CARBONELL AWARDS Previews Ceremony At Lauderhill Performing Arts Center Next Month

For its first in-person ceremony since April 2019, the Carbonell Awards-South Florida's Theater & Arts Honors-promises "a truly joyous celebration packed with music, laughter and applause as we recognize talented members of our theater community for shows produced in Broward, Miami/Dade and Palm Beach Counties during the 2021-2022 season," according to Carbonell Board President Gary Schweikhart.

At this year's event, 126 different nominations in 20 competitive categories are shared by 98 talented people, 36 extraordinary productions, and 16 South Florida theaters. Winners are determined by a diverse group of 30 experienced judges.

Produced by Fantel Music, the theme of this year's Carbonell Awards ceremony is Community and Inclusion, representing all of South Florida's talented theater professionals, both onstage and backstage-as demonstrated on this promotional video created by Gaby Tortoledo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M1oMYUSW_y5ZQ6WvzioZQVNwLcc445nu/view?usp=sharing.

Highlights of the upcoming Carbonell Awards ceremony on November 7 at Lauderhill Performing Arts Center include:

+ Three talented co-hosts: Miami-based theater, film and TV actor Daniel Llaca; actor, singer and director Geoff Short, board president of the Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts and board secretary of the Carbonell Awards; and Carbonell board member Avery Sommers, award-winning Broadway, movie and TV veteran and cabaret headliner.

+ Performances from Carbonell nominated musicals and actors, including

• Area Stage's Beauty and The Beast with nominees Frank Montoto, Michelle Gordon, Katie Duerr, Maxime Prissert, John Luis, Imran Hylton, and others in the cast.
• Come Out! Come Out! from Ronnie Larsen Presents will be represented by performer Larry Toyter, accompanied by Musical Director Bobby Peaco, with choreography by Oren Korenblum.

+ Presentation of two George Abbott Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts to internationally acclaimed composer and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, cofounder and Artistic Director Laureate of the Miami Beach-based New World Symphony; and Barbara & Lawrence E. Stein, the founders of Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Miami-Dade County's premiere producer of large-scale musicals, which will celebrate its 35th season in 2022-23.

+ Presentation of the first Vinnette Carroll Award for significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in South Florida theatre. The recipient is Marshall L. Davis, who has served for 38 years as managing director of the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center (AHCAC) in Miami's Liberty City.

+ Presentation of five additional special awards to Living Theatre and arts legends:

• The Charlie Cinnamon Award to longtime newspaper/radio critic and Carbonell judge Hap Erstein.
• The Ruth Foreman Award to actor, producer, director, poet and educator Teresa María Rojas, founder and director of Prometeo at Miami Dade College.
• The Bill Hindman Award to Margot Moreland, one of South Florida's best-known actors and a principal representative on the Council for Actors' Equity Association for more than 20 years.
• The Howard Kleinberg Award to playwright, dramaturg and co-founding artistic director of Lost Girls Theatre Andie Arthur, who is also executive director of the South Florida Theatre League.
• The Bill Von Maurer Award for Theatrical Excellence to Theatre Lab, the professional resident company at Florida Atlantic University, whose mission is to "inspire, develop and produce new work, artists and audiences."

+ The nomination of Michelle Gordon for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Female Role, Musical for Beauty and the Beast. This may be the first time in Carbonell history when the actor cast in the role (Yarden Barr), who missed opening weekend due to COVID, and her understudy (Gordon) are both nominated in the same category.

+ A stirring In Memoriam tribute to nearly 30 theatre veterans who passed away during the last two years, including actors Linda Bernhard and Peter Librach, critics Ron Levitt and Terry Teachout, music directors Arthur Barnes and Paul Reekie, and producers Alvin Entin and Jan McArt.

+ Presentation of Jack Zink Memorial Scholarships ($2,000 each) to Kaja Andric (Palm Beach County), Emily Taylor Kaufman (Broward), and Antony Ojeda (Miami-Dade).

In the 20 competitive categories, Miami New Drama topped the list of theatres with 24 nominations, followed by Area Stage (16), Slow Burn Theatre Company with 15, Ronnie Larsen Presents (13), Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre and Palm Beach Dramaworks with 12 each, and Zoetic Stage with 11.

Area Stage's Beauty and the Beast was the production earning the most individual nominations (15), with Miami New Drama earning nine for A Wonderful World, and seven each for Papá Cuatro. and The Cuban Vote.

The 45th Annual Carbonell Awards will be presented at an entertainment-packed ceremony on Monday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center at 3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill, FL 33311. Tickets are only $32 each (including facility fee) and are available for purchase by calling 954.777.2055 or going online to https://www.showpass.com/annual-carbonell-awards/.

Sponsors of the 45th Annual Carbonell Awards include the South Florida Cultural Consortium, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Carbonell Sculptures Ltd., Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, John Knox Village, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Miami-Dade County Auditorium, The Dennis C. Moss Center (formerly The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center), Punchline Productions, South Florida Theatre League, and Donald R. Walters, P.A.

To post a comment, you must register and login.