Stephanie J. Block, Raul Esparza & More Among 2011 L.A. Ovation Award Nominees

Broadway favorites Raul Esparza, Stephanie J. Block and Laurie Metcalf are among the 2010-2011 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award nominees, which were announced on September 19 at Burbank’s Falcon Theatre. Esparza earned a Best Actor in a Musical nom for his role in Leap of Faith, while Block earned a Best Actress in a Musical nod for They’re Playing Our Song and Metcalf garnered a nomination for her performance in Voice Lessons. The 2010-2011 Ovation Awards ceremony will take place on November 14 at the Orpheum Theatre.

Topping the list of nominations is The Reprise Theatre Company, helmed by Tony winner Jason Alexander, with 17 nominations. Reprise is followed by the Troubadour Theater Company with 16, Center Theatre Group with 12 and Demand Productions with 11. The Ovations, which honor achievements in California theater, classify awards according to the size of eligible theaters.

The complete list of 2011 Ovation Award nominees is below.

Best Season
Celebration Theatre: BASH'd! A Gay Rap Opera, The Next Fairy Tale, Take Me Out
Fountain Theatre: Bakersfield Mist, A House Not Meant to Stand, The Train Driver
Reprise Theatre Company: Gigi, Kiss Me, Kate, They're Playing Our Song
Theatre Banshee: The Crucible, The Field, The Walworth Farce, War
Troubadour Theater Company: The First Jo-el, Fleetwood Macbeth, A Wither's Tale

Lead Actor in a Musical
Alaman Diadhiou (Twist – An American Musica)
Luca Ellis (Hoboken To Hollywood)
Raul Esparza (Leap Of Faith)
Tom Hewitt (Kiss Me, Kate)
David Laffey (Jerry Springer: The Opera)
Jesse Merlin (Re-Animator: The Musical)
Graham Skipper (Re-Animator: The Musical)

Lead Actress in a Musical
Lindsey Alley (Having It All)
Stephanie Block (They're Playing Our Song)
Kim Huber (Having It All)
Lesli Margherita (Kiss Me, Kate)
Kelli Provart (Cats)
Alet Taylor (Having It All)
Shannon Warne (Having It All)

Lead Actor in a Play
Obba Babatunde (A Soldier's Play)
Jon Bernthal (Small Engine Repair)
Tom Dugan (Nazi Hunter – Simon Wiesenthal)
Joe Fria (Watson – The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes)
Tom Haney (Master Harold and the Boys)
Stefan Marks (Hello)
French Stewart (Voice Lessons)

Lead Actress in a Play
Susan Claassen (A Conversation With Edith Head)
Alana Dietze (Everything Will Be Different)
Diarra Kilpatrick (The Interlopers)
Sandy Martin (A House Not Meant To Stand)
Laurie Metcalf (Voice Lessons)
Beth Patrik (Hello)
Constance Zimmer (Girls Talk)

Featured Actor in a Musical
Willem De Vries (Fascinating Rhythms)
Sean Hingston (Kiss Me, Kate)
Morgan Rusler (The First Jo-El)
Isaac Wade (Group: A Musical)
Matt Walker (A Wither's Tale)
Matt Walker (The First Jo-El)
Jay Winnick (Kiss Me, Kate)

Featured Actress in a Musical
Anya (Fascinating Rhythms)
Meg Gillentine (Kiss Me, Kate)
Beth Kennedy (A Wither's Tale)
Beth Kennedy (The First Jo-El)
Katherine Malak (A Wither's Tale)
Millicent Martin (Gigi)
Victoria Platt (Venice)

Featured Actor in a Play
Francois Chau (Extraordinary Chambers)
Henry Dittman (Watson – The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes)
Edi Gathegi (Superior Donuts)
Michael Pappas (The War Cycle: Gospel According To First Squad)
Darryl Stephens (The Interlopers)
French Stewart (Watson – The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes)
Greg Watanabe (Extraordinary Chambers)

Featured Actress in a Play
Andrea Bendewald (Girls Talk)
Meredith Bishop (Aftermath)
Anne Gee Byrd (The Autumn Garden)
Deidrie Henry (A Raisin In The Sun)
Vivian Kerr (The Crucible)
Nicole Paggi (Girls Talk)
Daniele Watts (Neighbors)

Best Play – Intimate Theatre
Everything Will Be Different (The Echo Theater Company)
Hello (Crooked Arrow Productions)
Nazi Hunter – Simon Wiesenthal (Theatre 40)
Neighbors (The Matrix Theatre Company)
Small Engine Repair (Rogue Machine)
Voice Lessons (Sacred Fools Theatre Company)
The War Cycle: Gospel According To First Squad (Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble)

Best Play – Large Theatre
Extraordinary Chambers (Geffen Playhouse)
Master Harold and the Boys (Rubicon Theatre Company)
A Raisin in the Sun (Ebony Repertory Theatre)
Superior Donuts (Geffen Playhouse)
Waiting For Lefty (Theatre West)

Best Musical – Intimate Theatre
Bash'd! A Gay Rap Opera (Celebration Theatre)
Having It All (Demand Productions)
Hoboken To Hollywood (Reasoner Associates LLC)
Jerry Springer: The Opera (The Chance Theater)
Re-Animator: The Musical (Red Hen Productions and The Schramm Group LLC)

Best Musical – Large Theatre
Fascinating Rhythms (Rubicon Theatre Company)
Kiss Me, Kate (Reprise Theatre Company)
The Sound Of Music (Cabrillo Music Theatre)
Venice (Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre)
A Wither's Tale (Troubadour Theater Company)

Acting Ensemble of a Play
The cast of Everything Will Be Different (The Echo Theater Company)
The cast of Girls Talk (Demand Productions)
The cast of Neighbors (The Matrix Theatre Company)
The cast of A Raisin in the Sun(Ebony Repertory Theatre)
The cast of Small Engine Repair (Rogue Machine)
The cast of Voice Lessons (Sacred Fools Theatre Company)
The cast of The War Cycle: Gospel According To First Squad (Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble)

Acting Ensemble of a Musical
The cast of Having It All (Demand Productions)
The cast of Jerry Springer: The Opera (The Chance Theater)
The cast of Kiss Me, Kate (Reprise Theatre Company)
The cast of Venice (Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre)
The cast of A Wither's Tale (Troubadour Theater Company)

Choreography
Debbie Allen (Twist – An American Musical)
Molly Alvarez (The First Jo-El)
Cate Caplin (Fascinating Rhythms)
Jason Chong (Krunk Fu Battle Battle)
Ameenah Kaplan (A Wither's Tale)
Lee Martino (Kiss Me, Kate)
Kelly Todd (Jerry Springer: The Opera)

Book for an Original Musical
David Goldsmith and Wendy Perelman (Having It All)
William Norris, Stuart Gordon and Dennis Paoli (Re-Animator: The Musical)
Brian Pugach (The Next Fairy Tale)

Lyrics/Music for an Original Musical
Gregory Nabours (The Trouble With Words)
Mark Nutter (Re-Animator: The Musical)
Eric Rosen and Matt Sax (Venice)

Playwrighting for an Original Play
Tom Burmester (The War Cycle: Gospel According To First Squad)
Donald Jolly (Bonded)
Marja Lewis-Ryan (Dysnomia)
Stefan Marks (Hello)
John Pollono (Small Engine Repair )
Elliot Shoenman (Aftermath)
David Wiener (Extraordinary Chambers)

Director of a Musical
Trevor Biship (Jerry Springer: The Opera)
Cate Caplin (Fascinating Rhythms)
Ameenah Kaplan (Bash'd! A Gay Rap Opera)
Michael Michetti (Kiss Me, Kate)
Eric Rosen (Venice)
Matt Walker (The First Jo-El)
Matt Walker (A Wither's Tale)

Director of a Play
Andrew Block (Small Engine Repair)
Stefan Marks (Hello)
Michael Matthews (Take Me Out)
Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun)
Jaime Robledo (Watson: The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes)
Danika Sudik (The War Cycle: Gospel According To First Squad)
Jenny Sullivan (Nazi Hunter – Simon Wiesenthal)