Last summer's acclaimed Muny revival of the classic 1957 musical West Side Story received five Kevin Kline Awards, including Outstanding Production of a Musical, at the first-ever awards ceremony to honor theater achievement in St. Louis. Sponsored by the Professional Theatre Awards Council of Greater St. Louis, the March 20 ceremony was held at the Roberts Orpheum Theater. 

In all, 24 Kevin Kline Awards were bestowed in 22 categories. (The voting in two categories – Outstanding Director of a Musical and Outstanding Female Actor in a Play – resulted in ties.) Richard Greenberg's 2003 Tony Award-winning play Take Me Out, which received its St. Louis debut last September as the inaugural production of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' new Off-Ramp season, received four Kevin Kline Awards, including Outstanding Production of a Play.

Of the 37 plays and musicals that received nominations, twelve St. Louis productions, which were staged by eight different theater companies, received recognition. The Muny and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis each received six awards. Other double-digit recipients were Stages St. Louis, with four awards split between two musicals (Footloose and Hello, Dolly!), the fledgling Orange Girls with three awards for its sole production, Going to See the Elephant, and the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis with two awards for its production of The Tempest. Additional awards went to Act, Inc., New Jewish Theatre and the Washington Avenue Players Project.

Broadway veterans Natascia Diaz and Ken Page also received awards--for The Muny's productions of West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar, respectively.

Kevin Kline, the Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actor, who grew up in Clayton and attended high school at the St. Louis Priory, returned to St. Louis for the inaugural ceremony and presented six of the acting awards. In addition, Kline received the first-ever Kevin Kline Award to be struck. While onstage, he was informed of the creation of the Kevin Kline Theater Ticket Fund, which will provide free tickets to area high school students in his honor.

The Professional Theatre Awards Council of Greater St. Louis (PTAC) was formed in 2004 to heighten awareness of theater in St. Louis. During the twelve months of 2005, 79 different plays and musicals were evaluated by a floating pool of 36 judges. Each show was seen by seven judges, and each judge was required to submit his or her ballot within 24 hours of attending a production, thus insuring that each production was weighed on its own merits rather than in comparison to others.

The gala ceremony was hosted by former St. Louisan Jason Danieley, star of such Broadway hits as The Full Monty and Candide. In addition to Kline, celebrity presenters included Broadway impresario Rocco Landesman and popular entertainer Ken Page, who also received a Kevin Kline Award for his performance as King Herod in last summer's Muny staging of Jesus Christ Superstar.

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The winners and nominees (categories listed in the order in which they were announced) are:

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play

Winner: BROOKE EDWARDS (Going to See the Elephant, Orange Girls)

Other nominees: Teresa Doggett (Separate Tables, Act, Inc.)

Michelle Hand (Going to See the Elephant, Orange Girls)

Liz Hopefl (Separate Tables, Act Inc.)

Rory Lipede (Valhalla, HotCity Theatre)

Magan Wiles (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play

Winner: GARY WAYNE BARKER (Driving Miss Daisy, New Jewish Theatre)

Other nominees: Michael Balsley (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Drew Bell (Glen or Glenda: Live!, Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre)

Jim Butz (The Merchant of Venice, New Jewish Theatre)

John Kinney (Unexpected Tenderness, New Jewish Theatre)

Outstanding Production for Young Audiences

Winner: BAH! HUMBUG! (The Imaginary Theatre Company/The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Other nominees: Free to Be … You and Me (Stages St. Louis)

Honk! (DramaRama)

Salt and Pepper (Metro Theatre Company)

The Tempest in a Flash (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Outstanding New Play or Musical

Winner: The Ensemble (So to Speak, Washington Avenue Players Project)

Other nominees: Lee Patton Chiles (Dancing on Air, Historyonics)

Margeau Steinau, B. Weller and Rachel Jackson (Famous Monsters, HotCity Theatre)

Outstanding Sound Design

Winner: Robin Weatherall & ANN SLAYTON (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Other nominees: Janet Kalas (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Jason Krueger (West Side Story, The Muny)

Nathan Ruyle (Adult Entertainment, HotCity Theatre)

John Taylor (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Spotlight Theatre)

Outstanding Lighting Design

Winner: JOHN LASITER (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Other nominees: Christopher Edwards (Valhalla, HotCity Theatre)

Don Guy (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Matthew McCarthy (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Matthew McCarthy (Man of La Mancha, Stages St. Louis)

Peter Sargent (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Costume Design

Winner: REGGIE RAY (Crowns, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Other nominees: Lou Bird (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Jennifer "JC" Carter (Dangerous Liaisons, St. Louis Shakespeare)

Michael J. McDonald (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Austin Sanderson (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Outstanding Set Design

Winner: CHRISTOPHER PICKART (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Other nominees: John Ezell (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Mark Halpin (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Adrian W. Jones (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Christopher Pickart (Lobby Hero, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical

Winner: WEST SIDE STORY (The Muny)

Other nominees: Crowns (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Footloose (Stages St. Louis)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Hello, Dolly! (Stages St. Louis)

Man of La Mancha (Stages St. Louis)

Outstanding Ensemble in a Play

Winner: GOING TO SEE THE ELEPHANT (Orange Girls)

Other nominees: Adult Entertainment (HotCity Theatre)

Lobby Hero (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

The Tempest (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

This Is Our Youth (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical

Winner: Natascia Diaz (West Side Story, The Muny)

Other nominees: Melissa Bohon (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Lynn Eldredge (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Georgia Engel (Mame, The Muny)

Lynette Knapp (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Jamie McKittrick (The Robber Bridegroom, New Line Theatre)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical

Winner: Ken Page (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Muny)

Other nominees: Nat Chandler (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Thomas E. O'Brien (Man of La Mancha, Stages St. Louis)

Jeffrey Pruett (The Robber Bridegroom, New Line Theatre)

John Seidman (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Musical Direction

Winner: KELSEY HALBERT (West Side Story, The Muny)

Other nominees: Lisa Campbell Albert (Man of La Mancha, Stages St. Louis)

Tim Carpenter (Crowns, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Al Fischer (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Ben Whiteley (Beauty and the Beast, The Muny)

Outstanding Choreography

Winner: DANA LEWIS (Footloose, Stages St. Louis)

Other nominees: Kevin Backstrom (West Side Story, The Muny)

Dana Lewis (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Janet Watson (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Vivian Anderson-Watt and Theodore Jamison (Dancing on Air, Historyonics)

Outstanding Director of a Musical – A TIE

Winners: KEVIN BACKSTROM (West Side Story, The Muny) …and…

MICHAEL HAMILTON (Footloose, Stages St. Louis)

Other nominees: Ron Gibbs (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Muny)

Michael Hamilton (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Michael Hamilton (Man of La Mancha, Stages St. Louis)

Edward Stern (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Production of a Musical

Winner: WEST SIDE STORY (The Muny)

Other nominees: Footloose (Stages St. Louis)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Hello, Dolly! (Stages St. Louis)

Man of La Mancha (Stages St. Louis)

Outstanding Director of a Play

Winner: ROB RUGGIERO (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Other nominees: Deanna Jent (Going to See the Elephant, Orange Girls)

Tom Martin (Lobby Hero, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Wayne Salomon (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Spotlight Theatre)

Russell Treyz (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Outstanding Production of a Play

Winner: TAKE ME OUT (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Other nominees: Going to See the Elephant (Orange Girls)

The Merchant of Venice (New Jewish Theatre)

The Tempest (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Valhalla (HotCity Theatre)

Outstanding Male Actor in a Musical

Winner: BEN NORDSTROM (Footloose, Stages St. Louis)

Other nominees: Bill Lynch (Footloose, Stages St. Louis)

David Schmittou (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Matthew Scott (West Side Story, The Muny)

Bob Walton (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Female Actor in a Musical

Winner: ZOE VONDER HAAR (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)

Other nominees: Kate Baldwin (The Sound of Music, The Muny)

Andrea Burns (West Side Story, The Muny)

Kari Ely (Footloose, Stages St. Louis)

Sarah Litzsinger (Beauty and the Beast, The Muny)

Outstanding Male Actor in a Play

Winner: NAT DeWOLF (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Other nominees: Philip Anthony-Rodriguez (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Jim Butz (Lobby Hero, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Norman McGowan (I'm Not Rappaport, New Jewish Theatre)

Andrew Michael Neiman (The Elephant Man, Stray Dog Theatre)

Outstanding Female Actor in a Play – A TIE

Winners: MICHELLE HAND (Separate Tables, Act, Inc.) …and…

NANCY LEWIS (Going to See the Elephant, Orange Girls)

Other nominees: Michelle Hand (A Streetcar Named Desire, Stray Dog Theatre)

Darrie Lawrence (The Retreat from Moscow, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Meghan Maguire (Going to See the Elephant, Orange Girls)