ARTICLESTom Williams

42nd Annual Jeff Equity Awards

jeff awards 2010

“Chad Deity” and “Ragtime” Take Top Honors at 42nd Annual Jeff Equity Awards

“The Farnsworth Invention” and “The Brother/Sister Plays” Also Score Top Honors

October 25, 2010-Chicago, IL.  At the 42nd Annual Jeff Equity Awards, “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” produced by Victory Gardens Theater in association with Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View, took top honors for a play with a total of 5 awards.  An exciting world premiere by Kristoffer Diaz, the production uses professional wrestling to focus on the manipulation of American prejudices. After opening in Chicago, the play was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Drama and transferred to New York.

“Ragtime,” produced by Drury Lane Productions took top honors for a musical with a total of 7 awards. Set at the turn of the century, “Ragtime” follows three stories that illustrate history’s timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and love and hate.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s “The Brother/Sister Plays,” a gritty trilogy of plays by Tarell McCraney about hard times in the Louisiana bayou and the clash of self-identity with community values, won the prestigious Ensemble Award, sponsored by Actors’ Equity Association.  In the midsized theatre category, honors went to  TimeLine’s “The Farnsworth Invention,” detailing the race over the patents for the invention of TV, and “Oh Coward!,” a sophisticated Noel Coward revue presented by Writers’ Theatre, took top honors in their large theatre Revue category at the ceremony held at Drury Lane Oakbrook.

“Chad Deity” awards included wins for Production – Play, New Work (Playwright Kristoffer Diaz), Director Edward Torres, Principal Actor Desmin Borges and Fight Choreographer David Woolley.  “Ragtime” won for Production – Musical; Director Rachel Rockwell; Principal Actor Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Walker, Jr.; Principal Actress Cory Goodrich as Mother; Supporting Actress Valisia LeKae as Sarah; Supporting Actor Mark David Kaplan as Tateh; and Music Director Roberta Duchak.

Other acting awards went to Natasha Lowe (Principal Actress – Play) playing Blanche in a revealing and realistic Writers’ Theatre Production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” to Mary Beth Fisher for her Solo Performance in “The Year of Magical Thinking” at Court Theatre, and to Francis Guinan, capping a tremendously active and successful year winning for Supporting Actor – Play in Victory Gardens Theater’s “A Guide for the Perplexed.”  Rob Lindley and Kate Fry won awards as Actor and Actress in a Revue, accounting for 2 of the 3 awards going to the much extended “Oh Coward!”

The near capacity audience enjoyed live performances from all nominated musicals and video performances from nominated plays.  The Equity Awards ceremony was directed by Michael Weber and produced by Jeff Equity Chair, Diane Hires, with music direction by Linda Slein, and stage management by Colleen Tovar.  Actors Deanna Dunagan and Felicia P. Fields emceed the proceedings.
The Jeff Awards has been honoring outstanding theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968.  With up to 50 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre, the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors.  The Jeff Awards fosters the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promotes educational opportunities, audience appreciation, and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community.  Each year the Jeff Awards evaluates over 200 theatrical productions and holds two awards ceremonies. Originally chartered to recognize only Equity productions, the Jeff Awards established the Non-Equity Wing in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre. The Non-Equity Awards

Ceremony will be held on June 6, 2011 at the Park West.

Complete List of Jeff Equity Award Recipients

PRODUCTION – PLAY – LARGE

“The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” – Victory Gardens Theater in association with Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View

PRODUCTION – PLAY – MIDSIZE

“The Farnsworth Invention” – TimeLine Theatre Company

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – LARGE

“Ragtime” – Drury Lane Productions

PRODUCTION – REVUE

“Oh Coward!” – Writers’ Theatre

ENSEMBLE (sponsored by Actors’ Equity Association)

“The Brother/Sister Plays” – Steppenwolf Theatre Company

DIRECTOR – PLAY

Edward Torres – “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” – Victory Gardens Theater in association with Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View

DIRECTOR – MUSICAL

Rachel Rockwell – “Ragtime” – Drury Lane Productions

SOLO PERFORMANCE

Mary Beth Fisher – “The Year of Magical Thinking” – Court Theatre

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY

Desmin Borges – “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” – Victory Gardens Theater in association with Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL

Quentin Earl Darrington – “Ragtime” – Drury Lane Productions

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY

Natasha Lowe – “A Streetcar Named Desire” – Writers’ Theatre

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL

Cory Goodrich – “Ragtime” – Drury Lane Productions

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY

Francis Guinan – “A Guide for the Perplexed” – Victory Gardens Theater

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL

Mark David Kaplan – “Ragtime” – Drury Lane Productions

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY

Natalie West – “Abigail’s Party” – A Red Orchid Theatre

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL

Valisia LeKae – “Ragtime” – Drury Lane Productions

ACTOR IN A REVUE

Rob Lindley – “Oh Coward!” – Writers’ Theatre

ACTRESS IN A REVUE

Kate Fry – “Oh Coward!” – Writers’ Theatre

SCENIC DESIGN – LARGE

Walt Spangler – “A True History of the Johnstown Flood” – Goodman Theatre

SCENIC DESIGNMIDSIZE

James Leaming – “Tobacco Road” – American Blues Theater

COSTUME DESIGN – LARGE

Alison Siple – “The Mystery of Irma Vep” – Court Theatre

COSTUME DESIGN – MIDSIZE

Sarah E. Ross & Kristin DeiTos – “Tobacco Road” – American Blues Theater

LIGHTING DESIGN – LARGE

John Culbert – “The Illusion” – Court Theatre

LIGHTING DESIGN – MIDSIZE

Jaymi Lee Smith – “Mary’s Wedding” – Rivendell Theatre Ensemble

SOUND DESIGN – LARGE

Ray Nardelli – “Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale” – Lookingglass Theatre Company and Silverguy Entertainment

SOUND DESIGN – MIDSIZE

Victoria DeIorio – “Mary’s Wedding” – Rivendell Theatre Ensemble

CHOREOGRAPHY

Tammy Mader – “Thoroughly Modern Millie” – Drury Lane Productions

ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC

Ray Nardelli, Andre Pluess, Joshua Horvath, and Kevin O’Donnell – “Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale” – Lookingglass Theatre Company and Silverguy Entertainment

MUSIC DIRECTION

Roberta Duchak – “Ragtime” – Drury Lane Productions

NEW WORK – PLAY

Kristoffer Diaz – “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” – Victory Gardens Theater in association with Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View

Multimedia Design

Bridges Media – “Trust” – Lookingglass Theatre Company

Fight Choreography

David Woolley – “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” – Victory Gardens Theater in association with Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View

2009-2010 EQUITY STATISTICS

In the Season ended July 31, 2010, the Jeff Awards Committee judged the opening nights of 111 Equity productions from 42 producing organizations. Of these, 88 productions were recommended by the opening night judges and became eligible for nominations.

MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS

THEATRES:

Drury Lane Productions – 8

Victory Gardens Theater – 6 (5 in association with Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View)

Teatro Vista …Theatre With a View (in association with Victory Gardens Theater) – 5
Writers’ Theatre – 4

Court Theatre – 3

Lookingglass Theatre Company 3 (2 in association with Silverguy Entertainment)

American Blues Theater – 2

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble – 2

Silverguy Entertainment (in association with Lookingglass Theatre Company) – 2

PRODUCTIONS:

“Ragtime” – 7

“The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” – 5

“Oh Coward!” – 3

“Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale” – 2

“Mary’s Wedding” – 2

“Tobacco Road” – 2

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