Huntington's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and More Win 2018 IRNE Awards

The Huntington Theatre Company's production of "Merrily We Roll Along" took home seven awards, including Best Musical in the Large Stage category, and SpeakEasy Stage's "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night" earned five Small Stage (including Best Play) honors at the 22nd Annual IRNE Awards held last night.

Speakeasy's "Bridges of Madison County" copped four wins in the Small Stage - Musical category, and Merrimack Rep's "The Royale" also won three awards for Large Stage, including Best Play. In addition to Best Musical, "Merrily" took home honors for Best Director (Maria Friedman), Actress (Eden Espinosa), Supporting Actress (Aimee Doherty), Ensemble, Lighting Design (David Lander) and Costume Design (Soutra Gilmour).

Megan Sandberg-Zakian followed up last year's win as Best Director in the Small Stage category with a win in Large Stage as the director of "Royale", Paul Daigneault was named Best Director - Small Stage for "Curious Incident", and David Miller of Zeitgeist Stage won for his direction of "Faceless", which also won Best Play in the Fringe category.

There was also a pair of double winners at the awards ceremony, as Greater Boston Stage Company's Ilyse Robbins took home the honors as Small Stage Director ("She Loves Me") and choreographer ("Dames at Sea"), while Matthew Stern earned kudos as Best Musical Director for Large ("Merrily We Roll Along") and Small Musical (The Bridges of Madison County).