Heidi Blickenstaff, Alex Edelman, and More Receive Elliot Norton Awards; Full List

Awards were presented tonight in 37 categories including outstanding actors, directors, designers, choreographers, musicians, productions and 4 visiting productions by the Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA) at the 41st Annual Elliot Norton Awards ceremony, held at the Huntington Theatre in Boston.  

This year's recipient of the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence is Janie E. Howland, an acclaimed scenic designer based in Boston, whose work has been seen in Boston, New York, London, and throughout New England. Special Citations were awarded to Lyric Stage Boston in honor of its 50th Anniversary, Company One Theatre in honor of its 25th Anniversary, and veteran actress Annette Miller. The 2024 Elliot Norton Arts Education Award was presented to Hyde Square Task Force whose programs focus on the development of Boston's Latin Quarter as a cultural district, and community-based Afro-Latin arts enrichment.  

Joyce Kulhawik, president of the Boston Theater Critics Association, stated, “It's official. The NORTIES are now the hottest ticket in town! This is the biggest turnout ever to applaud our brilliant, passionate, hardworking, and simply splendid theater community. This year, more individuals, organizations, and businesses from all over greater Boston and beyond stepped up to join the BTCA to support, sponsor, and donate in acknowledgement of the riches these artists bring to our world all year long. In our 41st season, the Elliot Norton Awards have arrived!” 

The Elliot Norton Awards are presented annually by the Boston Theater Critics Association (Don Aucoin, Jared Bowen, Terry Byrne, Christopher Ehlers, Joyce Kulhawik, Jacquinn Sinclair. New members as of 4/1/24 include R. Scott Reedy, Bob Verini) to honor the outstanding work seen on Greater Boston stages throughout the season.  

The Elliot Norton Awards are named for the eminent Boston theater critic Elliot Norton, who remained an active supporter of drama, both locally and nationally, until his death in 2003 at the age of 100. The Boston theater community carries on his legacy and can be proud of its relentless growth as the arts continue struggling to survive.

Special and honored guests at the awards in past years comprise a Who's Who of distinguished artists whose work has appeared on Boston's stages, including: Al Pacino, Chita Rivera, Olympia Dukakis, Faye Dunaway, August Wilson, Melinda Lopez, Randy Rainbow, Cherry Jones, Lea DeLaria, Tommy Tune, Edward Albee, Brian Dennehy, Julie Harris, Sir Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave, and Jason Robards Jr.

This year's recipient of the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence is Janie E. Howland, scenic designer. Janie has been designing scenery for 30 years, since receiving her MFA from Brandeis University. She is making her Trinity Repertory Company debut in May with “La Cage aux Folles.” Her work was seen in London this past fall with a remount of “Operation Epsilon” at Southwark Playhouse. 

Regional productions include: “Mermaid Hour,” Moonbox Productions; “Cost of Living,” SpeakEasy Stage; “The Minutes,” Umbrella Stage; “Thirst,” Lyric Stage; “Machine Learning,” Central Square Theater; “Urban Nutcracker,” City Ballet of Boston. Her sets have been seen at the NYC Dance Alliance, InterAct Theatre (PA), Berkshire Opera Festival, Willamette University (OR), Wheelock Family Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, Reagle Music Theatre, Actors' Shakespeare Project, Odyssey Opera, Weston Playhouse (VT), Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory, Company One Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and Gloucester Stage Company. A favorite collaboration has been with Sally Taylor and Consenses – an artistic game of telephone that exhibited on Martha's Vineyard, at Wellesley College, and at Mass MOCA.

In 2023, Janie had the honor of painting a cow named “Great Moo-sterpieces” for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's cow parade. In 1995, with partner Ben Williams, she opened Cyco Scenic, a design/build/scene shop creating scenery for theater, opera, and corporate events. She has received four Elliot Norton Awards for Outstanding Design and four IRNE Design Awards. Janie has taught at Wellesley College, Northeastern University, Emerson College, Bridgewater State University and Worcester State and plans to return as a guest to Willamette University. She is the founder of Prop Co-Op, with thanks to StageSource and SpeakEasy Stage Company. She is a member of United Scenic Artists local 829.

For more details on the 41st Annual Elliot Norton Awards, including a full list of awardees and nominees, visit ElliotNortonawards.com.

Full List of Winners

The 41st Annual Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence

JANIE E. HOWLAND

Awardees

Outstanding Visiting Production

“Moby Dick,” a production by Plexus Polaire, presented by ArtsEmerson

Outstanding Visiting Musical

“Girl from the North Country,” presented by Broadway In Boston

  

Outstanding Visiting Performance in a Musical

Heidi Blickenstaff, “Jagged Little Pill,” presented by Broadway In Boston

Outstanding Visiting Solo Performance 

"Alex Edelman: Just For Us," presented by Emerson Colonial Theatre

Outstanding Play, Large in memory of Robert Brustein

“John Proctor is the Villain,” The Huntington

 

Outstanding Play, Midsize

“Angels in America," Central Square Theater and Bedlam 

 

Outstanding Play, Small

“Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, Theater UnCorked

 

Outstanding Musical

“The Band's Visit,” The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company

 

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Large

Marshall W. Mabry IV, “Fat Ham,” The Huntington, in association with Alliance Theatre and The Front Porch Arts Collective

 

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Midsize

James Ricardo Milord, “King Hedley II,” Actors' Shakespeare Project

 

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Small

Sehnaz Dirik, “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” Theater UnCorked

 

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Large

Lau'rie Roach, “Fat Ham,” The Huntington, in association with Alliance Theatre and The Front Porch Arts Collective

 

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Midsize in memory of Sarah deLima

Kari Buckley, “Angels in America,” Central Square Theater and Bedlam

 

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Small in memory of Jaime Carillo

Valyn Lyric Turner, “A Raisin in the Sun,” New Repertory Theatre

 

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical in memory of Henry Lussier

Jennifer Apple, “The Band's Visit,” The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company

 

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical

Jack Mullen, “Oklahoma!,” Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston

 

Outstanding Musical Direction

Dan Rodriguez, “Oklahoma!,” Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston

 

Outstanding Choreography in memory of Chita Rivera

Rachel Bertone, “Oklahoma!,” Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston

 

Outstanding Director, Large

Paul Daigneault, “The Band's Visit,” The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company

 

Outstanding Director, Midsize in memory of Spiro Veloudos

Courtney O'Connor, “Assassins,” Lyric Stage Boston

 

Outstanding Director, Small

Sasha Denisova & Igor Golyak, “The Gaaga,” Arlekin Players Theatre

 

Outstanding Scenic Design, Large

Jason Sherwood, “Evita,” American Repertory Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company

 

Outstanding Scenic Design, Midsize or Small

Irina Kruzhilina, “The Gaaga,” Arlekin Players Theatre

 

Outstanding Lighting Design, Large

Stacey Derosier, “The Half-God of Rainfall,” American Repertory Theater and New York Theater Workshop

 

Outstanding Lighting Design, Midsize or Small

John R. Malinowski, “Angels in America,” Central Square Theater and Bedlam

 

Outstanding Sound Design, Large

David Remedios and Mackenzie Adamick, “Macbeth,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

 

Outstanding Sound Design, Midsize or Small in memory of Dewey Dellay

David Remedios, “We Had a Girl Before You,” Greater Boston Stage Company

 

Outstanding Costume Design, Large

Alejo Vietti, “Evita,” American Repertory Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company

 

Outstanding Costume Design, Midsize or Small

House of Martino, “The Rocky Menorah Christmas Show,” Gold Dust Orphans

 

Outstanding Solo Performance

Jay Eddy, "Driving in Circles," Boston Playwrights' Theatre

 

Outstanding New Script in memory of Christopher Durang

Phaedra Michelle Scott, “DIASPORA!,” New Repertory Theatre

 

Outstanding Ensemble

“John Proctor is the Villain,” The Huntington

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