The Capital Critics Circle has announced their picks for the best in local English language theatre, both professional and community.
These are the 19th annual awards handed out by the circle Monday night at the National Arts Centre. They cover productions in the national capital region in the 2016-2017 season, according to a news release.
The winners are:
Best production professional
Vigilante written, composed and directed by Jonathan Christenson, Catalyst Theatre, in association with NAC.
Best production community
Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz, directed by Geoff Gruson, Ottawa Little Theatre
Best director professional
Esther Jun The Last Wife
Best director community
Sarah Hearn Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein, TotoToo Theatre
Best actor professional
Oliver Becker King Henry in The Last Wife
Best actor community
J. Taylor Morris Robert in Boeing-Boeing by Marc Camelotti, translated by Beverley Cross (1982) and Francis Evans (2007), directed by Shaun Toohey, Ottawa Little Theatre
Best actress professional
Jan Alexandra Smith Johannah in Vigilante
Best actress community
Venetia Lawless Brooke in Other Desert Cities
Best designer professional
Marshall McMahen production design Children of God
Best designer community
Lu-Anne Connell costumes Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Tartan technical award professional
Roger Schultz set design I’ll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley, directed by Laurel Smith, Classic Theatre Festival.
Tartan technical award community
Graham Price set and lighting The Three Musketeers by Ken Ludwig, directed by Stavros Sakiadis, Ottawa Little Theatre
Best new play
Finishing the Suit by Lawrence Aronovitch
The Audrey Ashley Award, named for a former Arts and Entertainment editor of the Ottawa Citizen, is given for a body of work. This year it goes to Ted Chartrand, TotoToo Theatre.
The awards were started in 2000. The selection committee for the 2016-2017 awards were: Barbara Gray, Patrick Langston, Jim Murchison, Jamie Portman, Alvina Ruprecht, Maja Stefanovska, Rajka Stefanovska and Iris Winston. The CCC is affiliated with the Canadian Theatre Critics Association and the International Association of Theatre Critics.
The 2017 awards are sponsored by Barbara Crook Greenberg, Alan Dean Photography, Nicholas Wojtas Photography, Coyle Publishing, the Cube Gallery, Executive Fitness Leaders and Tartan Homes.
