La Jolla Playhouse's production of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize- winning play "Ruined" earned top honors Monday at the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle's 2010 Craig Noel Awards for Theatrical Excellence.
Eight San Diego County professional and semi-professional companies took home a total of 35 awards, given in 29 categories, in the ninth annual presentation before an audience of more than 400 people at the Museum of Contemporary Arts, San Diego, in La Jolla.
The evening opened with a filmed tribute to Award namesake Noel, who passed away April 3, 2010, at the age of 94. The founding director of San Diego's Old Globe Theatre put the city on the map as a regional theater destination. In 2007, he received the nation's highest artistic award, the National Medal of Arts.
The Playhouse's "Ruined" co-production (with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Huntington Theatre Co.) was honored in the categories of Outstanding Dramatic Production, Direction (Liesl Tommy), Lead Performance, Female (Tonye Patano), Featured Performance, Female (Zainab Jah), Ensemble, Set Design (Clint Ramos) and Sound Design (Broken Chord).
"It's rare to have one production win in so many categories, but when we held our voting session in December, virtually every member of the Critics Circle ranked 'Ruined' No. 1, so it was a hard act to follow," said Circle president Pam Kragen.
Other big winners at Monday's ceremony were Cygnet Theatre's production of "Sweeney Todd," and San Diego Repertory Theatre's "Hairspray." The two musicals shared the award for Outstanding Resident Musical.
"Sweeney Todd" was also honored in the categories of Direction of a Musical (Sean Murray and James Vasquez); Musical Direction (Charlie Reuter); and Lead Performance in a Musical, Female (Deborah Gilmour Smyth). "Hairspray" picked up additional awards for Choreography (Javier Velasco); Featured Performance in a Musical, Male (Steve Gunderson); and Outstanding Young Artist (Victoria Matthews).
Another musical winner was Joy Yandell, who won for her featured role in Lamb's Players Theatre's "MiXtape."
In the New Musical category, La Jolla Playhouse's production of Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan's musical "Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin" won top honors, as did the musical's star, Rob McClure, who won the Lead Performance in a Musical, Male. On hand to give the New Musical prize was Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun, who directed last year's honoree in the New Musical category, "Bonnie and Clyde" (also produced at The Playhouse).
Tony-winning composer Duncan Sheik ("Spring Awakening") was honored for his score for "Whisper House," which had its world premiere last year at The Old Globe. And composer Mark Bennett ("The Coast of Utopia") was honored in the Music for Play category for his classically inspired score of La Jolla Playhouse's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
The Old Globe's new musical "Robin and the 7 Hoods" won for Outstanding Choreography by three-time Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw and for its imaginative costumes by Tony-winner Gregg Barnes. Also honored at the Globe was Miles Anderson, who won Outstanding Lead Performance
in a Play, Male, for his title role in the Summer Shakespeare Festival production of "The Madness of George III." Globe Shakespeare Festival actor Jay Whittaker was honored for his Featured work in all three Festival productions.
