Drowsy Chaperone Leads List of L.A. Ovation Award Winners

The Drowsy Chaperone won five trophies at the 2006 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Awards on November 13, including the prize for best musical in a large theater. Zero Hour, Jim Brochu's one-person play about the life and career of Zero Mostel, won best play and The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical won best world premiere musical beating out the Broadway bound musical Curtains. Other multiple winners included Elizabeth Rex 3 and All My Sons, Joe Turner's Come and Gone and Ubu Roi 2. The Career Achievement Award went to composer Jerry Herman.

After its premiere at L.A.'s Ahmanson Theatre, The Drowsy Chaperone moved to Broadway, where it won five 2006 Tony Awards. Its Ovation Awards included prizes for Bob Martin and Sutton Foster as lead actor and actress in a musical and Casey Nicholaw as best director. Ovations are awarded by the L.A. Stage Alliance, a nonprofit association of theaters, performing arts groups and producers in the greater Los Angeles area. Actor Neil Patrick Harris hosted the ceremony.

Here is a complete list of the winners:

World Premiere Play
Zero Hour by Jim Brochu, West Coast Jewish Theater

World Premiere Musical
The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical, Book by Patricia Cotter, music & lyrics by Lori Scarlett, produced by Rose Marcario & L.A. Gay & Lesbian Centers Village at Ed Gould Plaza

Ray Stricklyn Memorial Award for Solo Performance
Jay Johnson, Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!, Colony Theater Company

Ensemble Performance
The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, Del Shores & Jason Dottley, Zephyr Theater

Direction of a Play
Ben Bradley, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Fountain Theater

Direction of a Musical
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone, Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater

Choreography
Dana Solimando , Swing!, La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment

Musical Direction
Gerald Sternbach, Zorba, Reprise! Broadway's Best

Play, Intimate Theater
Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Fountain Theater

Play, Large Theater
All My Sons, Geffen Playhouse

Franklin R. Levy Memorial Award for Musical, Intimate Theater
Gorey Stories, Sacred Fools Theater Company

Musical, Large Theater
The Drowsy Chaperone, Center Theater Group/ Ahmanson Theater

Set Design, Intimate Theater
Dana Moran Williams, Elizabeth Rex, Open at the Top Productions

Set Design, Large Theater tie
James Noone, Dead End, Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater
David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone, Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater

Lighting Design, Intimate Theater
Luke Moyer, Elizabeth Rex, Open at the Top Prods.

Lighting Design, Large Theater
Robert Wilson, The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater

Sound Design, Intimate Theater
Christopher Burns, The Lion in Winter, Theater West

Sound Design, Large Theater
David O, Ubu Roi, A Noise Within

Costume Design, Intimate Theater
A. Jeffrey Schoenberg, Elizabeth Rex, Open at the Top Prods.

Costume Design, Large Theater
Leon Wiebers, Ubu Roi, A Noise Within

Lead Actor in a Play
Charlie Robinson, Fences, Jeffrey Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ron Sossi and the Odyssey Theater

Lead Actress in a Play
Laurie Metcalf, All My Sons, Geffen Playhouse

Lead Actor in a Musical
Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone, Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater

Lead Actress in a Musical
Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone, Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater

Featured Actor in a Play
Dakin Matthews, Water & Power, Center Theater Group/ Mark Taper Forum

Featured Actress in a Play
Dale Dickey, Southern Baptist Sissies, Del Shores & Jason Dottley & Zephyr Theater

Featured Actor in a Musical
Stephen Breithaupt, It Came From Beyond, Cornell Christianson

Featured Actress in a Musical
Harriet Harris, On the Town, Reprise! Broadway's Best

Career Achievement
Jerry Herman

Community Outreach Award
California Institute of the Arts Community Arts Partnership CAP