Hunter Foster, Lea Salonga and More Earn 2012 Craig Noel Nominations

More than 110 local and national theater artists representing more than 45 San Diego theatrical productions will compete for the 2012 Craig Noel Awards, the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle announced today.

The awards ceremony will be held Feb. 4, 2013, in La Jolla. Digital invitations will be sent out in late December with RSVP information enclosed.

Leading the list of nominations with six were The Old Globe's world premiere musical "Allegiance," and Moxie Theatre's revival of Lorraine Hansberry's, "A Raisin in the Sun." Receiving five nominations each were Cygnet Theatre's production of the musical, "Parade" and The Old Globe's production of the musical "The Scottsboro Boys."

Productions with four nominations included The Old Globe's world premiere musical "Nobody Loves You," Moonlight Stage Productions' "Sweeney Todd," The Old Globe's Summer Shakespeare Festival revival of "Inherit the Wind," and two productions from ion theatre: "Top Dog/Underdog," and "The Little Flower of East Orange."

Competing for the outstanding resident musical award will be "The Scottsboro Boys," "Parade," and Moonlight's "Fiddler on the Roof." Competing for outstanding new musical will be "Allegiance," the Broadway-bound La Jolla Playhouse production of "Hands on a Hardbody," "Nobody Loves You," Diversionary Theatre's world premiere production of "Harmony, Kansas," and La Jolla Playhouse's adaptation of the Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots." Competing for the outstanding dramatic production award will be "A Raisin in the Sun," "Inherit the Wind," "Top Dog/Underdog," and two La Jolla Playhouse offerings, "Blood and Gifts," and "An Iliad."

In the musical acting categories, the nominees for outstanding female leading performance in a musical are Sandy Campbell ("Parade"), Bets Malone ("Sweeney Todd"), along with Natalie Storrs for the Welk Resorts Theatre's production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and Hilary Maiberger for Moonlight's "Little Women: The Musical." The nominees for outstanding male lead in a musical are Hunter Foster ("Hands on a Hardbody"), and Robert Townsend ("Sweeney Todd"), along with Sean Murray ("Man of La Mancha," produced by Cygnet Theatre), Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper ("Words By...," produced by North Coast Repertory Theatre), and Shaun Tuazon ("Deconstruction of a Drag Queen," produced by Circle Circle dot dot Theatre).

In the dramatic acting categories, the outstanding female leading performance nominees are Sylvia M'Lafi Thompson ("A Raisin in the Sun"), Dana Green ("As You Like It," produced by The Old Globe's Summer Shakespeare Festival), Yolanda Franklin ("The Sugar Witch," produced by OnStage Playhouse) Eva Kaminsky ("Good People," produced by The Old Globe), and Catalina Maynard ("Julia," produced by ion theatre). The outstanding male lead performance in a play nominees are co-stars Robert Foxworth and Adrian Sparks ("Inherit the Wind"), Lawrence Brown ("Top Dog/Underdog"), Jeffrey Jones ("The Little Flower of East Orange"), and Mark Christopher Lawrence for performances in both "Top Dog/Underdog" and "A Raisin in the Sun."

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