Jeff Awards 2014: Non-Equity Wing nominations

The Joseph Jefferson Awards committee tonight announced the nominations for the 41st annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards, honoring productions opening between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014. Bohemian Theatre Ensemble and Oracle Productions led with the most nominations per company, at 12 and 11 respectively, while Bailiwick Chicago's Dessa Rose garnered the most nominations for a single production, with eight.
All told, the 127 nominations in 24 categories are split among 29 producing companies, though there are several heavy hitters: Raven Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company, Lifeline Theatre, Steep Theatre Company and Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre each raked in seven or more nominations, which is par for the Jeffs course for those companies in recent seasons. New to the party this year is Kokandy Productions, which in its first year of eligibility refocused itself on musical theater, a move that paid off with eight nominations split between its productions of The Last Five Years and Sweet Smell of Success.
There are, as always, the conspicuous omissions, the most surprising of which for me is the Hypocrites' Into the Woods—in my opinion the best of the company's four eligible shows this year, but the only one to come away without a single nomination.
And there are those that you realize never had a chance: Despite winning last year's ensemble award for Idomeneus, Sideshow Theatre Company found all four of its eligible shows this year—Maria/Stuart, The Burden of Not Having a Tail, 9 Circles and The Golden Dragon—snubbed by the Jeffs' opening night judges, and thus ineligible for nominations.
And other ambitious fare, such as Pavement Group's Harry and the Thief, Broken Nose Theatre's ROOMS: A Rock Romance, Buzz22 Chicago's Ghost Bike and Walkabout Theatre Company's The Wild, were never seen by Jeff judges because the companies aren't old enough or produce too sparsely to meet the committee's eligibility rules. We've all gotta have parameters—none of us can see everything onstage in this city, try as we might—but it's a shame to see such worthy pieces left out of the running entirely.
Still, JoJeff did show an adventurous streak this year alongside his penchant for naturalistic period dramas and realistic scenic designs. With multiple nods to more out-there works like Oracle's The Mother and Pink Milk, Red Tape Theatre's The Life and Death of Madam Barker and Trap Door Theatre's The Core of the Pudel, plus healthy doses of off-kilter pieces in the New Work and New Adaptation categories, this round of nominations will make for an interesting mix at the Non-Equity Awards ceremony Monday, June 2, at Park West. (The Equity Jeff Awards ceremony is held in October.)
The complete list of nominees follows. For productions that were reviewed by Time Out, each nomination links to our original review.




Director — Musical
Lili-Anne Brown — Dessa Rose — Bailiwick Chicago
Peter Marston Sullivan — Kiss of the Spider Woman — Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Derek van Barham — Songs from an Unmade Bed — Pride Films & Plays
David E. Walters — Monty Python's Spamalot — NightBlue Performing Arts Company

Ensemble
Clybourne Park — Redtwist Theatre
Core of the Pudel/Gutting the Legend of Faust — Trap Door Theatre
Great Expectations — Strawdog Theatre Company
The Killer Angels — Lifeline Theatre
The Knowledge — Steep Theatre Company
The Mother — Oracle Productions
Pink Milk — Oracle Productions in association with White Elephant

Actor in a Principal Role — Play
Chris Ballou (Mozart) — Amadeus — Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Patrick Gannon (Dave/Mint/Candy) — The Tennessee Williams Project — The Hypocrites
Fred Geyer (Presley Stray) — The Pitchfork Disney — Interrobang Theatre Project
Steve O'Connell (Salieri) — Amadeus — Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Joel Reitsma (Danny) — Motortown — Steep Theatre Company
Nate Santana (Joe) — Golden Boy — Griffin Theatre Company

Actor in a Principal Role — Musical
Nathan Carroll (Molina) — Kiss of the Spider Woman — Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Jim DeSelm (Jamie) — The Last Five Years — Kokandy Productions
Evan Tyrone Martin (Valentin) — Kiss of the Spider Woman — Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Jordan Phelps (Performer) — Songs from an Unmade Bed — Pride Films & Plays
David Schlumpf (Sidney Falcone) — Sweet Smell of Success — Kokandy Productions
Kevin Webb (Performer) — Songs from an Unmade Bed — Pride Films & Plays

Actress in a Principal Role — Play
Sally Eames (Susan) — Woman in Mind — Eclipse Theatre Company
Kelli Harrington (Maria Callas) — Master Class — Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Katherine Keberlein (The Mother) — The Mother — Oracle Productions
Caroline Neff (Zoe) — The Knowledge — Steep Theatre
Mary Williamson (June) — Reverb — Redtwist Theatre

Actress in a Principal Role — Musical
Molly Brennan (Madam Barker) — The Life and Death of Madam Barker — Red Tape Theatre
Sydney Charles (Dessa Rose) — Dessa Rose — Bailiwick Chicago
Harmony France (Ruth) — Dessa Rose — Bailiwick Chicago
Allison Hendrix (Catherine) — The Last Five Years — Kokandy Productions
Danni Smith (Fosca) — Passion — Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Actor in a Supporting Role — Play
Matt Edmonds (Aaron) — All-American — Redtwist Theatre
Jose Antonio Garcia (Happy) — Fallow — Steep Theatre Company
Dennis William Grimes (Richard) — Rabbit — Stage Left Theatre
Joseph Wiens (Brad) — Orange Flower Water — Interrobang Theatre Project
Norm Woodell (Bonaparte) — Golden Boy — Griffin Theatre Company

Actor in a Supporting Role — Musical
Tommy Bullington (Smee) — Return of Neverland — Quest Theatre Ensemble
Daniel Desmarais (Leaf Coneybear) — The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — Griffin Theatre Company
Greg Foster (Patsy/French Taunter) — Monty Python's Spamalot — NightBlue Performing Arts Company
Nathan Gardner (Dallas) — Sweet Smell of Success — Kokandy Productions
David Schlumpf (Nehemiah) — Dessa Rose — Bailiwick Chicago

Actress in a Supporting Role — Play
Eleanor Katz (Jessie Mae Watts) — The Trip to Bountiful — Raven Theatre
Ashleigh LaThrop (Jade) — Motortown — Steep Theatre Company
Nina O'Keefe (Lorna) — Golden Boy — Griffin Theatre Company
Nora Lise Ulrey (Mary Tilford) — The Children's Hour — Pride Films and Plays
Sarah Wellington (Performer) — Veronica's Room — Bohemian Theatre Ensemble

Actress in a Supporting Role — Musical
Victoria Blade (Susan) — Sweet Smell of Success — Kokandy Productions
Charlotte Mae Ellison (Olive Ostrovsky) — The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — Griffin Theatre Company
Jasondra Johnson (Dorcas) — Dessa Rose — Bailiwick Chicago
Laura McClain (Rona Lisa Peretti) — The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — Griffin Theatre Company
Katie Miller (Lady of the Lake) — Monty Python's Spamalot — NightBlue Performing Arts Company
Colette Todd (Clara) — Passion — Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

New Work
Joel Kim Booster — Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up — The New Colony
Bilal Dardai — The Sovereign Statement — The Neo-Futurists
Philip Dawkins — Miss Marx: or the involuntary side effect of living — Strawdog Theatre Company
Will Dunne — The Roper — The Den Theatre
Maureen Gallagher — Comrades Mine — City Lit Theater Company
Manny Tamayo — Incident on Run #1217 — Factory Theater

New Adaptation
Steve Gooch (translator) — The Mother — Oracle Productions
Sean Graney — 12 Nights — The Hypocrites
Thom Pasculli — Core of the Pudel/ Gutting the Legend of Faust — Trap Door Theatre
Christopher M. Walsh — A Tale of Two Cities — Lifeline Theatre
Paul Edwards — A Study in Scarlet — Promethean Theatre Ensemble

Choreography
Linda Fortunato — Kiss of the Spider Woman — BoHo Theatre
Kelsey Overberg and Christopher Pazdernik — Monty Python's Spamalot — NightBlue Performing Arts Company
Brandon Powers — Pink Milk — Oracle Productions in association with White Elephant
Steven Spanopoulos — Sweet Smell of Success — Kokandy Productions




Lighting Design
Jessica Carson — Pink Milk — Oracle Productions i/a/w White Elephant
Diane D. Fairchild — A Tale of Two Cities — Lifeline Theatre
Brian Hoehne — Dessa Rose — Bailiwick Chicago
John Kelly — Great Expectations — Strawdog Theatre Company
Jared Moore — Ivywild — The Hypocrites
Kurt Ottinger — The Playboy of the Western World — Raven Theatre

Costume Design
Theresa Ham — Amadeus — BoHo Theatre
Izumi Inaba — The Life and Death of Madam Barker — Red Tape Theatre
Beth Laske-Miller — A Study in Scarlet — Promethean Theatre Ensemble
Alaina Moore — The Playboy of the Western World — Raven Theatre
Kate Setzer Kamphausen — Christmas Dearest — Hell In A Handbag Productions
Mieka van der Ploeg — Golden Boy — Griffin Theatre Company

Sound Design


Artistic Specialization
Jeremy Clark — Video Design — The Mother — Oracle Productions
John Fournier — Music and Lyrics — The Life and Death of Madam Barker — Red Tape Theatre
Megan Hovany, Nick Rupard and Luke Verkamp — Puppet Design — The People's A Christmas Wish — Quest Theatre Ensemble
Scott C. Lamps and Andrew Park — Music and Lyrics — The People's A Christmas Wish — Quest Theatre Ensemble
Mary O'Dowd — Properties/Set Dressing — Brighton Beach Memoirs — Raven Theatre