Boston Theater Critics Association Announces 2013 Elliot Norton Awards Nominations

The Boston Theater Critics Association has announced its nominations for the 31st Annual Elliot Norton Awards. The awards, which recognize excellence in Greater Boston theater, will be presented on Monday, May 13, at 7 p.m. at the Paramount Mainstage, 559 Washington Street, Boston. Tickets are $30 (including post-party) and available by phone at 617-824-8000 or online www.nortonawardsboston.com. (Use "NortonSave" code to receive $5 off for the month of April only.) Sponsors for the 2013 awards ceremony include, ArtsEmerson, Actors' Equity Association, ArtsBoston, EdgeBoston, Emerson College, TheaterMania, The Boston Globe, WBUR, WERS and WGBH.

Broadway icon Chita Rivera will be the recipient of the 2013 Elliot Norton Lifetime Achievement Award. According to Joyce Kulhawik, President of the BTCA, "We can't wait to honor the dazzling Chita--everyone loves her drama and warmth! She's larger than life-- and is especially inspiring to young artists who literally want to follow in her footsteps."

This year's recipient of the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence will be Will Lyman. Currently appearing as the nuclear physicist and Nobel Laureate Otto Hahn in the Nora Theatre's production of Operation Epsilon at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Will's diverse career encompasses roles both behind and in front of the camera. You've probably heard his voice: he's the exclusive narrator of Public Television's long-running "Frontline" series; other voice-over credits include documentaries for National Geographic, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, and The Learning Channel, to name a few. He is also much sought-after as a commercial voice actor, currently serving the Dos Equis "most interesting man in the world" campaign and the 'connection' spots for UPS. In front of the lens, he's done extensive work in both film and television, including roles in the films "What Doesn't Kill You," "Little Children," "Mystic River," "The Siege," "A Perfect Murder," and "Welcome to the Dollhouse," as well as in the TV series "Commander-in-Chief" and "Threat Matrix." For the past several years, Will has worked almost exclusively in the Boston theater community and has been consistently well-received by critics and audiences alike. His roles have included Apemantus in Shakespeare's little-performedTimon of Athens with Actors' Shakespeare Project; Joe Keller in Arthur Miller's All My Sons (Elliot Norton Award Nominee for Outstanding Actor/IRNE Award for Best Actor) directed by David Esbjornson at the Huntington Theatre Company; Rex, an actor struggling with the effects of age on his work and his love life Boston Playwrights' Theatre, The Oil Thief, (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actor), an actor "left behind by time" (New Rep Theatre, Exits and Entrances, Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actor), and a German psychochirologist who wrestles with his patients in Speakeasy Stage Company/Boston Playwright's Theater/40 Magnolias' premiere ofThe Wrestling Patient. In 2010, he portrayed Ralph Nickleby in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, parts 1 and 2 (IRNE Award for Best Ensemble/Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production) at the Lyric Stage Company, Evan in Theresa Rebeck's DollHouse, an update of the Ibsen classic, for New Repertory Theatre, and James Tyrone in the critically acclaimed production of Long Day's Journey into Night, also at New Rep. In 2008, he was one of four nominees for Best Actor at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Will is the father of actress Georgia Lyman. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, which is dedicated to Free Shakespeare on the Boston Common. Will lives in Boston with his wife, Anastasia of over forty years. http://www.whitethroat.com/bio.html#

The BTCA will award a Special Citation honoring Actors' Equity Association (AEA) on the occasion of its 100th Birthday. Founded May 26, 1913, AEA has had an illustrious and fascinating history intertwined with the growth of the American professional theatre. For many decades, Actors' Equity has sought to improve conditions for actors and stage managers, while also fighting on the forefront of many social issues, such as blacklisting, segregation, arts funding, save the theatres, the battle against AIDs, and marriage equality. AEA has been a strong and positive advocate for New England area professional theatres and has a large, active membership in the Greater Boston area. For more information visit www.actorsequity.org.

The Elliot Norton Awards are named in honor of the distinguished Boston theater critic Elliot Norton, who for many years served on the selection committee and who remained an engaged supporter of the drama, both locally and nationally, until his death in 2003 at the age of 100. For 48 years Mr. Norton was a drama critic for Boston newspapers; concurrently, from 1958 until his retirement in 1982, he was moderator of Elliot Norton Reviews on WGBH television. The Norton Medal was first bestowed in 1983. Since then, the awards have grown to include, in addition to the Prize for Sustained Excellence, almost two dozen awards presented annually to outstanding productions, performers, directors, and designers. In addition, the event has become a memorable evening, attended over the years by such luminaries as Tommy Tune, Julie Harris, Elaine Stritch, Irene Worth, and Al Pacino. The Boston Theater Critics Association, which presents the Elliot Norton Awards, includes Don Aucoin, Jared Bowen, Terry Byrne, Carolyn Clay, Nick Dussault, Iris Fanger, Joyce Kulhawik, Sandy MacDonald, Robert Nesti, Kilian Melloy, and Ed Siegel. Together with the thriving local theater community, they carry on his legacy.

Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence: Will Lyman

Special Citation honoring Actors' Equity Association (AEA) on the occasion of its 100th Birthday.

Outstanding Visiting Production
War Horse (Broadway in Boston)
The Servant of Two Masters (Yale Repertory Theatre, presented by ArtsEmerson)
Metamorphosis (Vesturport Theatre and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, presented by ArtsEmerson)

Outstanding Production by a Large Resident Theater
Good People (Huntington Theatre Company)
Our Town (Huntington Theatre Company)
The Glass Menagerie (American Repertory Theater)

Outstanding Production by a Midsize Theater
The Motherfucker with the Hat (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Chinglish (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
Clybourne Park (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

Outstanding Production by a Small Theater
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Company One)
Of Mice and Men (Moonbox Productions)
TEd Hughes' Tales from Ovid (Whistler in the Dark, presented by ArtsEmerson)

Outstanding Production by a Fringe Theater
Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead (Happy Medium Theatre)
A Behanding in Spokane (Theatre on Fire)
Tigers Be Still (Zeitgeist Stage Company)

Outstanding Design, Large Theater
Marie Antoinette: scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, costumes by Gabriel Berry, lighting by Christopher Akerlind, sound by Matt Hubbs, puppet design by Matt Acheson (American Repertory Theater)
Metamorphosis: set design by Börkur Jonsson, lighting by Björn Helgason, sound by Nick Manning (Vesturport Theatre and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, presented by ArtsEmerson)
A Raisin in the Sun: set by Clint Ramos, costumes by Kathleen Geldard, lighting by Lap Chi Chu, original music and sound design by Broken Chord (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Design, Midsize, Small or Fringe Theater
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity: set and props by Jason Ries, lighting by Jen Rock, sound by Arshan Gailus, costumes by Kendra Bell, video by Olivia Sebesky (Company One)
Mildred Fierce: sets by Amelia Gossett and Lauren Duffy, costumes by Scott Martino, lighting by Sparrow Provoost, sound by Roger Moore (Gold Dust Orphans)
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson: scenic design by Eric Levenson, costumes by Elisabetta Polito, lighting by Jeff Adelberg, sound by Eric Norris (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

Outstanding Musical Production by a Large Theater
Billy Elliot The Musical (Broadway in Boston)
Fela! (Shawn "Jay-Z' Carter, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth and Stephen Hendel, in association with Edward Tyler Nahem, presented by ArtsEmerson)
Pippin (American Repertory Theater)

Outstanding Musical Production by a Midsize, Small or Fringe Company
Mildred Fierce (Gold Dust Orphans)
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Avenue Q (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actor
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela! (Shawn "Jay-Z' Carter, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth and Stephen Hendel, in association with Edward Tyler Nahem, ArtsEmerson)
Gus Curry, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
John Ambrosino, Avenue Q (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress
Erica Spyres, Avenue Q (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
Amy Jo Jackson, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Andrea Martin, Pippin (American Repertory Theater)

Outstanding New Script
The Last Will, by Robert Brustein (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Suffolk University)
Operation Epsilon, by Alan Brody (Nora Theatre Company and Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT Project)
Mildred Fierce, by Ryan Landry (Gold Dust Orphans)

Outstanding Solo Performance
Georgia Lyman, Chesapeake (New Repertory Theatre)
Seana McKenna, Shakespeare's Will (Merrimack Repertory Theatre)
Hershey Felder, Maestro: Leonard Bernstein (ArtsEmerson)

Outstanding Director, Large Theater
Maria Aitken, Private Lives and Betrayal (Huntington Theatre Company)
Rebecca Taichman, Marie Antoinette (American Repertory Theater)
John Tiffany, The Glass Menagerie (American Repertory Theater)

Outstanding Director, Midsize Theater
David R. Gammons, The Motherf**ker with the Hat (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Spiro Veloudos, Avenue Q (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
Paul Melone, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

Outstanding Director, Small or Fringe Theater
Shawn LaCount, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Company One)
James P. Byrne, Mary Poppers and Mildred Fierce (Gold Dust Orphans)
Alice Olivia Choate, Of Mice and Men (Moonbox Productions)

Outstanding Actor, Large Theater
Steven Epp, The Servant of Two Masters (Yale Repertory Theatre, presented by ArtsEmerson)
LeRoy McClain, A Raisin in the Sun (Huntington Theatre Company)
Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Metamorphosis (Vesturport Theatre and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, presented by ArtsEmerson)

Outstanding Actress, Large Theater
Brooke Bloom, Marie Antoinette (American Repertory Theater)
Bianca Amato, Private Lives (Huntington Theatre Company)
Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie (American Repertory Theater)

Outstanding Actor, Midsize Theater
Will Lyman, Long Day's Journey into Night (New Repertory Theatre), Operation Epsilon(Nora Theatre Company and Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT Project)
Maurice Emmanuel Parent, The Motherfucker with the Hat (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Steven Barkhimer, Round and Round the Garden (Gloucester Stage Company),Middletown (Actors' Shakespeare Project)

Outstanding Actress, Midsize Theater
EveLyn Howe, The Motherfucker with the Hat (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Marvelyn McFarlane, Clybourne Park (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Celeste Oliva, Chinglish (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

Outstanding Actor, Small or Fringe Theater
Harry McEnerny, Of Mice and Men (Moonbox Productions)
Ricardo Engermann, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Company One)
Mason Sand, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Company One)

Outstanding Actress, Small or Fringe Theater
Becca A. Lewis, Tigers Be Still (Zeitgeist Stage Company)
Kiki Samko, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead (Happy Medium Theatre)
Lizette M. Morris, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead (Happy Medium Theatre)

Outstanding Ensemble, Large Theater
The Servant of Two Masters (Yale Repertory Theatre, presented by ArtsEmerson)
The Glass Menagerie (American Repertory Theater)
Our Town (Huntington Theatre Company)

Outstanding Ensemble, Midsize, Small or Fringe Theater
Avenue Q (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Company One)
Operation Epsilon (Nora Theatre Company and Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT Project)