34th Annual Carbonell Awards Nominations Announced

2009 could go down as the year of the musical with seven of the top 10 nominated shows edging out the edgier dramas for the 34th annual Carbonell Awards nominations celebrating the best shows and performances in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Les Miserables at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables led the pack with a dozen nominations. Broadsword at Miami's Mad Cat Theatre Company and Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them at Plantation's Mosaic Theatre tied with five nods each as the most recognized plays for the annual honors to be held on Monday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

South Florida's answer to the Tony Awards and a highlight of each arts season, the Carbonell Awards pay tribute to the very best theatrical productions on local stages and features the area's top entertainers and theater insiders as they step out from behind their roles in an unforgettable behind-the-scenes celebration.
Nominations encompass the entire length of South Florida with 13 companies receiving nods and 33 of the 75 eligible shows that opened in 2009 being recognized.
With 13, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre was the most nominated local company as nominations were distributed among the tri-county area with 38 for Palm Beach, 37 for Miami-Dade and 25 for Broward.

Actor Gregg Weiner and sound designer Matt Corey are tied for the most individual nominations with three each, yet Weiner could be the night's big winner if he takes home a fourth honor as a cast member of Broadsword or GableStage's Farragut North which have both been nominated for Best Ensemble.

Double nominees, not including Best Ensemble nominations, include director Joe Adler, choreographer Chrissi Ardito, actor Todd Allen Durkin, music director Helen Gregory, set designer Sean McClelland and lighting designer Jeff Quinn as well as Paul Tei who is nominated in acting and directing categories. Robert Creighton and Christopher McGovern also have two nominations each for Cagney at Florida Stage in Manalapan as Best Actor in a Musical and musical direction, respectively, as well as for creating the musical which is nominated in the Best New Work category.
Amy London returns to direct the gala award production following last year's critically-acclaimed show. The annual awards ceremony raises scholarships for South Florida arts students. Along with New York's Drama Desk and Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Awards, the Carbonell Awards are among the nation's senior regional arts awards and predate others including Washington, D.C.'s Helen Hayes and Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards.

Tickets are $25 with $20 tickets available for groups of 10 or more. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 19 through the Broward Center's box office by calling 954-462-0222 or visiting www.browardcenter.org.

34TH ANNUAL CARBONELL AWARD NOMINATIONS

COMBINED (plays and musicals)

Best New Work (award to author): Peter Colley, Robert Creighton and Christopher McGovern, Cagney, Florida Stage; Mario Diament, A Report on the Banality of Love, The Promethean Theatre; Terry Lawrence, Speaking Elephant, The Women's Theatre Project; Carter W. Lewis, The Storytelling Ability of a Boy, Florida Stage; Susan Draus, Everett Bradley, Michael Heitzman and Ilene Reid, Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Ensemble Production (citations to cast and director): Bombshells! A Musical Explosion of Life, Love and Telling It All!, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Broadsword, Mad Cat Theatre Company; Farragut North, GableStage; Some Kind of Wonderful, Florida Stage; Viva Bourgeois!, Mad Cat Theatre Company

PLAYS

Best Production of a Play (award to producing organization): Broadsword, Mad Cat Theatre Company; Copenhagen, Palm Beach Dramaworks; Speed-the-Plow, GableStage; The Whipping Man, Caldwell Theatre Company; Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Mosaic Theatre
Best Director: Joseph Adler, Farragut North, GableStage; Joseph Adler, Speed-the-Plow, GableStage; J. Barry Lewis, Copenhagen, Palm Beach Dramaworks; Richard Jay Simon, Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Mosaic Theatre; Paul Tei, Broadsword, Mad Cat Theatre Company
Best Actor: John Archie, The Whipping Man, Caldwell Theatre Company; Todd Allen Durkin, At Home at the Zoo, Palm Beach Dramaworks; Paul Tei, Speed-the-Plow, GableStage; Ricky Waugh, Reasons to be Pretty, GableStage; Gregg Weiner, Dumb Show, The Promethean Theatre

Best Actress: Linda Bernhard, Playhouse Creatures , The Women's Theatre Project; Barbara Bradshaw, Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Mosaic Theatre; Lela Elam, No Child, GableStage; Angie Radosh, Speaking Elephant, The Women's Theatre Project; Laura Turnbull, Rock 'n' Roll, Mosaic Theatre

Best Supporting Actor: Dennis Creaghan, The Voysey Inheritance, Caldwell Theatre Company; Todd Allen Durkin, Reasons to be Pretty, GableStage; Erik Fabregat, Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Mosaic Theatre; Gregg Weiner, A Doll's House, Palm Beach Dramaworks; Gregg Weiner, Farragut North, GableStage

Best Supporting Actress: Elena Maria Garcia, Summer Shorts: Signature Shorts, City Theatre; Patti Gardner, Defiance, GableStage; Erin Joy Schmidt , Viva Bourgeois!, Mad Cat Theatre Company; Deborah L. Sherman, Dumb Show, The Promethean Theatre; Miriam Wiener, In a Dark, Dark House, Mosaic Theatre

MUSICALS

Best Production of a Musical (award to producing organization): Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Cagney, Florida Stage; Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; A Little Night Music, Broward Stage Door; Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company
Best Director of a Musical: David Arisco, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Bill Castellino, Cagney, Florida Stage; Clive Cholerton, Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company; Gordon Greenberg, Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Margaret M. Ledford, Cannibal! The Musical, The Promethean Theatre

Best Actor in a Musical: Matthew William Chizever, Cannibal! The Musical, The Promethean Theatre; Robert Creighton, Cagney, Florida Stage; David Michael Felty, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Mark A. Harmon, A Little Night Music, Broward Stage Door; Brad Oscar, Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Actress in a Musical: Natalie Venetia Belcon, Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company; Misty Cotton, Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Jodie Langel, Evita, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Kimberley Xavier Martins, A Little Night Music, Broward Stage Door; Holly Shunkey, Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical: Darrin Baker, Cagney, Florida Stage; Marcus Bellamy, Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company; Nathanial Braga, Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Gary Marachek, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Rudy Martinez, Evita, Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical: Katherine Amadeo, Cannibal! The Musical, The Promethean Theatre; Miki Edelman, A Little Night Music, Broward Stage Door; Gwen Hollander, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Melissa Minyard, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Margot Moreland, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

Best Musical Direction: Eric Alsford, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Helen Gregory, Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Helen Gregory, Evita, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Christopher McGovern, Cagney, Florida Stage; Jon Rose, Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company

Best Choreography: Chrissi Ardito, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Broward Stage Door; Chrissi Ardito, Cannibal! The Musical, The Promethean Theatre; AC Ciulla, Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company; Joshua Rhodes, Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Jeff Shade, Cagney, Florida Stage

DESIGN (plays and musicals)

Best Set Design: Antonio Amadeo, Macon City: A Comic Book Play, The Naked Stage; Michael Amico, Private Lives, Palm Beach Dramaworks; Joe Kimble, Broadsword, Mad Cat Theatre Company; Sean McClelland, In a Dark, Dark House, Mosaic Theatre; Sean McClelland, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

Best Lighting Design: Suzanne M. Jones, In a Dark, Dark House, Mosaic Theatre; John Manzelli, Macon City: A Comic Book Play, The Naked Stage; Jeff Quinn, No Child, GableStage; Jeff Quinn, Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Mosaic Theatre; Patrick Tennent, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre

Best Costume Design: Alberto Arroyo, The Voysey Inheritance, Caldwell Theatre Company; Danielle Campbell, Viva Bourgeois!, Mad Cat Theatre Company; Colleen Grady, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Brian O'Keefe, A Doll's House, Palm Beach Dramaworks; Alejo Vietti, Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Sound Design: Matt Corey, Broadsword, Mad Cat Theatre Company; Matt Corey, Cannibal! The Musical, The Promethean Theatre; Matt Corey, Macon City: A Comic Book Play, The Naked Stage; Alexander Herrin, Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; Steve Shapiro, Summer Shorts: Signature Shorts, City Theatre

NOMINATIONS BY SHOW

Les Miserables, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre - 12

Barnum, Maltz Jupiter Theatre - 8

Vices: A Love Story, Caldwell Theatre Company - 8

Cagney, Florida Stage - 7

Broadsword, Mad Cat Theatre Company - 5

Cannibal! The Musical, The Promethean Theatre - 5

Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Mosaic Theatre - 5

A Little Night Music, Broward Stage Door - 4

Evita, Maltz Jupiter Theatre - 3

Farragut North, GableStage - 3

In a Dark, Dark House, Mosaic Theatre - 3

Macon City: A Comic Book Play, The Naked Stage - 3

Speed-the-Plow, GableStage - 3

Viva Bourgeois!, Mad Cat Theatre Company - 3

Copenhagen, Palm Beach Dramaworks - 2

A Doll's House, Palm Beach Dramaworks - 2

No Child, GableStage - 2

Reasons to be Pretty, GableStage - 2

Speaking Elephant, The Women's Theatre Project - 2

Summer Shorts: Signature Shorts, City Theatre - 2

Dumb Show, The Promethean Theatre - 2

The Voysey Inheritance, Caldwell Theatre Company - 2

The Whipping Man, Caldwell Theatre Company - 2

At Home at the Zoo, Palm Beach Dramaworks - 1

Bombshells! A Musical Explosion of Life, Love and Telling It All!, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre - 1

Bubbling Brown Sugar, Broward Stage Door - 1

Defiance, GableStage - 1

Playhouse Creatures, The Women's Theatre Project - 1

Private Lives, Palm Beach Dramaworks - 1

A Report on the Banality of Love, The Promethean Theatre -1

Rock 'n' Roll, Mosaic Theatre - 1

Some Kind of Wonderful, Florida Stage - 1

The Storytelling Ability of a Boy, Florida Stage - 1

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