Nominees — 2014 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards
Choosing nominees from the marvelous array of performances is exhilarating, heartbreaking, and downright difficult.
Performance was so good that I would be able to recommend more than 100 of the 179 shows seen and ranked. Acting, my favorite, the element that draws me to the theater even more than storytelling, was varied and at a general level that can accurately be described as superb. The Philadelphia theater community, which I extend by ranging from New Brunswick to Rehoboth, can stand proudly against any in the world, including the regional theaters in New York and fringe troupes in London.
Earlier this week, I published a list of actors, directors, and productions who were considered for nomination. My reason was to show the number of truly gifted people who entertain us with such distinction on a regular basis. As I said in presenting the qualifiers, theater will live in one form or another as long as people have stories to tell and the urge to present them dramatically. That will be forever.
Learning the recipients of this year’s Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards will not take forever. Following this announcement of nominees, five in each of six categories, will come news of the 2014 recipients for the Philly Award, given every year since 1969, when I was literally a pup but already theater mad (and thinking more about acting than writing; there are only so many times you can put on your Sunday clothes and play Barnaby Tucker!!!). With the presentation of recipients will be a list of the Top 25 candidates in each category.
Congratulations to all nominees.
The nominees for the 2014 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Award are:
For BEST PRODUCTION:
FENCES — People’s Light and Theatre Company
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO — McCarter Theatre Company
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA — National Tour, Academy of Music
THE PILLOWMAN — Luna Theater
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE — Philadelphia Artists’ Collective
For BEST ACTOR:
KEITH CONALLEN — Don Juan Comes Home From Iraq, Wilma Theater
BEN DIBBLE — Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre
MICHAEL GENET — Fences, People’s Light and Theatre Company
ADAM GREEN — The Figaro Plays, McCarter Theatre Company
DAN HODGE — The Rape of Lucrece, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective
For BEST ACTRESS:
ANN CRUMB — Sunset Boulevard, Media Theatre
ELLIE MOONEY — The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Walnut Independence Series
TINA PACKER — Women of Will, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
FREDERICA von STADE — A Coffin in Egypt, Opera Philadelphia
SUSAN WILDER — Other Desert Cities, Walnut Street Theatre
For BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
KELLY BRIGGS — Les Misérables, Media Theatre
JAMES-PATRICK DAVIS — As You Like It, Quintessence Theatre Group
MARK JACOBY — How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Walnut Street Theatre
JERED McLENIGAN— Julius Caesar, Lantern Theater
DEREK SMITH, The Barber of Seville, McCarter Theatre Company
For BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
KARINA ARROYAVE — Water By The Spoonful, Arden Theatre
TRICE BALDWIN — Dancing at Lughnasa, Curio Theatre
DEIRDRE MADIGAN — Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Philadelphia Theatre Company and Bucks County Playhouse
MARCIA SAUNDERS — Pride and Prejudice, People’s Light; Cherokee, Wilma; Incorruptible. Arden
JENNIFER SUMMERFIELD — Dancing at Lughnasa, Curio; Hamlet, Hedgerow Theatre
For BEST DIRECTOR:
SAMANTHA BELLOMO — Pride and Prejudice, People’s Light and Theatre Company
GAY CARDUCCI — Dancing at Lughnasa, Curio Theatre
LAURENCE CONNOR — The Phantom of the Opera, National Tour, Academy of Music
KAMILAH FORBES — Fences, People’s Light and Theatre Company
STEPHEN WADSWORTH — The Figaro Plays, McCarter Theatre Company
Recipients, the Top 25, and special honors will be posted on Thursday, January 8.
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