If you haven't noticed lately, it's awards season! The stars may be aligning this month on the Tinseltown red carpet, but last night, MCASD La Jolla was the place to be as the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle handed out some accolades of their own at the 2009 Craig Noel Awards.
The hotly-anticipated event was dedicated to Craig Noel, the 94-year-old founding director of The Old Globe, who, for the first time since the awards were renamed in his honor in 2002, couldn't make an appearance due to frail health.
Big winners included the Old Globe's production of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and the La Jolla Playhouse's "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Creditors"; top honorees were "Cyrano" director Darko Tresnjak, who was honored for his work on the Globe's Summer Shakespeare series, and doyenne DJ Sullivan. To wit: she helped found the local union chapters of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild, guest-starred alongside Angela Lansbury in "Murder She Wrote" amongst other roles, and played mentor to many a local stage and screen darling.
More of the evening's highlights included double doo-wopping by The Choice Entertainers, and a film tribute to Tresniak's vivid reimagining of the classics by the Union Tribune's Jim Herbert.
Check out the full list of award winners below - did your favorite production take one home?
The San Diego Theatre Critics Circle’s 2009 Craig Noel Awards
SPECIAL AWARDEES
- DJ Sullivan, San Diego actor/teacher/labor organizer for more than 40 years - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Darko Tresnjak, former artistic director of the Old Globe's Summer Shakespeare Festival - For his vivid reimagining of the classics.
SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT
"Looking for An Echo" – Ira Aldridge Repertory Players
OUTSTANDING RESIDENT MUSICAL
"42nd Street" - Moonlight Stage Productions
OUTSTANDING NEW MUSICAL
"Bonnie & Clyde" – La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Jeff Calhoun, "Bonnie & Clyde," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL DIRECTION
John McDaniel: "Bonnie & Clyde," La Jolla Playhouse
Mark Danisovszky, "Threepenny Opera," San Diego Rep
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL, FEMALE
Colleen Kollar Smith, "Bed and Sofa," Cygnet Theatre
Laura Osnes, "Bonnie & Clyde," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL, MALE
Obba Babatundé, "Sammy," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL, MALE
Jordan Miller, "Bed and Sofa,: Cygnet Theatre
OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL, FEMALE
Sara Chase, "The First Wives Club," The Old Globe
Melissa van der Schyff, "Bonnie & Clyde," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
Keith Young, "Sammy," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Darko Tresnjak, "Cyrano de Bergerac," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN
Lindsay Jones, "Opus," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
Linda Cho, "Twelfth Night," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
Japhy Weideman, "Creditors," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN
Michael McKeon, "Killer Joe," Compass Theatre
Robert Brill, "Creditors," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING MUSIC FOR A PLAY
Christopher R. Walker, "Twelfth Night," Old Globe
David Van Tieghem, "Creditors," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
"Noises Off," Cygnet Theatre
"The Dresser," North Coast Repertory Theatre
"Opus," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A PLAY, FEMALE
Amanda Sitton, "Doubt," San Diego Repertory Theatre
Harriet Harris, "Unusual Acts of Devotion," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING FEATURED PERFORMANCE IN A PLAY, MALE
Armin Shimerman, "The Seafarer," San Diego Repertory Theatre
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A PLAY, MALE
Patrick Page, "Cyrano de Bergerac," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A PLAY, FEMALE
Karson St. John, "The Little Dog Laughed," Diversionary
Dana Hooley, "Frozen," ion theatre
OUTSTANDING YOUNG ARTIST
Ian Brininstool, "Over the Tavern," North Coast Repertory Theatre
OUTSTANDING TOURING PRODUCTION
"The 39 Steps," La Jolla Playhouse
OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC PRODUCTION
"Cyrano de Bergerac," The Old Globe
OUTSTANDING ADAPTATION OF A PLAY
"Creditors," Doug Wright, La Jolla Playhouse
