Seven Theatre Companies Win Big at the Cloris Awards

Seven local theater companies took home trophies in 20 categories from this year's Cloris Awards ceremony Sunday night at Hoyt Sherman Place.

Local productions of "A View from the Bridge" and "Ragtime" won Best Play and Best Musical, respectively, and "Elephant and Piggie's 'We Are In a Play!'" was named the Best Production for Youth and Family.

Additionally, the playwrights Robert John Ford and Lorenzo Sandoval both received special Cloris Awards for their artistic achievements, and four groups received special recognition for various contributions: the Latin music duo Calle Sur, the ensemble of a musical revue called "Utopia," the fight-choreographers for a show called "Prowess," and the nonprofit Iowa Radio Reading Information Service, whose volunteers attend theatrical performances to provide live audio-descriptions for the visually impaired.

The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards are named for the Oscar-winning Des Moines native who attended the 2016 ceremony and they were created as a way to celebrate outstanding contributions - both on stage and behind the scenes - to locally produced theater in greater Des Moines. Accordingly, trophies are awarded annually for acting, directing and design.

This year's ceremony was hosted by two local theater veterans, Steve Berry and Gina Gedler, who shared the stage with a handful of musical numbers from the past season's shows.

In all, a panel of volunteer judges saw 43 locally produced shows that opened between Aug. 1, 2017, and July 31, 2018, from the following participating companies: Ankeny Community Theatre, Carousel Theatre of Indianola, Des Moines Community Playhouse, Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre, Epic Stage Productions, Iowa Shakespeare Experience, Iowa Stage Theatre, Kata Klysmic Productions, Noce, Open Door Rep, Pyramid Theatre and Tallgrass Theatre.

A complete list of the award winners follows. For more information, including all of this year's nominees, please visit clorisawards.org.

BEST PLAY
"A View from the Bridge"
Iowa Stage Theatre

BEST MUSICAL
"Ragtime"
Des Moines Community Playhouse

BEST YOUTH & FAMILY PRODUCTION
"Elephant and Piggie's 'We Are In a Play!'"
Des Moines Community Playhouse

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Gina Gedler
"Souvenir"
Noce

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Shawn Wilson
"A View from the Bridge"
Iowa Stage Theatre

ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Kim Haymes
"The Christians"
Iowa Stage Theatre

ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Louis Reyes McWilliams
"Prowess"
Pyramid Theatre

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Marisa Spahn
"Bring It On: The Musical"
Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Greg DiMarco
"Gilligan's Island: The Musical"
Carousel Theatre of Indianola

ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Jackie Schmillen
"Disney's the Little Mermaid"
Des Moines Community Playhouse

ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Blake Clyde
"Disney's the Little Mermaid"
Des Moines Community Playhouse

PERFORMANCE BY A RISING STAR
Sage Johnson
"I Never Saw Another Butterfly"
Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre

YOUTH & FAMILY ENSEMBLE
"I Never Saw Another Butterfly"
Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre

SCENIC DESIGN
Ronnie Wells
"On Golden Pond"
Tallgrass Theatre

LIGHTING DESIGN
Jim Trenberth
"A View from the Bridge"
Iowa Stage Theatre

SOUND DESIGN
Anna Drummond
"Prowess"
Pyramid Theatre

COSTUME & MAKEUP DESIGN
Mel Ziegenfuss
"Souvenir"
Noce

CHOREOGRAPHY
Megan Helmers
"Bring It On: The Musical"
Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre

MUSIC DIRECTION
Brenton Brown
"Ragtime"
Des Moines Community Playhouse

DIRECTION
Matthew McIver
"A View from the Bridge"
Iowa Stage Theatre

SPECIAL CLORIS AWARDS
Robert John Ford
Lorenzo Sandoval

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Calle Sur
The cast of "Utopia: The Iowa Musical Revue"
The fight choreographers of "Prowess"
Iowa Radio Reading Information Service

For more information, please visit clorisawards.org.

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