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Bailiwick's Wild Party, Griffin's Men Should Weep top Non-Equity Jeff Awards

Written by
Kris Vire
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Bailiwick Chicago's The Wild Party and Griffin Theatre Company's Men Should Weep were named the year's best non-Equity productions at the 42nd annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards Monday night. Both productions also earned Jeffs for their directors, Brenda Didier and Robin Witt respectively, and lead actors Danni Smith and Matthew Keffer of The Wild Party and Lori Myers of Men Should Weep. In addition, Bailiwick took home plaques for ensemble, Didier's choreography, Aaron Benham's musical direction and Brian Hoehne's lighting design.

Smith and Benham were both double winners, with Smith also taking the award for supporting actress in a musical for Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre's Always… Patsy Cline, and Benham winning in the catch-all artistic specialization category for his musical arrangements for Theo Ubique's A Musical Tribute to the Andrews Sisters. Ike Holter's universally acclaimed Exit Strategy, produced by Jackalope Theatre Company, was named best new work, while Matt Foss's moody take on Upton Sinclair's The Jungle at Oracle Productions was named best new adaptation.

Though 23 companies were represented among the nominees, the awards were spread across just ten. Several companies that had more than one show up for awards went home empty-handed, including Kokandy Productions, BoHo Theatre, Eclipse Theatre Company and Redtwist Theatre. 

A special award was presented posthumously to Russ Tutterow, the longtime force behind the playwright-nurturing Chicago Dramatists, who passed away last month after a battle with cancer. Actor Ryan Stajmiger and a chorus of 24, accompanied by Eugene Dizon, performed a musical tribute to Tutterow and three other members of the non-Equity community who passed in the last year: director Matthew Gunnels, actor Erin Myers and American Theater Company artistic director PJ Paparelli.

"Our confidence and our output and our chutzpah would not be what they are today if not for…Russ Tutterow," said his friend Ann Filmer, the artistic director of 16th Street Theater, recalling Tutterow's generosity of spirit and unending support for the entire Chicago theater scene. Accepting "He advocated for many, many, many playwrights," said Chicago Dramatists interim artistic director Meghan Beals McCarthy, accepting the award. "We will continue to work under his legacy."

Many of the presenters and recipients also addressed the community's many losses in recent months and years—and many presented it as motivation to continue making art. As Bailiwick Chicago executive director Kate Garassino put it in accepting the best musical production award for The Wild Party (the Michael John LaChiusa version, not the Andrew Lippa, for the record), "We"—addressing the entire room of passionate artists—"are so fucking lucky to get to do what we do."

The complete list of winners is below. Next up: the 47th Equity Jeff Awards on October 5.

Production—Play
Men Should Weep—Griffin Theatre Company

Production—Musical
The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Production—Revue
Always… Patsy Cline—Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Ensemble
The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Director—Play
Robin Witt—Men Should Weep—Griffin Theatre Company

Director—Musical or Revue
Brenda Didier—The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Actor in a Principal Role—Play
Kevin Cox—La Bête—Trap Door Theatre

Actor in a Principal Role—Musical or Revue 
Matthew Keffer—The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Actress in a Principal Role—Play
Lori Myers—Men Should Weep—Griffin Theatre Company

Actress in a Principal Role—Musical 
Danni Smith—The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Actor in a Supporting Role—Play
Shane Kenyon—If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet—Steep Theatre Company

Actor in a Supporting Role—Musical
Donterrio Johnson—Jesus Christ Superstar—Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Actress in a Supporting Role—Play
Ginneh Thomas—The Submission—Pride Films and Plays

Actress in a Supporting Role—Musical or Revue
Danni Smith—Always… Patsy Cline—Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

New Work
Ike Holter—Exit Strategy—Jackalope Theatre Company

New Adaptation 
Matt Foss—The Jungle—Oracle Productions

Choreography
Brenda Didier—The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Original Music in a Play
Nicholas Tonozzi and Sam Allyn—The Jungle—Oracle Productions

Music Direction 
Aaron Benham—The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Scenic Design
Ray Toler—Vieux Carré—Raven Theatre

Lighting Design
Brian Hoehne—The Wild Party—Bailiwick Chicago

Costume Design
Rachel Sypniewski—La Bête—Trap Door Theatre

Sound Design 
Sarah Espinoza—The Arsonists—Strawdog Theatre Company

Artistic Specialization
Aaron Benham, musical arrangements—A Musical Tribute to the Andrews Sisters—Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

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