Citadel Theatre Honoured With 30 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award Nominations

The Citadel's hit production Hadestown led all shows at the 31st annual Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award nominations. The ground-breaking musical, which received international attention from the New York Times, the Stage (U.K.), and the Globe and Mail, garnered a total of eight nominations, including the Timothy Ryan Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical. Tony Award nominee Rachel Chavkin received a nod for Outstanding Director for Hadestown, which she co-created with folk musician Anaïs Mitchell. Amber Gray is nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her turn as Persephone in this musical, based on a Greek myth and steeped in the music traditions of American Folk and New Orleans jazz. Liam Robinson is nominated for Outstanding Musical Director, and David Neumann received recognition in the category of Outstanding Choreography or Fight Direction. Tony Award winner Bradley King is nominated for Outstanding Lighting Design. Rachel Hauck received a nomination for Outstanding Set Design and Michael Krass received a nod for Outstanding Costume Design.

The Silver Arrow: The Untold Story of Robin Hood received the second-highest amount of nominations of any play, with seven nods, including Outstanding Production of a Play. Playwright Mieko Ouchi earned a nod for Outstanding New Play. Scott Farley, who played Mac, a steampunk inventor, is nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. Drew Facey received nominations for Outstanding Set Design and Outstanding Costume Design, while Jonathan Hawley Purvis is nominated for Outstanding Choreography or Fight Direction. Notably, Canadian rocker Hawksley Workman earned a nod for Outstanding Score of a Play or Musical for his work on the production.

The Citadel's season opener, Shakespeare in Love, also received lots of love, with nominations for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Director (Daryl Cloran), Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Andrew Chown), Outstanding Set Design (Cory Sincennes), Outstanding Costume Design (Cory Sincennes), and Outstanding Lighting Design (Scott Henderson). Shakespeare in Love is a co-production with Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

The darkly comedic family drama The Humans, a co-production with Canadian Stage, received three nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Ric Reid), and Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Alana Hawley Purvis).

The popular musical Mamma Mia! earned two nominations, one for Outstanding Choreography or Fight Direction (Laura Krewski) and the other for Outstanding Musical Director (Don Horsburgh).

Corey Payette's beautiful but heart-wrenching musical, Children of God, is nominated for two awards, including the Timothy Ryan Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical, and Outstanding Musical Director (Allen Cole). Children of God is a co-production with Western Canada Theatre and National Arts Centre.

Empire of the Son, a one-man show by Tetsuro Shigematsu, received a nod for Outstanding Multi-Media Design (Remy Siu). Empire of the Son was presentation by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.

The Citadel is especially proud of Sheila Cleasby, Head of Electrics, who won the Ross Hill Award for Career Achievement in Production. Cleasby has spent more than four decades in her field, and recently finished her 36th season at the Citadel.

Two members of the Citadel's production team, Peter Locock, scenic carpenter, and Patsy Thomas, Head of Wardrobe, both earned nominations for Individual Achievement in production.

"We are incredibly honoured to have received so many Sterling award nominations, particularly in such a spectacular year in Edmonton theatre. The nominations tell us that the Citadel is taking the right risks in storytelling and encourages us to keep pursuing innovative, inclusive, and innovative programming," says Chantell Ghosh, Executive Director.

The Citadel would like to congratulate all the nominees for their hard-earned nominations and outstanding contributions to the Edmonton theatre community, and looks forward to celebrating with the nominees at the awards ceremony on June 25, 2018.

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