The 27th Annual L.A. STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, which honor the best in Southern California live theatre, were presented January 17 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles, in a ceremony hosted by Alexandra Billings.
Best Production of a Play awards went to Guards at the Taj (large theatre) and Dry Land (intimate theatre). Best Production of Musical awards were won by HAM: A Musical Memoir (large theatre) and The Boy From Oz (intimate theatre).
Thirty-five awards were bestowed on 19 different Southern California theatre companies. The most honored companies of the year were Celebration Theatre (The Boy from Oz, Bootycandy); the Los Angeles LGBT Center (Hit the Wall, HAM: A Musical Memoir); The Theatre @ Boston Court for Colony Collapse, The Golden Dragon, and Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles (co-production with the Getty Villa); Unbound Productions (Wicked Lit 2015); and Sierra Madre Playhouse (Deathtrap, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee).
This year’s presenters included Michael Arden, Randall Arney, Jon Robin Baitz, E.B. Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Sara Ryung Clement, Paul Crewes, Dale Dickey, Danny Feldman, Marilyn Fox, Beth Grant, Elizabeth Harper, Rajiv Joseph, Richard Montoya, Oanh Nguyen, Mitch O’Farrell, Bill Pullman, Diane Rodriguez, Ric Salinas, Del Shores, Herbert Siguenza, Ali Stroker, and Kitty Swink. Musical numbers were presented by DOMA Theatre Company.
Here is a complete list of the winners:
Best Season
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Fool for Love
HAM: A Musical Memoir
Hit the Wall
Best Production of a Play (Intimate Theatre)
Dry Land
The Echo Theater Company
Best Production of a Play (Large Theatre)
Guards at the Taj
Geffen Playhouse
Best Production of a Musical (Intimate Theatre)
The Boy From Oz
Celebration Theatre
Best Production of a Musical (Large Theatre)
HAM: A Musical Memoir
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Best Presented Production
1984
The Broad Stage
Best Acting Ensemble of a Play
The Complete History of America (Abridged)
Falcon Theatre
Best Acting Ensemble of a Musical
The Boy From Oz
Celebration Theatre
Best Choreography
Janet Roston
The Boy From Oz
Celebration Theatre
Best Music Direction
Todd Schroeder
HAM: A Musical Memoir
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Best Book for an Original Musical
Michael Shaw Fisher
Shakespeare’s Last Night Out
Orgasmico Theatre Company
Best Lyrics/Composition for an Original Musical
Rebekah Allen
We Are the Tigers: A New Musical
Heart And Flame Productions
Best Playwriting for an Original Play
Luis Alfaro
Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles
The Getty Villa & The Theatre @ Boston Court
Best Direction of a Musical
Michael A. Shepperd
The Boy From Oz
Celebration Theatre
Best Direction of a Play
Ken Sawyer
Hit the Wall
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Best Lead Actor in a Musical
Sam Harris as Multiple Characters
HAM: A Musical Memoir
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Best Lead Actress In a Musical
Moya Angela as Effie
Dreamgirls
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
Best Lead Actor in a Play
Sam Anderson as John
John Is a Father
The Road Theatre Company
Best Lead Actress in a Play
Lily Nicksay as May
See Rock City
Rubicon Theatre Company
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Stanton Morales as Barfee
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Bess Motta as Judy Garland
The Boy From Oz
Celebration Theatre
Best Featured Actor in a Play
Michael A. Shepperd as Actor 4
Bootycandy
Celebration Theatre
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Paula Christensen as Nicky
Colony Collapse
The Theatre @ Boston Court
Best Lighting Design (Intimate Theatre)
Elizabeth Harper
The Golden Dragon
The Theatre @ Boston Court
Best Lighting Design (Large Theatre)
KC Wilkerson
Wicked Lit 2015
Unbound Productions
Best Scenic Design (Intimate Theatre)
John Vertrees & Erin Walley
Deathtrap
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Best Scenic Design (Large Theatre)
Tom Buderwitz
Casa Valentina
Pasadena Playhouse
Best Sound Design (Intimate Theatre)
John Nobori
The Golden Dragon
The Theatre @ Boston Court
Best Sound Design (Large Theatre)
Drew Dalzell & Noelle Hoffman
Wicked Lit 2015
Unbound Productions
Best Costume Design (Intimate Theatre)
Michael Mullen
The Boy From Oz
Celebration Theatre
Best Costume Design (Large Theatre)
Christine Cover Ferro
Wicked Lit 2015
Unbound Productions
Best Video/Projection Design
Matthew Hill
Man Covets Bird
24th Street Theatre
OVATION HONORS RECIPIENTS
Composition for a Play
Gregory Nabours
The Sparrow
Coeurage Theatre Company
Fight Choreography
Edgar Landa
That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play
Son of Semele Ensemble
Puppet Design
Greg Ballora, Sean Cawelti, Christine Papalexis, Jack Pullman, Brian White
Wood Boy Dog Fish
Bootleg Theater & Rogue Artists Ensemble
See a complete list of the nominations here.
There was a grand total of 214 nominations for 70 productions presented by 45 companies.
Founded in 1989, the L.A. STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are Los Angeles theatre professionals chosen each year through an application process by the Ovation Rules Committee.
