Granbury Theatre Company's INTO THE WOODS Wins Best Musical at the Column Awards

Granbury Theatre Company's Into the Woods was co-winner of the Best Musical award at the 20th Annual Column Awards Gala on February 24, 2019, at the Irving Arts Center.

The musical was honored in the non-Equity category along with CATS produced by Artisan Center in Theater in Hurst.

Also winning at the Sunday night awards gala were:

• Chita Rivera Award: Abi Abel (Angel), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Cheyenne Shreve (Rapunzel), Into the Woods
• Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Kalani Morrissette, Young Frankenstein

William Power was one of several honorees receiving the Caleb Midkiff Young Performer Award. Power performs both in Granbury and Cleburne, with recent GTC credits in South Pacific, Shrek, Oliver!, and Mary Poppins as well as last year's Granbury Theatre Academy summer show The Lion King Jr. He is an eighth grader at Acton Middle School.

"We are ecstatic for Granbury Theatre Company's first-ever Column Awards," commented GTC board president Micky Shearon. "We congratulate the entire cast and crew of Into the Woods for this momentous honor, and we are extremely happy for Abi, Cheyenne, Kalani, and William. To be recognized by your peers is extremely gratifying."

In all, GTC garnered thirty-six nominations for the awards program. Also nominated for Best Musical was the GTC fall production of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

Other cast members receiving nominations among non-Equity productions were:

• Best Actor in a Musical: Austin Bender (Jack), Into the Woods; Colton Lively (Igor), Young Frankenstein
• Best Actor in a Play: Freddy Martinez Jr. (Ebenezer Scrooge), A Christmas Carol
• Best Actress in a Musical: Emily Warwick (Witch), Into the Woods
• Best Supporting Actor in a Musical: Sam Bullington (Rapunzel's Prince) and Riley Henderson (Cinderella's Prince), Into the Woods; Colton Lively (Melvin P. Thorpe), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• Best Supporting Actress in a Musical: Amanda Williams Ware (Virginia Drew), Hands on a Hardbody
• Best Supporting Actress in a Play: Bentleigh Nesbit (Ghost of Christmas Present), A Christmas Carol
• Best Featured Actress in a Play: Drenda Lewis (Grand Duchess Olga Katrina), You Can't Take It With You
• Chita Rivera Award: Evan Beggs (Ren McCormick), Footloose

GTC shows also received several other artistic nominations:

• Almost, Maine: Kalani Morrissette, Best Lighting Design of a Play; Emily Warwick, Best Original Costume Design of a Play
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas: Domanick Anton Hubbard, Best Choreographer of a Musical
• Hands on a Hardbody: Shane Brooks, Best Director of a Musical; Jamie Deel, Best Music Director of a Musical
• Into the Woods: Hank Baldree, Best Lighting Design of a Musical; Ashley Green, Best Music Director of a Musical; Kyle Hoffman, Best Original Sound Design of a Musical; Drenda Lewis, Best Original Costume Design of a Musical; Jay Lewis, Best Director of a Musical
• You Can't Take It With You: David Broberg, Best Lighting Design of a Musical; Nicholas Graves, Best Original Scenic Design of a Play; Kyle Hoffman, Best Original Sound Design of a Play; Drenda Lewis, Best Original Costume Design of a Musical
• Young Frankenstein: Abi Abel and Joshua Emmanuel McRae Davis, Best Choreographer of a Musical; Josh Carpenter, Best Original Sound Design of a Musical; Drenda Lewis, Best Original Costume Design of a Musical; Kerri Pavelick, Best Original Scenic Design of a Musical

Stormy Lee and Whitney Shearon were nominated for Best Stage Manager. Lee was stage manager for You Can't Take It With You, while Shearon was lead stage manager for Almost, Maine, Footloose, Into the Woods, and A Christmas Carol.

Several GTC company members received awards for productions with other regional performing arts groups, including Plaza Theatre Company in Cleburne.

"We were very happy to see many so many friends who have worked on recent and past Granbury shows honored for their hard work," Shearon stated. "We send lots of congratulations to our sister company, Plaza Theatre, for winning several awards for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, To Kill a Mockingbird, and West Side Story."

GTC productions from last year also recently received "Best in DFW Theatre 2018" recognition from THE COLUMN editor and senior chief critic John Garcia and several associate theatre critics. Those honors are separate from the Column Award nominations.

Last year, GTC garnered fifteen nominations, including Best Musical nods for both Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Shrek.

Granbury Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that manages the Granbury Opera House, produces critically-acclaimed plays and musicals, and hosts concerts and other special events. The company also includes the Granbury Theatre Academy, which offers after-school and summer programs to provide acting, dance, and singing instruction for children and youth.

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