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The Plaza Theatre Company in Cleburne was the big winner at the 20th Annual Column Awards Sunday night at the Irving Arts Center. The event honors the best in theatrical productions throughout North Texas, and is sponsored by theatre critic John Garcia’s THE COLUMN web site.
Plaza shows walked away with 13 awards, including eight for their production of the play “To Kill A Mockingbird.” They also won two each for the musical “West Side Story” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and another for the musical “The Little Mermaid.”
The Artisan Center Theater in Hurst brought home eight honors for shows. They won three each for the musicals “Cats” and “The Little Mermaid,” while also winning one each for the musical “Beauty and the Beast” and the play “Anne of Green Gables.”
Capturing five awards for the show “The Cuban and the Redhead” was the Pegasus Theater in Dallas, including the Steve Lovett Award for Outstanding New Work by a Local Playwright to Robert Bartley and Danny Whitman.
“I was completely left speechless that we sold out the Gala on our first year back at the Irving Arts Center. My board of Directors and myself were hoping we’d get it half full, and instead it sold out,” Garcia said. “I was so thrilled to see over 10 new theater companies join THE COLUMN Awards Organization, and most of them earned nominations, and even some wins.
“I was extremely excited to see on our stage such a wide representation of theater companies performing. That’s what our mission strives to be, which is to bring theater companies from all over the DFW metroplex to unite and celebrate as a theater family the past season, and this year we truly achieved that goal.”
Garcia added that it as purely coincidence that the Gala was held on the same night as the Academy Awards.
“It was just scheduling,” he said with a laugh. “We had to go for the dates that the venue was avaliable. We didn’t know we had scheduled on the same night of the Oscars until someone informed us the day our nominations went out. But that’s what DVRS are for.”
Here is a complete list of this year’s THE COLUMN Award winners:
Best Musical – Equity
“News, the Musical”
Lyric Stage
Best Musical – Non-Equity
“Cats”
Artisan Center Theater
Best Musical – Non-Equity
“Into the Woods”
Granbury Theatre Company
Best Play Equity
“Men On Boats”
Circle Theatre
Best Play Non-Equity
“To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Steve Lovett Award for Outstanding New Work by a Local Playwright
Robert Bartley and Danny Whitman, “The Cuban and the Redhead”
Pegasus Theatre
Best Director of a Musical – Equity
Ashley H. White, “Murder Ballad”
Imprint Theatreworks
Best Director of a Musical – Non-Equity
Jenny Tucker, “She Loves Me”
Runway Theatre
Best Director of a Play – Equity
Lauren and Jason Morgan, “The Hollow”
Stolen Shakespeare Guild
Best Director of a Play – Non-Equity
Kevin Poole, “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Musical Director of a Musical – Equity
Richard Gwozdz, “The Little Mermaid”
Artisan Center Theater
Best Musical Director of a Musical – Non-Equity
Meredith Browning, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Choreographer of a Musical – Equity
Katharine Quinn, “Newsies, the Musical”
Lyric Stage
Best Choreographer of a Musical – Non-Equity
Tabitha Ibarra, “West Side Story”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Stage Manager
Adam Livingston
Best Actor in a Musical – Equity
Anthony Fortino (Jack Kelly), “Newsies, the Musical”
Lyric Stage
Best Actor in a Musical – Non-Equity
Shafer Wilkerson (Beast), “Beauty and the Beast”
Artisan Center Theater
Best Actor in a Play – Equity
Dan Evers (Elwood P. Dowd), “Harvey”
Richardson Theatre Centre
Best Choreographer of a Musical – Non-Equity
Tabitha Ibarra, “West Side Story”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Actor in a Play – Non-Equity
Luke Hunt (Atticus Finch), “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Actress in a Musical – Equity
Jenny Tucker (Mrs. Lovett), “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
L.I.P. Service
Best Actress in a Musical – Non-Equity
Mary Ridenour (Grizabella), “Cats”
Artisan Center Theater
Best Actress in a Play – Equity
Camille Monae (John Wesley Powell), “Men On Boats”
Circle Theatre
Best Actress in a Play – Non-Equity
Mimi Barrus (Scout), “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical – Equity
Clint Gilbert (Busby Berkeley and Larry Hart), “The Cuban and the Redhead”
Pegasus Theatre
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical – Non-Equity
Nolan Moralez (Bernardo), “West Side Story”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Equity
Stan Graner (Leon Gaev), “The Cherry Orchard”
The Classics Theatre Project
Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Non-Equity
Gavin Clark (Dill), “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical – Equity
Janelle Lutz (Carole Lombard), “The Cuban and the Redhead”
Pegasus Theatre
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical – Non-Equity
Kathryn Taylor Rose (Ilona Ritter), “She Loves Me”
Runway Theatre
Best Supporting Actress in a Play – Equity
Sue Goodner (Betty Chumley), “Harvey”
Richardson Theatre Centre
Best Supporting Actress in a Play – Non-Equity
Sherry Etzel (Old Shady), “Men On Boats”
ONSTAGE in Bedford
Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Equity
Mark Tam Quach (Eddie), “Mamma Mia”
Brick Road Theatre
Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Non-Equity
Freddy Martinez Jr. (Chef Louis, et al.), “The Little Mermaid”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Featured Actor in a Play – Equity
Christopher Lew (Brer Rabbit/Captain Ratts), “An Octoroon”
Stage West
Best Featured Actor in a Play – Non-Equity
Dan Johnston (Station Master), “Anne of Green Gables”
Artisan Center Theater
Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Equity
Elisa Danielle James (The Beggar Woman), “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
L.I.P. Service
Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Non-Equity
Cheyenne Shreve (Rapunzel), “Into the Woods”
Granbury Theatre Company
Best Featured Actress in a Play – Equity
Camille Monae (Grace), “An Octoroon”
Stage West
Best Featured Actress in a Play – Non-Equity
Trich Zaitoon (Mrs. Dubose), “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Chita Rivera Dance Award – Male
Jonathan Hardin, “The Rocky Horror Show”
North Texas Performing Arts Repertory Theatre
Chita Rivera Dance Award – Female
Abi Abel, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”
Granbury Theatre Company
Best Original Costume Design of a Musical – Equity
Bruce Coleman, “The Cuban and the Redhead”
Pegasus Theatre
Best Original Costume Design of a Musical – Non-Equity
Michelle Cawood, Henry Cawood, “Cats”
– CATS – Artisan Center Theater
Best Original Costume Design of a Play – Equity
Lauren Morgan, “The Hollow”
Stolen Shakespeare Guild
Best Original Costume Design of a Play – Non-Equity
Jessie Wallace, “The Revolutionists”
Imprint Theatreworks
Best Lighting Design of a Musical – Equity
Natalie Burkhart, “The Little Mermaid”
Artisan Center Theater
Best Lighting Design of a Musical – Non-Equity
Kalani Morrisette, “Young Frankenstein”
Granbury Theatre Company
Best Lighting Design of a Play – Equity
Jason Leyva, “Marat/Sade”
L.I.P. Service
Best Lighting Design of a Play – Non-Equity
Cameron Barrus, “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Original Scenic Design of a Musical – Equity
Eric Luckie, “The Little Mermaid”
Artisan Center Theater
Best Original Scenic Design of a Musical – Non-Equity
Wendy Searcy, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Original Scenic Design of a Play – Equity
Jason Leyva, “Marat/Sade”
L.I.P. Service
Best Original Scenic Design of a Play – Non-Equity
Ellen Mizener, “The Revolutionists”
Imprint Theatreworks
Best Sound Design of a Musical – Equity
Jason Biggs, “The Cuban and the Redhead”
Pegasus Theatre
Best Sound Design of a Musical- Non-Equity
G. Aaron Siler, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
Plaza Theatre Company
Best Sound Design of a Play – Equity
Jason Leyva, “Marat/Sade”
L.I.P. Service
Best Sound Design of a Play – Non-Equity
G. Aaron Siler, “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Plaza Theatre Company
Ben Brettell Youth Award
David Midkiff
Eden Barrus
Tony Morrell
Nathan Griffin
Caleb Midkiff Award
William Power
Jude Lewis
Maddox Rogers
Cooper Carter
Kathleen Freeman Award
Erin Ragsdale
Special Recognition Award
Nancy Churnin