Performance Riverside's 1776 and CTG's La Bohème sweep the Ovation
The big winner of the 2004 annual Los Angeles Ovation Awards is Performance Riverside's revival of 1776 which won 5 Ovation Awards. In second place, with 4 awards, was Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre presentation of La Bohème. (Read the Maestro Review).
Hector Elizondo and Garry Marshall hosted the Nov. 15 ceremony at the Orpheum Theatre honoring artistic excellence in L.A. theatres. The Mark Taper Forum-Roundabout Theatre Company L.A. staging of Intimate Apparel took home honors for actress Viola Davis and her director Daniel Sullivan while Baz Luhrmann's staging of La Bohème earned awards — similarly to its Tony Award-honored Broadway run — for its ensemble and designers Catherine Martin and Nigel Levings, but not for director.
Fountain Theatre's staging of Athol Fugard's Exits and Entrances, The Theatre @ Boston Court's Romeo and Juliet: Antebellum New Orleans, 1836, Rubicon Theatre Company's All My Sons and International City Theatre's Caught in the Net were also among the productions with multiple wins.
Producer Paula Holt received a special James A. Doolittle Award for Leadership in the Theatre. The Career Achievement Award went to Betty Garrett, Broadway actress of Call Me Mister and Hollywood musicals "On the Town," "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "My Sister Eileen." The Cornerstone Theatre Company was also honored with the Community Outreach Award.
The winners:
WORLD PREMIERE PLAY: Exits and Entrances by Athol Fugard - Fountain Theatre
WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL: The Shaggs: The Philosophy of the World by Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen - Powerhouse Theatre
LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY: Morlan Higgins, Exits and Entrances - Fountain Theatre
LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Viola Davis, Intimate Apparel - Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum
LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: Steve Glaudini, 1776 - Performance Riverside
LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Yvette Freeman, Dinah Was - International City Theatre
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY: Joseph Fuqua, All My Sons - Rubicon Theatre Company
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Carolyn Hennesy, The Fan Maroo - Theatre of NOTE
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: Nils Anderson, 1776 - Performance Riverside
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Jill Van Velzer, 1776 - Performance Riverside
SOLO PERFORMANCE: Gigi Bermingham, Non-Vital Organs (redux) - Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Baz Luhrmann's production of La Bohème - CTG: Ahmanson Theatre
Caught in the Net - International City Theatre
DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Ray Cooney, Caught in the Net - International City Theatre
Stephen Sachs, Exits and Entrances - Fountain Theatre
Daniel Sullivan, Intimate Apparel - CTG: Mark Taper Forum
DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL: Nick DeGruccio, 1776 - Performance Riverside
CHOREOGRAPHER: Dana Solimando, Swing! - Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities
MUSICAL DIRECTION: Dean Mora, Lady Macbeth Sings the Blues - Rubicon Theatre Company
PRODUCTION FROM A TOURING COMPANY: The Phantom of the Opera - CTG: Ahmanson Theatre
PLAY (SMALLER THEATRE): Master Class - Fountain Theatre
PLAY (LARGER THEATRE): All My Sons - Rubicon Theatre Company
MUSICAL (SMALLER THEATRE): Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Celebration Theatre
MUSICAL (LARGER THEATRE): 1776 - Performance Riverside
SET DESIGN (SMALLER THEATRE): Joel Daavid, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Elephant Stageworks
SET DESIGN (LARGER THEATRE): Catherine Martin, La Bohème - CTG: Ahmanson Theatre
LIGHTING DESIGN (SMALLER THEATRE): Mike Durst, Nocturne - Black Dahlia Theatre
LIGHTING DESIGN (LARGER THEATRE): Nigel Levings, La Bohème - CTG: Ahmanson Theatre
SOUND DESIGN (SMALLER THEATRE)
Julie Ferrin, Martin Carrillo and Paul Hepker, Romeo and Juliet... - The Theatre @ Boston Court
Steve Goodie, Cold/Tender - The Theatre @ Boston Court
SOUND DESIGN (LARGER THEATRE): Acme Sound Partners, La Bohème - CTG: Ahmanson Theatre
COSTUME DESIGN (SMALLER THEATRE)
Alex Jaeger, Romeo and Juliet... - The Theatre @ Boston Court
A. Jeffrey Schoenberg, The Devils - Open Fist Theatre Company
COSTUME DESIGN (LARGER THEATRE): Catherine Zuber, Intimate Apparel - CTG: Mark Taper Forum
