Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — A HISTORY OF RECIPIENTS

I am, by nature, a list maker and an evaluator.

From the time I began going to the theater and saw my first professional show, “Funny Girl,” on September 4, 1967, I kept a diary and ranked the productions, performers, and directors I saw. I rarely announced or even told people about my lists. They were my silly neurotic pleasure, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s if I am entertained doing something, I don’t take a great interest in whether others know about it or see it.

Believe me, that is a great fault, one I had to overcome. I can easily be a hermit creating and flourishing in my own world.

Since I began NealsPaper in 2013, I have made my annual awards public. I had done that a few other times in the ’80s and ’90s when publications wanted “Bests” lists, etc. In general, the recipients of the awards have been my business.

Able as I am to see the statistics for NealsPaper, I know awards lists are popular. Why not? In the Qualifiers list, hundreds of people have the gratification, I hope, of knowing their work has been noticed and placed on a general list for ranking. Everyone on the Qualifiers list was at one time considered a possible recipient of an award. The list of Nominees only has 30 names including the playwrights of the nominated productions. The Recipients list narrows the ranking to a specific individual winner but cites 29 others in each category. I consider the names on the citation lists to be a “thank you” and hope people realize their name on a list is as important as a ranking.

The Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Award is conferred in January because of habit. I made my first lists at the end of a calendar year, and I confined the rankings to shows I’d seen in the Philadelphia area. Distant memory tells me an editor asked for a Top Ten in theater and movies, and I went overboard and ranked everything.

That would be me. Why ever do only enough when it’s so much fun to go over the top?!? (My late sister used to joke we cleaned alike because until we were motivated you would have your average mess, but once we began, the house was a veritable hospital by the time we finished, with Q-Tips in corners and every inch of every millimeter of every surface attended to. Ain’t OCD grand?!?)

I thought people might be curious about who was given awards over time. So, here as I interrupt thoughts about a solidly naturalistic “A Moon for the Misbegotten” at the Walnut and a stunning “The Piano Lesson” at McCarter, is a list of performers who were given the Philadelphia Theater’s Critic Award over the years. One interesting thing is to note when the recipients change from stars in touring productions, Philadelphia’s staple until the mid-’70s to performers, some of whom are stars, in regional shows.

 

1967-1969

 

JOSE FERRER, Man of La Mancha, Erlanger Theatre, Philadelphia

CAROL LAWRENCE, Funny Girl, Valley Forge Music Fair, Devon, Pa.

TONY MARTINEZ, Man of La Mancha, Erlanger Theatre, Philadelphia

SYLVIA SYMS, Funny Girl, Valley Forge Music Fair, Devon, Pa.

THE BOYS IN THE BAND by Mart Crowley, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

ROBERT MOORE, The Boys in the Band, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1970

 

HUME CRONYN, Hadrian VII, Shubert Theater, Philadelphia

CHITA RIVERA, Zorba!, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

PATRICK HINES, Canterbury Tales, Shubert Theater, Philadelphia

MARSHA TAMAROFF, Zorba!, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein, Shubert Theater, Philadelphia

JEROME ROBBINS, Fiddler on the Roof, Shubert Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1971

 

JAMES WHITMORE, Will Rogers USA, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

GERALDINE PAGE, Marriage and Money (three Chekhov one-acts), Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia

DON McHENRY, Hamlet, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

PATRICIA ELLIOTT, A Doll’s House, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

THE ME NOBODY KNOWS by Herb Schapiro, Robert H. Livingston, and Stephen M. Joseph, Locust Theatre, Philadelphoa

ROBERT H. LIVINGSTON, The Me Nobody Knows, Locust Theatre

 

1972

 

ROBERT SHAW, Old Times, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

ROSEMARY HARRIS, Old Times, Locust Theatre , Philadelphia and NURIA ESPERT, Yerma, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

GEORGE S. IRVING, Irene, Shubert Theater, Philadelphia

PATSY KELLY, Irene, Shubert Theater, Philadelphia

YERMA by Federico García Lorca, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

VICTOR GARCIA, Yerma, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1973

 

BRIAN BEDFORD, Butley, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

MAUREEN STAPLETON, The Gingerbread Lady, Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia

LEWIS J. STADLEN, Minnie’s Boys, Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia

CARA DUFF-McCORMICK, The Sea Gull, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

RAISIN by Charlotte Zaltzberg, Robert Nemiroff, Ross Brittan, and Judd Woldin (after Lorraine Hansberry), Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

JULIE BOVASSO, Gloria and Esperanza, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

 

1974

 

HENRY FONDA, Clarence Darrow, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

DEBORAH KERR, Seascape, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

I.M. HOBSON, Twelfth Night, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

DOLORES SUTTON, The Little Foxes, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Walnut Street Theatre

TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

LOUIS CRISS, Twelfth Night, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

 

1975

 

IAN RICHARDSON, Shall I Compare Thee, Richardson Auditorium, Princeton, N.J.

LIV ULLMANN, A Doll House, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

SAM LEVENE, The Royal Family, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

DEBORAH OFFNER, A Grave Undertaking, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

GOOD EVENING by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

MICHAEL KAHN, Mother Courage and Her Children, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

 

1976

 

DONALD MADDEN, The Night of the Tribades, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

JULIE HARRIS, The Belle of Amherst, Locust Theatre, Philadelphia

BARRIE RUTTER, The Taming of the Shrew, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Walnut Street Theatre

KATHRYN WALKER, The Night of the Tribades, McCarter Theatre, Philadelphia

PORGY AND BESS by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward, Houston Opera, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

JACK O’BRIEN, Porgy and Bess, Houston Opera, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

 

1977

 

PAXTON WHITEHEAD, Travesties, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

KATHRYN WALKER, A Touch of the Poet, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

CHARLES KIMBROUGH, Too True to Be Good, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

HERMIONE GINGOLD, A Little Night Music, Valley Forge Music Fair, Devon, Pa.

A CHORUS LINE by James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante, Marvin Hamlisch, and Edward Kleban, Forrest Theatre Philadelphia

MICHAEL BENNETT, A Chorus Line, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1978

 

HUME CRONYN, The Gin Game, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

JESSICA TANDY, The Gin Game, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

DAVID ROUNDS, Saint Joan and Hobson’s Choice, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Walnut Street Theatre

PATRICIA CONOLLY, Twelfth Night, Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia

VANITIES by Jack Heifner, Stan Hurwitz Production at Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

BRIAN MURRAY, Hobson’s Choice, The Philadelphia Drama Guild, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1979

 

BASIL WALLACE, The Blood Knot, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

JEANNE RUSKIN, Heartbreak House, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

EDWARD SEAMON, Buried Child, Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia

LOUISE HICKEY, Oklahoma!, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

THE BLOOD KNOT by Athol Fugard, Philadelphia Dram Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

THOMAS BULLARD, The Blood Knot, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

 

1980

 

GEORGE HEARN, Sweeney Todd, Merriam Theater, Philadelphia

PAT CARROLL, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

PAXTON WHITEHEAD, Twelfth Night, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

JILL TANNER, The Miser, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

WATCH ON THE RHINE by Lillian Hellman, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

IRENE LEWIS, Watch on the Rhine, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

 

1981

 

JAMES BRODERICK, On Golden Pond, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

JANE LAPOTAIRE, Piaf, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

JAY DOYLE, The Night of the Iguana, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

ZOË WANAMAKER, Piaf, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD by Mark Medoff, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

GORDON DAVIDSON, Children of a Lesser God, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1982

 

JOSEPH MAHER, Dear Daddy, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

JAN LESLIE HARDING, The Diary of Anne Frank, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

DANNY GLOVER, Master Harold….and the boys, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

CLAUDETTE PETERSON, Candide, The Pennsylvania Opera Theater, Port of History Museum Theatre, Philadelphia

DEAR DADDY by Denis Cannan, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

NAGLE JACKSON, Hamlet, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

 

1983

 

RICHARD DREYFUSS, Total Abandon, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

ANGELA LANSBURY, Mame, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

JACOB HARRAN, The Importance of Being Earnest, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa.

JO HENDERSON, Play Memory, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

ALL MY SONS by Arthur Miller, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

WILLIAM M. WOODMAN, All My Sons, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

 

1984

 

CLEAVON LITTLE, The Emperor Jones, American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia

LOUISE JAMESON, Twelfth Night and Against Two Tides: Women in War, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

TOM STECHSCHULTE, Torch Song Trilogy, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

CAROL CHANNING, Jerry’s Girls, The Playhouse, Wilmington, Delaware

RESTORATION by Edward Bond, Temple Theatres, Philadelphia

PAUL BERMAN, Restoration, Temple Theaters, Philadelphia

 

1985

 

MICHAEL KUBALA, On Your Toes, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

SALLY MERCER, A Doll’s House, American Shaw Festival, Mt. Gretna, Pa. and Painting Churches, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

TIMOTHY LANDFIELD, Arsenic and Old Lace, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

PATRICIA KILGARRIFF, Noises Off, The Playhouse, Wilmington

A RAISIN IN THE SUN by Lorraine Hansberry, McCarter Theatre, Princeton and Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

TERRY BURGLER, A Raisin in the Sun, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, and EDMUND J. CAMBRIDGE, A Raisin in the Sun, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

 

1986

 

KEENE CURTIS, La Cage Aux Folles, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

SANDRA REAVES-PHILLIPS, The Late, Great Ladies of Blues and Jazz, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

GARY BEACH, Legends, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

CYNTHIA MACE, Eleemosynary, Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

1984 by Pavel Kohout (after George Orwell), Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

JIRI ZIZKA, 1984, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

 

1987

 

SIMON BROOKING, Nasty Little Secrets, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

CAROLE SHELLEY, Broadway Bound, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

JONATHAN FRID, Arsenic and Old Lace, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

REGINA RESNIK, Cabaret, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

THE NORMAL HEART by Larry Kramer, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

CHARLIE HENSLEY, The Normal Heart, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1988

 

SULLIVAN BROWN, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

MARY GORDON MURRAY, Biography, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

BRUCE ADLER, Guys and Dolls, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

CYNTHIA MARTELLS, Tartuffe, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

LES MISÉRABLES by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

NAGLE JACKSON, Tartuffe, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

 

1989

 

DAVID HURST, Incommunicado, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

LILY TOMLIN, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

EDMUND DAVYS, Sarcophagus, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

ANN FIRBANK, The Winter’s Tale, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE by Jane Wagner, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

NAGLE JACKSON, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

 

1990

 

BRUCE GRAY, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

KATHLEEN TURNER, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Playhouse, Wilmington, Delaware

CHARLES DURNING, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Playhouse, Wilmington, Delaware

GLORY CRAMPTON, The Fantasticks, Merriam Theatre, Philadelphia

BENEFACTORS by Michael Frayn, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

CLEVELAND MORRIS, Benefactors, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

 

1991

 

ZACH GRENIER, National Anthems, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

EILEEN ATKINS, A Room of One’s Own, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

ALEC MAPA, M. Butterfly, Forrest Theater, Philadelphia

KECIA LEWIS-EVANS, Betsey Brown, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM by William Shakespeare, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

MARY B. ROBINSON, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

 

1992

 

B.D. WONG, Herringbone, American Music Theatre Festival, Plays & Players, Philadelphia

JOAN McMURTREY, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

MARK HAMMER, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

MARY LOU ROSATO, The Triumph of Love, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! By Athol Fugard, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa.

MARY B. ROBINSON, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

 

1993

 

ROBERT PROSKY, The Matchmaker, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

DOROTHEA HAMMOND, The Trip to Bountiful, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

FLOYD KING, Much Ado About Nothing, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

SUSAN GIOSA, Lost in Yonkers, Forrest Theater, Philadelphia

LA TRAVIATA by Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Maria Piave, Academy of Vocal Arts, Philadelphia

MATTHEW LATA, La Traviata, Academy of Vocal Arts, Philadelphia

 

1994

 

WILLIAM DUFF-GRIFFIN, “2,” Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

ELIZABETH FRANZ, The Matchmaker, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

SIMON COATES, As You Like It. Cheek-by-Jowl Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

MADELEINE POTTER, The Plough and the Stars, The Annenberg Center, Philadelphia

AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare, Cheek-by-Jowl Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

MICHAEL OCKRENT, Crazy For You, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

 

1995

 

PEARCE BUNTING, Road, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

ZOE CALDWELL, Master Class, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

RICHARD TROXELL, Die Fledermaus, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

LISA GAY HAMILTON, Valley Song, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

SALOME by Richard Strauss (after Oscar Wilde), Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

ROBERT B. DRIVER, Salome, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

 

1996

 

THOM SESMA, Miss Saigon, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

PATRICIA SCHUMAN, Madama Butterfly, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

GEORGE EDE, Philadelphia Here I Come, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

JENNIFER CHILDS, Escape from Happiness, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

MADAMA BUTTERFLY by Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica, and Giuseppe Giacosa, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

KAY WALKER CASTALDO, Madama Butterfly, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

 

1997

 

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, Barrymore, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

SUSAN PATTERSON, La Traviata, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

STEVE TAGUE, The Faith Healer, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

MARJORIE JOHNSON, The Skin of Our Teeth, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

SHOWBOAT by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, and P.G. Wodehouse (after Edna Ferber), Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

CLEVELAND MORRIS, Molly Sweeney and The Skin of Our Teeth, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

 

1998

 

WILLIAM LEACH, Shylock, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

ZOË WANAMAKER, Electra, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

ROBERT CHRISTOPHE, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

JILLINE RINGLE, Merrily We Roll Along, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

ELECTRA by Sophocles, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

DAVID LEVEAUX, Electra, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

 

1999

 

JAMES FARMER, Orpheus Descending, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

JANIS DARDARIS, Orpheus Descending, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

BERNARD WURGER, Phantom, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

EVALYN BARON, Hotel Suite, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

GROSS INDECENCY by Moises Kaufman, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

JAMES J. CHRISTY, Gross Indecency, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

 

2000

 

HENRY WORONICZ, Macbeth, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

TRAZANA BEVERLEY, Flyin’ West, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern

DANIEL BENZALI, Glengarry Glen Ross, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

JANIS DARDARIS, Sideman, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

THE INVENTION OF LOVE by Tom Stoppard, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

BLANKA ZIZKA, The Invention of Love, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

 

2001

 

ARTHUR WOODLEY, Porgy and Bess, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia

ANN DUQUESNAY, Cookin’ at the Cookery, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

MARK VIETOR, Lady in the Dark, Prince Music Theater, Philadelphia

ROBIN FOLLMAN, Carmen, Houston Grand Opera, Mann Center of the Performing Arts, Philadelphia

EQUUS by Peter Shaffer, Mum Puppettheatre, Philadelphia

WILLIAM ROUDEBUSH, Equus, Mum Puppettheatre, Philadelphia

 

2002

 

PAUL MESHEJIAN, The Merchant of Venice, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa.

CARLA BELVER, All My Sons, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

CAMERON FOLMAR, Don Juan, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

STARLA BENFORD, The Vagina Monologues, Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia

YELLOWMAN by Dael Orlandersmith, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

BLANKA ZIZKA, Yellowman, Wilma Theater, Philadelphiat6

 

2003

 

FRANK GORSHIN, Say Goodnight Gracie, The Playhouse, Wilmington

ELAINE STRITCH, At Liberty, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

RON HOLGATE, Urinetown, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

GINA DANIELS, Dracula, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

BLANKA ZIZKA, Red, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

 

2004

 

MICHAEL CUMPSTY, My Fair Lady, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

ALENE ROBERTSON, Annie Warbucks, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

DANIEL JENKINS, Big River, Deaf West, Academy of Music, Philadelphia and DuPont Theatre, Wilmington

JAYNE HOUDYSHELL, The Clean House, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

MY FAIR LADY by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

GARY GRIFFIN, My Fair Lady, McCarter Theater, Princeton

 

2005

 

TONY BRAITHWAITE and BEN DIBBLE, Big Bang, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia

MARY MARTELLO, Sweeney Todd, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

KRAIG SWARTZ, Take Me Out, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia’

JANE SUMMERHAYS, Anyone Can Whistle, Prince Music Theater, Philadelphia

TAKE ME OUT by Richard Greenberg, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

JAMES J. CHRISTY, Take Me Out, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

 

2006

 

MATT PFEIFFER, Lobby Hero, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

JULIA MURNEY, Wicked, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

RICHARD RUIZ, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

MEGHAN HEIMBECKER, My Children! My Africa!, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

INTIMATE APPAREL by Lynn Nottage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

AARON POSNER, A Murder, A Mystery, and A Marriage, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington

 

2007

 

SCOTT GREER, Of Mice and Men, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

JOILET HARRIS, Caroline, or Change, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

ROB McCLURE, The Bomb-itty of Errors, 11th Hour Productions, Philadelphia

SUSAN WILDER, Orson’s Shadow, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

AARON CROMIE, The Fantasticks, Mum Puppettheatre, Philadelphia

 

2008

 

SCOTT GREER, Wittenberg, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

ANN CRUMB, Souvenir, Media Theatre, Media

ROBERT PROSKY, The Price, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

KATE EASTWOOD NORRIS, Rock ‘N’ Roll, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

WITTENBERG by David Davalos, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

J.R. SULLIVAN, Wittenberg, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

 

2009

 

LORENZO PISONI, Humor Abuse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

SUZANNE BERTISH, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

MATTHEW SCOTT, The Light in the Piazza, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

VEANNE COX, Twelfth Night, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

JOE CALARCO, The Light in the Piazza, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

 

2010

 

BENJAMIN LLOYD, Scapin, Lantern Theater, Philadelphia

ANN CRUMB, Master Class, Media Theatre, Media

PETE PRYOR, Any Given Monday, Theatre Exile, Philadelphia

BROOKE BLOOM, Becky Shaw, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

SOUTH PACIFIC by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

BARTLETT SHER, South Pacific, Academy of Music, Philadelphia

 

2011

 

JUSTIN GUARINI, Chicago, Media Theatre, Media, Pa.

LAVITA SHAURICE, My Wonderful Day, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

JOHNNIE HOBBS, JR., Whipping Man, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

KATE CZAJKOWSKI, Our Class, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

MY WONDERFUL DAY by Alan Ayckbourn, Wilma Theatre, Philadelphia

BLANKA ZIZKA, Our Class, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

 

2012

 

RODNEY HICKS, The Scottsboro Boys, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

TOVAH FELDSHUH, Gypsy, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol, Pa.

FORREST McCLENDON, The Scottsboro Boys, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

TAMARA ANDERSON, Hairspray, Media Theatre, Media

HAIRSPRAY by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Thomas Meehan, and Mark O’Donnell, Media Theater, Media, Pa.

JEFF WHITING and SUSAN STROMAN, The Scottsboro Boys, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia

 

2013

 

CHARLIE DelMARCELLE, I Am My Own Wife, Theatre Horizon, Norristown, Pa.

NANCY MORICETTE, The Convert, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

BEN STEINFELD, Into the Woods, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

ZAINAB JAH, The Convert, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

EVERYMAN by Anonymous, Villanova Theatre, Villanova, Pa.

DAVID CREGAN, Everyman, Villanova Theatre, Villanova

 

2014

 

BEN DIBBLE, Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre, Philadelphia

ANN CRUMB, Sunset Boulevard, Media Theatre, Media

DEREK SMITH, The Barber of Seville, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

DEIRDRE MADIGAN, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Phildelphia and Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, Pa.

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

STEPHEN WADSWORTH, The Figaro Plays, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

 

2015

 

MATTEO SCAMMELL, The Hairy Ape, EgoPo Classic Theatre, Philadelphia

ZAINAB JAH, Hamlet, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

JAKE BLOUCH, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile and Unnecessary Farce, Act II Playhouse, Ambler, Pa.

MARIEKE HEEBINK, After the Rehearsal and Persona, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Fringe Arts, Philadelphia

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? By Edward Albee, Theatre Exile, Philadelphia

JOE CANUSO, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile, Philadelphia

 

2016

 

PETER DeLAURIER, The Iliad, Lantern Theater, Philadelphia

KITTSON O’NEILL, Grounded, InterAct Theatre, Philadelphia and Or, Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pa.

LUKE BRAHDT, 1776, Media Theatre, Media, Pa.

LORI TANN CHINN, South Pacific, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia

DISGRACED by Ayad Akhtar, McCarter Theatre Company, Princeton, N.J.

SAMANTHA READING, Richard III, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa.

 

2017

 

AKEEM DAVIS, Marcus/Emma, InterAct Theatre, Philadelphia; Buzzer, Theater Exile, Philadelphia: and Shitheads, Azuka Theatre, Philadelphia

LESLI MARGHERITA, Guys and Dolls, Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, Pa.

JOSEPH GAINES, Elizabeth Cree, Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia

SULI HOLUM, Cabaret, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia; Company, 11th Hour Productions, Philadelphia; and Happy Birthday, 1812 Productions, Philadelphia

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol, Pa.

KEITH BAKER, Jesus Christ Superstar, Bristol Riverside Theatre

 

2018

 

DANNY RUTIGLIANO, The Producers, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol Pa.

KRISSY FRAELICH, Next to Normal, Media Theatre, Media, Pa.

GREG WOOD, Twelfth Night, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Center Valley, Pa., The Humans, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia and Noises Off, Walnut Street Theatre

REBECCA ROBBINS, The Triumph of Love, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol, Pa.

PASSING STRANGE by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

TEA ALAGIC, Passing Strange, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

 

2019

 

WALTER BRIGGS, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

CORDELIA DEWDNEY, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

ALLEN LEWIS RICKMAN, The Sunshine Boys, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol, Pa..

ZUHAIRAH, Dot, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa. and Gem of the Ocean, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia

MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN, Lookingglass Theatre at McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

DAVID CATLIN, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

 

2020

 

JOHN TUFTS, Sleuth, McCarter Theatre Company, Princeton, N.J.

MARCIA SAUNDERS, The Children, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa.

STEVEN RISHARD, Describe the Night, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

JAYLENE CLARK OWENS, Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

THE CHILDREN by Lucy Kirkwood, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa.

BLANKA ZIZKA, Describe the Night, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia

 

2021

 

PIERRE JEAN GONZALEZ, Hamilton, National Tour, Academy of Music on the Kimmel Cultural Campus, Philadelphia

LISA STRUM, Skeleton Crew, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol, Pa.

STEPHEN PATRICK SMITH, The Weir, Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pa.

STEPHANIE JAE PARK, Hamilton

HAMILTON by Lin-Manuel Miranda

THOMAS KAIL, Hamilton