The 2019 TBA Awards Acknowledge Excellence In Bay Area Theatre; Winners Announced Including PARADISE SQUARE and More!
By: Stephi Wild Nov. 15, 2019
Theatre Bay Area held its sixth-annual TBA Awards Celebration on Monday, November 4 at the Herbst Theatre. Featuring a "radically inclusive" pricing structure, over 800 people attended the event, exceeding the previous year's attendance by nearly 20%.
The three-tiered pricing structure made the event economically accessible to those who needed it and encouraged those who could afford higher prices to purchase at a higher level to help subsidize those more affordable seats. Plus, all seat locations were offered within this structure, allowing for the audience to not be sectioned off by economic status. TBA deputy director and executive producer of the awards celebration Dale Albright says, "It was our intention-in the spirit of 'We Rise By Lifting Others'-to not have price be a barrier for the people who are most excited about being there"
TBA executive director Brad Erickson added, "Having more finalists sitting in the orchestra section and having more people be able to attend in general contributed to a wonderful feeling of community that night."
Programs manager Kim Cohan commented, "We were ecstatic to see how the community reacted to the theme this year - lifting each other up through bursts of cheers during the ceremony and via social media, participating in a new stage manager appreciation sponsorship, and by opening the door for so many artists who were not able to attend the ceremony in previous years."
Other changes in this year's awards included the addition of "Outstanding Direction of a Specialty Production" and the removal of the "Outstanding Anthology Production," due to a lack of qualifying finalists. Anthology productions were included within the "Specialty Performance" category instead.
This is also the second year for gender-inclusive performance awards. A comparison of statistics from the 2018 and 2019 TBA Awards is below.
Comparative gender data for TBA Award finalists and recipients in performance categories.
Important note: Information about performers' gender identities was submitted by show producers.
Special Awards
LEGACY AWARDS
The TBA Legacy Awards honor extraordinary contributions to the Bay Area theatre community and reflect the recipients' body of work over time or a significant milestone in their professional journey.
Kevin Seaman, artist and arts advocate
Robert Kelley, outgoing artistic director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Teatro Visión, San Jose-based theatre company focused on the Chicanx/Latinx experience
Rhe Artistic Fellowship
Chibueze Crouch
The purpose of the RHE Artistic Fellowship is to make a significant investment in an individual artist to allow them to take the next step in their career. This program is made possible through a generous grant from the RHE Charitable Foundation.
Charles Dean Award
The Charles Dean Award recognizes a Bay Area actor who has dedicated his or her career to Bay Area theatre. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize endowed by the Robinson Family Fund for the Arts and is administered by Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Awardees are chosen by a panel of local theatre community adjudicators.
Winners
OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN
Tier 1: Steven Dufala for HOME at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Tier 2: Ron Gasparinetti for Mothers and Sons at City Lights Theater Company
Tier 3: Kuo-Hao Lo for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella at Foothill Music Theatre
OUTSTANDING PROPERTIES DESIGN
Tier 1: Roger Anderson for The Diary of Anne Frank at Center Repertory Company
Tier 2: Joan Howard for El Gato Ensombrerado at Bay Area Children's Theatre
Tier 3: Peet Cocke for American Psycho at Ray of Light Theatre
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
Tier 1 (tie): T.J. Gerckens for Metamorphoses at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Christopher Kuhl for HOME at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Tier 2: Eddy Hansen for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Spreckels Theatre Company
Tier 3: Joe D'Emilio for Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Ray of Light Theatre
OUSTANDING SOUND DESIGN
Tier 1: Mikaal Sulaiman for Fairview at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Tier 2: George Psarras for Eurydice at City Lights Theater Company
Tier 3: Joe Winkler for The Nether at Left Edge Theatre
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
Tier 1: Toni-Leslie James for Paradise Square: A New Musical at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Tier 2: Ruby Vixen and Mr. David for Red Scare on Sunset at New Conservatory Theatre Center
Tier 3: Ruby Vixen for Sex & the City Live: Cheating Curve/Freak Show at Oasis
CREATIVE SPECIALTIES
Tier 1: David Neumann, Choreography in a Play, for HOME at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Tier 2: Richard Turtletaub, Projections Design, for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Spreckels Theatre Company
Tier 3: Ronlin Foreman, Mask Design, for Tempting Fate at Antic in a Drain
OUTSTANDING FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY
Tier 1: Dave Maier for Oedipus el Rey at Magic Theatre
Tier 2: Dave Maier for West Side Story at Berkeley Playhouse
Tier 3: Dave Maier for Romeo and Juliet at Ubuntu Theater Project
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
Tier 1: Bill T. Jones for Paradise Square: A New Musical at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Tier 2: Lee Ann Payne for Anything Goes at Hillbarn Theatre
Tier 3: Christine Chung for I, Too, Sing America at San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Co.
OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION
Tier 1: Eryn Allen for Once at 42nd Street Moon
Tier 2: Karl Pister for A Little Night Music at Lamplighters Music Theatre
Tier 3: Jake Gale for Spring Awakening at Marin Musical Theatre Company
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A SPECIALTY PRODUCTION
Jan Gilbert for How Does That Make You Feel? at Killing My Lobster
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Tier 1: Cindy Goldfield for Once at 42nd Street Moon
Tier 2: Joshua Marx for Sweeney Todd at Hillbarn Theatre
Tier 3: Jamie Yuen-Shore for I, Too, Sing America at San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Co.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Tier 1: Joy Carlin for Dancing Lessons at Center Repertory Company
Tier 2: Elizabeth Craven for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Spreckels Theatre Company
Tier 3: John Fisher for Action Hero at Theatre Rhinoceros
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A SPECIALTY PRODUCTION
Circus Nonsense at Kinetic Arts Productions
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A MUSICAL
Tier 1: Paradise Square: A New Musical at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Tier 2: Sweeney Todd at Hillbarn Theatre
Tier 3: Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady at Sonoma Arts Live
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A PLAY
Tier 1: Oedipus el Rey at Magic Theatre
Tier 2: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Spreckels Theatre Company
Tier 3: Twelfth Night at Arabian Shakespeare Festival
OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A SPECIALTY PRODUCTION
Angel Adedokun for Buffy the Vampire Slayer Live! Season 3 at Oasis
Jeremy Vik for My Friend Hafiz at Sweet Can Productions
OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL - 2 recipients per tier
Tier 1
Allison Rich for Mamma Mia! at San Jose Stage Company
Melissa WolfKlain for Dames at Sea at 42nd Street Moon
Tier 2
Dave J. Abrams for Hairspray at Bay Area Musicals
MARCEL SAUNDERS for Dreamgirls at Berkeley Playhouse
Tier 3
Dani Beem for Legally Blonde at Marin Musical Theatre Company
Abigail Campbell for Sister Act at Theatre Rhinoceros
OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY - 2 recipients per tier
Tier 1
Geoff Sobelle for HOME at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
BD Wong for The Great Leap at American Conservatory Theater
Tier 2
Natasha LaGrone for For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf at African-American Shakespeare Company
Martha Brigham for Cry It Out at Just Theater
Tier 3
Jennifer Le Blanc for Twelfth Night at Arabian Shakespeare Festival
Rebecca Pingree for Twelfth Night at Arabian Shakespeare Festival
OUSTANDING PERFORMERS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE IN A SPECIALTY PRODUCTION - 2 recipients per tier
Allison Page for How Does That Make You Feel? at Killing My Lobster
Michael Phillis for Absolutely Fabulous: Live! at Oasis
OUSTANDING PERFORMERS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE IN A MUSICAL - 2 recipients per tier
Tier 1
Cate Hayman for Cabaret at San Francisco Playhouse
Olivia Nice for Once at 42nd Street Moon
Tier 2
Caitlin McGinty for Anything Goes at Hillbarn Theatre
Heather Orth for Sweeney Todd at Hillbarn Theatre
Tier 3
Ella Ruth Francis for Next to Normal at Los Altos Stage Company
Anthone Jackson for Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn at South Bay Musical Theatre
OUSTANDING PERFORMERS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE IN A PLAY - 2 recipients per tier
Tier 1
Steven A. Jones for August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned at Marin Theatre Company
Craig Marker for Dancing Lessons at Center Repertory Company
Tier 2
Elijah Pinkman for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Spreckels Theatre Company
Stacy Ross for When We Were Young and Unafraid at Custom Made Theatre Co.
Tier 3
Evelyn Huynh for The White Snake at Silicon Valley Shakespeare
Dean Linnard for Hand to God at Left Edge Theatre
OUSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A SOLO PERFORMANCE
Dan Hoyle for Border People at The Marsh
OUTSTANDING WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL
Min Kahng, playwright, composer, lyricist for Gold: The Midas Musical at Bay Area Children's Theatre
OUTSTANDING WORLD PREMIERE PLAY
Ava Roy in collaboration with Nick Medina for Caesar Maximus at We Players
OUSTANDING SPECIALTY PRODUCTION
Circus Nonsense at Kinetic Arts Productions
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
Tier 1: August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned at Marin Theatre Company
Tier 2: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Spreckels Theatre Company
Tier 3: Twelfth Night at Arabian Shakespeare Festival
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
Tier 1: Once at 42nd Street Moon
Tier 2: Sweeney Todd at Hillbarn Theatre
Tier 3: I, Too, Sing America at San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Co.
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