be in the form of a portfolio of no more than 20 single-sided pages. It should include a letter recommending the candidate, a synopsis of her body of work, and supporting materials sufficient to familiarize the committee with her achievement, possibly including reviews and/or a statement of the artist's philosophy. Playwrights should also submit the script. If more than one play was produced in 2009, only one may be submitted, but excerpts from others might be part of the portfolio. Portfolios will not be returned.

Six copies of an applicant's entire portfolio (plus script for playwrights) along with an application fee of $25 (checks payable to ATCA) should be mailed, postmarked no later than Feb. 28, to ATCA, c/o Chris Curcio, P. O. Box 26945, Phoenix, AZ 85068; email queries at atca_admin@msn.com (note underscore).

For further information, contact Primus Prize chair Barbara Bannon, Salt Lake City, bbannon@xmission.com, or ATCA chair Chris Rawson, Pittsburgh, cchr@pitt.edu.