South Florida's Carbonell Awards

 

 

CARBONELL AWARD CEREMONY

SET TO BE A COMMUNITY CELEBRATION

33rd annual theater awards to feature performances from shows nominated for best musical

Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theater Artistic Director David Arisco to receive George Abbott Award 

As one of the nation's senior regional arts awards, the Carbonell Awards has seen a lot of changes since its debut in 1976 with ceremonies that featured stars such as Carol Channing, Chita Rivera, Burt Reynolds, Robert Goulet and Florence Henderson, presented in hotel ballrooms, night clubs, regional theaters and performing arts centers.

Yet, the biggest show-stopping or, more accurately, show-must-go-on moment in its history occurred off stage last season as the arts community rallied in support of the awards as its governing body contemplated a suspension of the honors which applaud the best shows and performances in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The result is a celebration of the South Florida theater community in the 33rd Annual Carbonell Awards to be presented on Monday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Producer Amy London directs the ceremonies which will feature performances from the five productions nominated for Best Musical and a Who's Who of South Florida's finest actors and musicians including a dozen nominees for this year's awards.

Sixteen regional theater companies have received nominations for 30 productions which were presented during 2008. Broadway road shows and stock productions will also be honored.

The evening will recognize two leaders of the arts community. David Arisco, artistic director of the Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theater will receive the Carbonell Award's highest honor: the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, presented for significant contributions to the artistic and cultural development of the region. Arisco's diverse career spans more than 30 years as director, actor, musical director, stage manager, symphonic conductor and instrumentalist. He has been a part of Actors' Playhouse for 21 years, where he has directed more than 100 shows including seven which received Carbonell Awards for both Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical: Aida, Floyd Collins, Violet, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I Love You You're Perfect Now Change, West Side Story and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

A special tribute will be presented honoring the Carbonell Awards co-founder and executive director Jack Zink who covered the arts for some of the region's major newspapers for nearly 40 years before his death last summer.

The celebration will continue after the curtain goes down at a special "after party" hosted by the Theatre League of South Florida and southfloridatheatre.com at Revolution Live, located near the theater at 200 W. Broward Blvd. Admission is free with a Carbonell Awards ticket stub.

At less than half the price of last year's admission, tickets for the award show are only $25 with $20 tickets available for groups of 10 or more. In another nod to the realities of the current economy, recipients will not receive a solid bronze statute by sculptor Manuel Carbonell, although the awards that are bestowed will still bear his name.

The annual awards ceremony raises scholarships for South Florida arts students. Since the first, single $500 scholarship was given in 1978, dozens of students in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have received a total of approximately $100,000.

Sponsors of this year's awards include Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Broward Performing Arts Foundation Inc., Actors' Equity Association, Rita and Jerome Cohen, Tony Finstrom, Jay Harris, Michael and Mary Ellen Peyton and Savannah Whaley.

Tickets are available through the Broward Center's box office by calling (954) 462-0222 or visiting www.browardcenter.org. The Broward Center is located at 201 S.W. 5th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale.

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