It's the BroadwayWorld Chicago Award Winners! KINKY BOOTS, Porter, REEFER MADNESS, PIAZZA, ICEMAN, Dennehy, SUNDAY, Danieley, Diane Lane, Team StarKid and more!

BroadwayWorld Chicago is proud today to announce the winners of the third annual BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards, the only comprehensive theater award in the Chicago area voted on by fans, and the only one to honor productions in both Equity and non-Equity categories simultaneously. And you, the fans, have spoken! Prominent local companies, famous names on a national level, and some new favorites on our theater scene are winners this year. (The awards honor productions which opened between November 1, 2011 and October 31, 2012.)

The Circle Theatre production of "Reefer Madness," directed by Matt Gunnells, is the big winner of the 2012 Chicago Broadie Awards, taking the award in four categories, including Best Revival of a Musical (Resident Non-Equity), Best Ensemble (Resident), Best Costume Design (Non-Equity) to John Nasca (now a two-time winner in this category), and Best Scenic Design (Non-Equity) to Peter O'Neill. Congratulations to Circle Theatre!

Perhaps the biggest challenge to Circle in the Non-Equity field, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre's long-running production of "The Light in the Piazza," is taking home three awards, going to Kelli Harrington for Best Actress in a Musical or Revue (Resident Non-Equity), to Jeremy Ramey for Best Musical Direction (Non-Equity) and to Michael M. Nardulli for Best Lighting Design (Resident Non-Equity).

Theo is the big winner among all theater companies, however, with five wins overall. In addition to the three awards for "Piazza," Theo's fall production of "Smokey Joe's Café" is the winner in the Best Revue (Resident) category, and its director-choreographer, Brenda Didier, is now the only individual to have won in the same category for all three years of the BCA's existence. She gets to take home Best Choreography (Resident Non-Equity) for "Smokey Joe's Cafe" this year, as she did for "Cats" in 2011 and for "Chess" in 2010--all for Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre.

The only other production to win in three categories in the awards this year is the Goodman Theatre's Robert Falls-directed production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," representing the Goodman's first win in the category of Best Revival of a Play (Resident Equity). Brian Dennehy, that production's Larry Slade, has won the award for Best Actor in a Play (Resident Equity) for the second time now, and for the second time it's for a Goodman production. (In the 2010 BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards, Dennehy was honored for "Hughie/Krapp's Last Tape.") The third winner for "Iceman" this year is Kevin Depinet, for Best Scenic Design (Resident Equity). He is also now a repeat winner in his category, having been honored in 2010 for "Ragtime" at the Drury Lane Theatre.

In all, the Goodman Theatre is responsible for four winning categories this year. Diane Lane is the winner as Best Actress in a Play (Resident Equity) for her starring turn in Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth." And the only remaining theater to win in four categories this year is the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, with Gary Griffin directing the winning production of Best Revival of a Musical (Resident Equity) there for the second year in a row. "Sunday in the Park with George" was this year's winner, following the triumph of "Follies" last year. And Jason Danieley is the winner in the category of Best Actor in a Musical or Revue (Resident Equity) for the title role in the Stephen Sondheim tuner.

Chicago Shakes also won two categories for its theater for young audiences production of "Beauty and the Beast," directed by Rachel Rockwell, taking home the prize for Best Theater Production for Young Audiences as well as the award for Best Costume Design (Resident Equity), going to Theresa Ham.

Besides Dennehy, Lane and Danieley, other winners with a prominent national profile this year include the popular internet-based theater company Team StarKid, the Best Special Theatrical Event winner this year for its LeakyCon presentation of "A Very Potter 3D," and the pre-Broadway tryout of "Kinky Boots," the Harvey Fierstein-Cyndi Lauper tuner which is our winner in the Best Touring Production category (as directed by Jerry Mitchell). One of the "Kinky Boots" stars, Billy Porter, is the winner for Best Actor in a Touring Production.

Note that the winner of the award for Best Actress in a Touring Production is Sirena Irwin, embodying Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo in "I Love Lucy Live On Stage" at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. She was honored last year by BroadwayWorld Los Angeles for the same role in the show's world premiere there.

In addition to "Sunday in the Park with George," "Beauty and the Beast," "Smokey Joe's Café" and "Kinky Boots," two other productions are responsible for winners in two categories this year. The Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. production of Tracy Letts' "Superior Donuts," directed by Matt Miller, triumphed as the Best Revival of a Play (Resident Non-Equity) and Preston Tate, Jr. won as Best Actor in a Play (Resident Non-Equity) for his role as Franco Wicks. The Drury Lane Theatre's production of "Hairspray" provided Lillian Castillo her award for Best Actress in a Musical or Revue (Resident Equity), and Tammy Mader her win for Best Choreography (Resident Equity).

Two other acting winners in the Non-Equity categories include Adam Fane (Best Actor in a Musical or Revue) as Princeton/Rod in the NightBlue Performing Arts Company production of "Avenue Q," and Michelle McKenzie-Voigt (Best Actress in a Play) for her role as Sissy in the brief summer run of Del Shores' "Sordid Lives," courtesy of the Ludicrous Theatre Company.

Mary-Arrchie, the Broadway Playhouse, NightBlue and Ludicrous are all theaters represented for the first time among the BCA winners this year. And there are three more such theaters, among the fourteen in the winners' circle for 2012. Aurora's Paramount Theatre was the site of the revival of "Hair," for which Jesse Klug and Greg Hoffman are the winners of Best Lighting Design (Resident Equity). The Black Ensemble Theater is the artistic home of Robert Reddrick, winner of Best Musical Direction (Resident Equity) for "The Marvin Gaye Story." And the Lookingglass Theatre was the home of the winner for Best New Work/New Adaptation (Resident), the musical "Eastland," by Andrew White, Andre Pleuss and Ben Sussman, directed by Amanda Dehnert.

And now that the voting is done, the celebrating can begin! BroadwayWorld Chicago invites all winners, nominees, past winners and nominees, theater folk, superfans, board members and everyone else (21 and older) to the third annual BroadwayWorld Awards Celebration, being held on Wednesday evening, January 9, 2013 at The Call nightclub in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood (1547 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, between Ashland and Clark). We'll be presenting award certificates to the winners between 9 pm and midnight, in between showtune videos presented by VJ Michael Hogan. BroadwayWorld's Paul W. Thompson and The Call's Ashley Morgan will once again co-host the event, featuring themed drink specials, yellow ribbons for all 2012 BroadwayWorld Chicago Award nominees and more. Grab your current theater friends and come join the fun, celebrating another great year of theater in Chicagoland. Meet and greet old friends, colleagues and fellow theater aficionados. It's a once-a-year event, and you don't want to miss it! And thanks for voting!

Here is the list of all the winners of the 2012 BroadwayWorld Chicago Award. Congratulations!

Best Actor in a Musical or Revue (Resident Equity)
Jason Danieley - Sunday in the Park with George - Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier

Best Actor in a Musical or Revue (Resident Non-Equity)
Adam Fane - Avenue Q - NightBlue Performing Arts Company

Best Actor in a Play (Resident Equity)
Brian Dennehy - The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre

Best Actor in a Play (Resident Non-Equity)
Preston Tate, Jr. - Superior Donuts - Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.

Best Actor in a Touring Production
Billy Porter - Kinky Boots - Bank of America Theatre

Best Actress in a Musical or Revue (Resident Equity)
Lillian Castillo - Hairspray - Drury Lane Theatre

Best Actress in a Musical or Revue (Resident Non-Equity)
Kelli Harrington - The Light in the Piazza - Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Best Actress in a Play (Resident Equity)
Diane Lane - Sweet Bird of Youth - Goodman Theatre

Best Actress in a Play (Resident Non-Equity)
Michelle McKenzie-Voigt - Sordid Lives - Ludicrous Theatre Company

Best Actress in a Touring Production
Sirena Irwin - I Love Lucy Live On Stage - Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place

Best Choreography (Resident Equity)
Tammy Mader - Hairspray - Drury Lane Theatre

Best Choreography (Resident Non-Equity)
Brenda Didier - Smokey Joe's Cafe - Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Best Costume Design (Resident Equity)
Theresa Ham - Beauty and the Beast - Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier

Best Costume Design (Resident Non-Equity)
John Nasca - Reefer Madness - Circle Theatre

Best Ensemble (Resident)
Reefer Madness - Circle Theatre

Best Lighting Design (Resident Equity)
Jesse Klug and Greg Hoffman - Hair - Paramount Theatre

Best Lighting Design (Resident Non-Equity)
Michael M. Nardulli - The Light in the Piazza - Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Best Musical Direction (Resident Equity)
Robert Reddrick - The Marvin Gaye Story - Black Ensemble Theater

Best Musical Direction (Resident Non-Equity)
Jeremy Ramey - The Light in the Piazza - Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Best New Work/New Adaptation (Resident)
Andrew White, Andre Pleuss and Ben Sussman - Eastland - Lookingglass Theatre

Best Revival of a Musical (Resident Equity)
Sunday in the Park with George - Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier

Best Revival of a Musical (Resident Non-Equity)
Reefer Madness - Circle Theatre

Best Revival of a Play (Resident Equity)
The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre

Best Revival of a Play (Resident Non-Equity)
Superior Donuts - Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.

Best Revue (Resident)
Smokey Joe's Cafe - Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Best Scenic Design (Resident Equity)
Kevin Depinet - The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre

Best Scenic Design (Resident Non-Equity)
Peter O'Neill - Reefer Madness - Circle Theatre

Best Special Theatrical Event
A Very Potter 3D - Team StarKid at LeakyCon

Best Theater Production for Young Audiences
Beauty and the Beast - Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier

Best Touring Production
Kinky Boots - Bank of America Theatre

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