Raul Esparza and Laurie Metcalf are among the winners of the 2011 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Awards. The awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement during the 2010-2011 season, were presented on November 14 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Broadway favorite Esparza took home top honors for his role in the musical Leap of Faith, and Metcalf won for her role in the play Voice Lessons.
The Troubadour Theater Company was the evening’s biggest winner, taking home five awards, followed by Center Theatre Group with four and Rogue Machine with three. The annual Ovations, which honor achievements in California theater, classify awards according to the size of eligible theaters. The 2010-11 winners are:
BEST SEASON
Troubadour Theater Company
BEST PLAY – INTIMATE THEATRE
Small Engine Repair, Rogue Machine
BEST PLAY – LARGE THEATRE
A Raisin in The Sun, Ebony Repertory Theatre
BEST MUSICAL – INTIMATE THEATRE
Jerry Springer: The Opera, The Chance Theater
BEST MUSICAL – LARGE THEATRE
Kiss Me, Kate , Reprise Theatre Company
LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Raul Esparza, Leap of Faith, Center Theatre Group: Ahmanson Theatre
LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Lesli Margherita, Kiss Me, Kate, Reprise Theatre Company
LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY
Stefan Marks, Hello, Crooked Arrow Productions
LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Laurie Metcalf, Voice Lessons, Sacred Fools Theatre Company
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Matt Walker, A Wither’s Tale, Troubadour Theater Company
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Beth Kennedy, A Wither’s Tale, Troubadour Theater Company
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Henry Dittman, Watson – The Last Great Tale of The Legendary Sherlock Holmes, Sacred Fools Theatre Company
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Deidrie Henry, A Raisin in the Sun, Ebony Repertory Theatre
DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Matt Walker, A Wither’s Tale, Troubadour Theatre Company
DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Andrew Block, Small Engine Repair, Rogue Machine
ACTING ENSEM BLE FOR A PLAY
The Cast of Small Engine Repair, Rogue Machine
ACTING ENSEM BLE OF A MUSICAL
The Cast of A Wither’s Tale, Troubadour Theater Company
CHOREOGRAPHY
Cate Caplin, Fascinating Rhythms, Rubicon Theatre Company
MUSIC DIRECTION
Paul Litteral, Hoboken To Hollywood, Reasoner Associates LLC
BOOK FOR AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL
William Norris, Stuart Gordon, and Dennis Paoli, Re-Animator: The Musical, Red Hen Productions and The Schramm Group LLC
LYRICS /MUSIC FOR AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL
Gregory Nabours, The Trouble With Words, Coeurage Theatre Company
PLAY WRITING FOR AN ORIGINAL PLAY
Stefan Marks, Hello, Crooked Arrow Productions
LIGHTING DESIGN – INTIMATE THEATRE
Christopher Kuhl, How To Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, The Theatre @ Boston Court
LIGHTING DESIGN – LARGE THEATRE
David Weiner, Venice, Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre
SCENIC DESIGN – INTIMATE THEATRE
Joel Daavid, Skeleton Stories, Theatre of NOTE
SCENIC DESIGN – LARGE THEATRE
Todd Rosenthal, Twist – An American Musical, Pasadena Playhouse
SOUND DESIGN - INTIMATE THEATRE
Alyssa Ishii, Awake, Bootleg Theater
SOUND DESIGN - LARGE THEATRE
Joshua Horvath, Venice, Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre
COSTUME DESIGN – INTIMATE THEATRE
A. Jeffrey Schoenberg, The Malcontent, The Antaeus Company
COSTUME DESIGN – LARGE THEATRE
Emilio Sosa, Twist – An American Musical , Pasadena Playhouse
THE SHER WOOD AWARD
Presented to Christopher Kuhl
COMPOSITION FOR A PLAY
Brian Joseph, Lyle Lovett, Fred Sanders, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins, Much Ado About Nothing, The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY
Brian Danner, The Walworth Farce, Theatre Banshee
PUPPET DESIGN
Kristopher Bicknell, Gwyneth Conaway Bennison and Miles Taber, D is for Dog, Rogue Artists Ensemble
VIDEO DESIGN
Jason Thompson, Venice, Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre