Gabriel Ruiz, Allen Gilmore, Sheldon Brown, Kamal Angelo Bolden, and Thomas Cox in a scene from MAN IN THE RING at Court Theater, which was one of the New Play Jeff Award recipients for the 2016-2017 season. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
The 49th Annual Equity Jeff Awards honored last season’s achievements in Chicago theater Monday night at Drury Lane Oakbrook.
“Sweeney Todd” at Paramount was the most honored production of the evening, earning five trophies, including the best Production-Musical-Large. Paramount also received three awards for “The Little Mermaid” for a total of eight Jeffs, the most for any institution. Production-Play-Large went to Court’s “Blues for an Alabama Sky” — the company earned four awards in total. The prestigious Ensemble Award, sponsored by Actors Equity Association, went to “East Texas Hot Links” at Writers Theatre. Three new works were honored, Michael Cristofer’s “Man in the Ring” at Court Theatre, Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” at Northlight, and Antoinette Nwandu’s “Pass Over” at Steppenwolf.
A Special Award was presented to recently retired Goodman Producer Steve Scott, honoring his 37-year career. Scott, who was introduced by Goodman Leaders Roche Schulfer and Robert Falls, said “he can’t believe he’s been in Chicago as a theatre artist for 37 years” and quipped that he was three years old when he arrived. Falls said of Scott: “his greatest gift is his extraordinary mentorship.”
In an attempt to address issues of inclusion and representation, the Jeff Committee has begun a process of self-study, and onstage at the ceremony Jeff Chair David Liesse said the survey phase results will be released soon.
The adjudicated productions took place between August 1, 2016, and July 31, 2017. The Jeff committee attended the opening nights of 159 productions from 62 producing organizations. Of these, 123 productions were “Jeff Recommended,” which made them eligible for award nominations.
PRODUCTION – PLAY – LARGE
“Blues for an Alabama Sky” – Court Theatre
PRODUCTION – PLAY – MIDSIZE
“Born Yesterday” – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – LARGE
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” – Paramount Theatre
PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – MIDSIZE
“The Scottsboro Boys” – Porchlight Music Theatre
PRODUCTION – REVUE
“Smokey Joe’s Café” – Drury Lane Productions
DIRECTOR – PLAY
Ron OJ Parson – “Blues for an Alabama Sky” – Court Theatre
DIRECTOR – MUSICAL
Jim Corti – “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street” – Paramount Theatre
ENSEMBLE
“East Texas Hot Links” – Writers Theatre
ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Alex Weisman – “Hand to God” – Victory Gardens Theater
ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Paul-Jordan Jansen – “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” – Paramount Theatre
ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Angela Ingersoll – “End of the Rainbow” – Porchlight Music Theatre
ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Kathy Voytko – “The Bridges of Madison County” – The Marriott Theatre
ACTOR IN A REVUE
Austin Cook – “Marry Me a Little” – Porchlight Music Theatre
ACTRESS IN A REVUE
Michelle Lauto – “Spamilton” – The Royal George Theatre Cabaret
SOLO PERFORMANCE
Linda Reiter – “Rose” – The Greenhouse Theater Center in association with Forum Productions
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Marton Csokas – “Uncle Vanya” – Goodman Theatre
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Jonathan Butler-Duplessis – “Parade” – Writers Theatre
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Kymberly Mellen – “The Columnist” – American Blues Theater
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
E. Faye Butler – “Chicago The Musical” – Drury Lane Productions
NEW PLAY
Michael Cristofer – “Man in the Ring” – Court Theatre
Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon – “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” – Northlight Theatre
Antoinette Nwandu – “Pass Over” – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
CHOREOGRAPHY
Matthew Crowle – “Crazy for You” – Drury Lane Productions
ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A PLAY
Orbert Davis – “Paradise Blue” – TimeLine Theatre Company
MUSIC DIRECTION
Tom Vendafreddo – “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” – Paramount Theatre
SCENIC DESIGN – LARGE
Jeffrey D. Kmiec – “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” – Paramount Theatre
SCENIC DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Joe Schermoly – “Naperville” – Theater Wit
LIGHTING DESIGN – LARGE
Nick Belley and Jesse Klug – “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” – Paramount Theatre
LIGHTING DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Cat Davis – “The River Bride” – Halcyon Theatre
COSTUME DESIGN – LARGE
Theresa Ham – “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” – Paramount Theatre
COSTUME DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Kristy Leigh Hall – “Pygmalion” – Remy Bumppo Theatre
SOUND DESIGN – LARGE
André Pluess – “Man in the Ring” – Court Theatre
SOUND DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Grover Hollway – “The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz” – The House Theatre of Chicago
PROJECTION DESIGN
Mike Tutaj – “Objects in the Mirror” – Goodman Theatre
PUPPET DESIGN
Jesse Mooney-Bullock – “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” – Paramount Theatre
Abigail has worked as an actor/director in Chicago for over ten years, and along with husband Jason Epperson founded Lotus Theatricals in 2015, and PerformInk Chicago and Kansas City in 2016 (where she serves as Managing Editor of both publications). When not talking shop, Abigail is raising three padawans with Jason, drinking lots of coffee, converting school buses into RV's, and eating all the foods at Disney World. You can find her on Twitter @AbigailTrabue
