HAMILTON, THE INVISIBLE HAND Artists Top 2015 Henry Hewes Design Awards

BroadwayWorld is happy to report that four theater artists will be honored by the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee during the presentation of its 2015 Awards in a luncheon ceremony, set for the coming fall.

All honors for the 2015 awards were earned by artists working Off Broadway, marking the first time in the history of the awards that a Broadway production was not honored.

Riccardo Hernandez (The Invisible Hand, New York Theatre Workshop), Paul Tazewell (Hamilton, The Public Theater), Howell Binkley (Hamilton, The Public Theater) and Nevin Steinberg (Hamilton, The Public Theater) will be honored with 2015 Henry Hewes Design Awards.

Three of the four are first-time Henry Hewes Design Award honorees. Howell Binkley was previously honored in 2006 for his lighting design for Jersey Boys. For the 2015 honors, 66 theater artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 49 productions presented during the 2014-2015 New York theater season. The 2016 honorees will be announced this summer. (A complete list of 2015 nominees follows this awards announcement.)

These annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway, recognizing not only the traditional categories of Scenic Design, Costume Design and Lighting Design, but also "Notable Effects," which encompass sound, music, video, puppetry and other creative elements. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee considered more than 200 productions when making its nominations.

Scott Pask led all artists with four nominations for Broadway scenic designs. Sascha van Riel received nominations in three categories for her work on The Evening, a co-production of New York City Players, The Kitchen and Performance Space 122. Seven other designers received two nominations each for their work during the 2014-2015 season. The Off Broadway production of Hamilton and the Off Off Broadway production of The Evening led all other productions with four nominations each. Five productions received three nominations each and ten productions received two nominations each.

The HHDA Committee named honorees in four categories: Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design and Notable Effects. As of the 2015 awards, the Committee has bestowed 294 honors on 191 artists representing 205 productions.

Originally known as the Maharam Awards at their inception in 1965, the Hewes Awards were later known as the American Theatre Wing Design Awards in honor of the Wing's generous sponsorship. They were renamed in 1999 for noted critic Henry Hewes, who created the awards and served as a board member of the American Theatre Wing until his death in 2006 at age 89.

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee includes theater critics Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair; Dan Bacalzo; David Barbour; David Cote; Glenda Frank; Helen Shaw; and Michael Sommers.

2015 HENRY HEWES DESIGN AWARDS HONOREES:

Scenic Design

Riccardo Hernandez, The Invisible Hand (New York Theatre Workshop)

Costume Design

Paul Tazewell, Hamilton (Public Theater)

Lighting Design

Howell Binkley, Hamilton (Public Theater)

Notable Effects

Nevin Steinberg (sound design), Hamilton (Public Theater)

2015 HENRY HEWES DESIGN AWARDS NOMINEES:
(2015 Honorees in bold)

SCENIC DESIGN NOMINEES:

Andrew Lieberman, The Wayside Motor Inn

Arnulfo Maldonado, Generations

Beowulf Boritt, On the Town

Brett J. Banakis, D Deb Debbie Deborah

Brett J. Banakis, Big Love

David Korins, Hamilton

David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century

David Rockwell, You Can't Take It With You

David Zinn, Fun Home

Derek McLane, Into the Woods

John Lee Beatty, The Country House

Kevin Depinet, The Iceman Cometh

Michael Yeargan, The King and I

Mimi Lien, The Oldest Boy

Rachel Hauck, And I and Silence

Riccardo Hernandez, The Invisible Hand

Santo Loquasto, A Delicate Balance

Sascha Van Riel, The Evening

Scott Pask, The Visit

Scott Pask, It's Only A Play

Scott Pask, Airline Highway

Scott Pask, Finding Neverland

Vicki R. Davis, The Fatal Weakness

Walt Spangler, Dying for It

Walt Spangler, Between Riverside and Crazy

COSTUME DESIGN NOMINEES:

Andreas Vargas, The Fatal Weakness

Ann Roth, A Delicate Balance

Becky Bodurtha, This Lingering Life

Candice Donnelly, Indian Ink

Catherine Zuber, Gigi

Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Emilio Sosa, Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, and 3)

Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!

Jane Greenwood, You Can't Take It With You

Jess Goldstein, On the Town

Kaye Voyce, The Wayside Motor Inn

Paul Tazewell, Hamilton

Kaye Voyce, The Evening

Susan Hilferty, Posterity

Suzanne Bocanegra, Let Us Now Praise Susan Sontag

Tom Piper, Tamburlaine, Parts I and II

Vanessa Leuck, Disenchanted!

William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century

LIGHTING DESIGN NOMINEES:

Bradley King, And I and Silence

Brian MacDevitt, A Delicate Balance

Brian MacDevitt, This Is Our Youth

Christian DeAngelis, The Fatal Weakness

Christopher Akerlind, The Last Ship

Donald Holder, The King and I

Howell Binkley, Hamilton

Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Japhy Weideman, The Oldest Boy

Jason Lyons, On the Town

Jen Schriever, Bright Half Life

Jen Schriever, I'm Looking for Helen Twelvetrees

Maruti Evans, James Dickey's Deliverance

Natasha Katz, The Iceman Cometh

Sascha Van Riel, The Evening

Tyler Micoleau, The Wayside Motor Inn

NOTABLE EFFECTS NOMINEES:

Asa Wember (Sound Design), brownsville song (b-side for tray)

Bray Poor (Sound Design), 10 Out of 12

Clint Ramos (Production Design), Bootycandy

Darrel Maloney (Projection Design), Found

David Evans Morris and Kristin Marting (Production Effect), Trade Practices

David Valentine (Puppet Design), Six Rounds of Vengeance

Fitz Patton (Sound Design), Airline Highway

Ien DeNio (Sound Design), James Dickey's Deliverance

John Gromada (Sound Design), Lives of the Saints

John Narun (Projection Design), What I Did Last Summer

Kevin O'Donnell (Sound Design), Big Love

Leah Gelpe (Sound Design), The Invisible Hand

Nevin Steinberg (Sound Design), Hamilton

Roger Hanna and Price Johnston (Projection Design), Donogoo

Sascha van Riel and Zack Tinkelman (Visual Effect), The Evening

Tom Lee (Puppet and Object Design), The Scarlet Ibis

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus