Berkshire Theatre Awards 2017
Founded in Memory of the Critic Larry Murray
By: Charles Giuliano - Nov 06, 2017
PITTSFIELD, MA (November 7, 2017) - At an SRO ceremony held on the stage of the St. Germain Theatre at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, the Board of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association presented the Berkshire Theatre Awards on the evening of Monday, November 6, 2017. This was the second year the awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theatre in the greater Berkshire region.
Critics J. Peter Bergman and Macey Levin once again hosted the ceremony, which saw top honors for Best Play go to the Berkshire Theatre Group’s production of David Auburn’s Lost Lake, and a tie between Barrington Stage Company’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company and the Mac-Haydn Theatre’s production of Hello, Dolly! for Best Musical.
The Berkshire Theatre Group captured both of the Outstanding Direction awards, with Eric Hill winning for his production of Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo, and James Barry for his direction of the musical Million Dollar Quartet.
Joel Ripka took home the award for Outstanding Solo Performance in Chester Theatre Company’s production of Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing, directed by Daniel Elihu Kramer. That production was also honored as Outstand New Play of the season. The Oldcastle Theatre Company production of Shipwrecked!... directed by Eric Peterson, won for Outstanding Ensemble Performance for actors John Hadden, David Joseph, and Carla Woods.
The Larry Murray Award for Community Outreach and Support through Theater went to Kristen van Ginhoven and WAM Theatre for their innovative double philanthropic mission whereby they donate a portion of the box office proceeds of every major production to a non-profit organization that benefits women and girls. Since its founding in 2010, WAM Theatre has donated more than $41,500 to thirteen nonprofit organizations.
In addition to the awards, critics Charles Guiliano and Gail M. Burns gave a special tribute to the Berkshire Theatre Association founder, the late Larry Murray, who passed away in March of this year. Kristen van Ginhoven presented a monologue entitled The Last Activist Standing.
2017 Berkshire Theatre Awards (winners appear in Boldface)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play:
Nominees: Jessica Hecht - The Clean House - Williamstown Theatre Festival; Ella Loudon - The Tempest - Shakespeare & Co; Medina Senghore - Intimate Apparel - Shakespeare & Co; Zoë Laiz - 4000 Miles - Shakespeare & Co.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play:
Nominees: Joey Collins - At Home At the Zoo - Berkshire Theatre Group; Mark H. Dold - This - Barrington Stage Company; Carson Elrod - Taking Steps - Barrington Stage Company; Rocco Sisto - The Birds - Barrington Stage Company.
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play or Musical:
Nominees: Riccardo Hernandez - The Clean House - Williamstown Theatre Festival; Randall Parsons - Arsenic and Old Lace - Berkshire Theatre Group; Brian Prather - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company; Kristen Robinson - Company - Barrington Stage Company.
Outstanding Choreography:
Nominees: Jeffrey Page - Company - Barrington Stage Company; Freddy Ramirez - Mamma Mia - Capital Rep; Sebastiani Romagnolo - Hello, Dolly! - Mac-Haydn Theatre; Shea Sullivan - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company
Outstanding Direction of a Muscial:
Nominees: James Barry - Million Dollar Quartet - Berkshire Theatre Group; Joe Calaraco - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company; Trey Compton - Godspell 2012 - Theater Barn; John Saunders - Hello, Dolly! - Mac-Haydn Theatre
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play or Musical:
Nominees: Tyler Kinney - Cymbeline - Shakespeare & Co; Govane Lohbauer - Emilie... - WAM Theatre; Bethany Marx - Hello, Dolly! - Mac-Haydn Theatre; Sara Jean Tosetti - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company
Outstanding Solo Performance:
Nominees: Kyle Branzel - Buyer & Cellar - Weston Playhouse; Ed Dixon - Georgie - Barrington Stage Company; Joel Ripka - Every Brilliant Thing - Chester Theatre; Oliver Wadsworth - The Tarnation of Russell Colvin - Dorset Theatre Festival
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical:
Nominees: Ellen Harvey - Company - Barrington Stage Company; Rachel Rhodes-Devey - Hello, Dolly! - Mac-Haydn Theatre; Madison Stratton - Spamalot - Mac-Haydn Theatre; Zurin Villanueva - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical:
Nominees: Mike Baldassari - Children of a Lesser God - Berkshire Theatre Group; Chris Lee - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company; David Weiner - Where Storms Are Born - Williamstown Theatre Festival; Robert Wierzel - A Legendary Romance - Williamstown Theatre Festival
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical:
Nominees: Gabe Belyeu - Hello, Dolly! - Mac-Haydn Theatre; Gil Brady - Mamma Mia - Capital Rep; Roe Harftrampf - A Legendary Romance - Williamstown Theatre Festival; Paul Urriola - Guys and Dolls - Theater Barn
Outstanding Direction of a Play:
Nominees: Eric Hill - At Home At the Zoo - Berkshire Theatre Group; Kenny Leon - Children of a Lesser God - Berkshire Theatre Group; Regge Life - God of Carnage - Shakespeare & Company; Rebecca Taichman - The Clean House - Williamstown Theatre Festival
Outstanding Sound Design of a Play or Musical:
Nominees: Scott Killian - Lost Lake - Berkshire Theatre Group; Ryan Rumery - The Legend of Georgia McBride - Dorset Theatre Festival; Alex Sovronsky - The Last Wife - WAM Theatre; David Thomas - The Birds - Barrington Stage Company
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical:
Nominee: Lora Lee Gayer - A Legendary Romance - Williamstown Theatre Festival; Emily Kron - Sweeney Todd - Mac-Haydn Theatre; Elizabeth Stanley - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company; Monica M. Wemitt - Hello, Dolly! - Mac-Haydn Theatre
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical:
Nominees: Darnell Abraham - Ragtime - Barrington Stage Company; Mark Hardy - Sweeney Todd - Mac-Haydn Theatre; Jeff McCarthy - A Legendary Romance - Williamstown Theatre Festival; Aaron Tveit - Company - Barrington Stage Company
Outstanding New Play or Musical:
Nominees: Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan, Daniel Elihu Kramer, director - Chester Theatre, producer; I and You by Lauren Gunderson, Kristen van Ginhoven, director - Chester Theatre, producer; A Legendary Romance by Timothy Prager and Geoff Morrow, Lonny Price, director - Williamstown Theatre Festival, producer; Where Storms are Born by Harrison David Rivers, Shaheem Ali, director - Williamstown Theatre Festival, producer
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play:
Nominees: Lynnette R. Freeman - Lost Lake - Berkshire Theatre Group; Diane Prusha - Wharton Comedies - Shakespeare & Co; Lauren Ridloff - Children of a Lesser God - Berkshire Theatre Group; Kim Stauffer - Emilie... - WAM Theatre
Outstanding Ensemble Performance:
Nominees: Baskerville - Dorset Theatre Festival; God of Carnage - Shakespeare & Company; Shipwrecked!. . . - Oldcastle Theatre; Skeleton Crew - Chester Theatre
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play:
Nominees: David Adkins - At Home At the Zoo - Berkshire Theatre Group; Quentin Maré - Lost Lake - Berkshire Theatre Group; Nigel Gore - The Tempest - Shakespeare & Company; Oliver Wadsworth - Emilie... - WAM Theatre
The Larry Murray Award for Community Outreach and Support through Theater:
Nominees: Julianne Boyd, Barrington Stage Company; Mandy Greenfield, Williamstown Theatre Festival; Kate Maguire, Berkshire Theatre Group; Kristen van Ginhoven, WAM Theatre
Outstanding Production of a Musical:
Nominees: Company - Barrington Stage Company; Hello, Dolly! - Mac-Haydn Theatre; A Legendary Romance - Williamstown Theatre Company; Sweeney Todd - Mac-Haydn Theatre
Outstanding Production of a Play:
Nominees: The Birds - Barrington Stage Company; Children of a Lesser God - Berkshire Theatre Group; The Clean House - Williamstown Theatre Festival; Lost Lake - Berkshire Theatre Group
About the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association
The BTCA was founded informally in August, 2016 by theatre critic Larry Murray of
BerkshireOnStage.com. Before Larry passed away in March 2017, he appointed the current board: J. Peter Bergman (President), Robert Bruyr (Secretary), Ed Sedarbaum (Treasurer), Gail M. Burns, Gloria Miller, and Macey Levin. We were formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization on April 24, 2017, and added Robert Sugarman and Sally Sugarman to the board bringing in representatives of Vermont to our Massachusetts and Connecticut group. We hope to find a New York State critic to add to the board in 2018.
Our purpose is to promote and honor the excellence and diversity of theatrical productions in the greater Berkshire region – defined as being within Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and 50 miles in any direction from the County borders – through the annual presentation of the Berkshire Theatre Awards and other activities.
For more information visit: www.berkshirecritics.org