Ho, ho, ho, and welcome to the second annual Carvy Awards! Presented below are my picks for the best in Oly-grown theater in 2011, selected from more than 30 reviews.
This was an outstanding year for supporting actors and technicians. Lead actors and directors hog the glory, but a show can rise or fall on less prominent talent. My candidates for best show were all ensemble efforts. In the end, each was terrific, but I picked the one I couldn't stop raving about. I've grouped performers in alphabetical order.
These were difficult, often subjective choices. If I've overlooked deserving achievements, remember: I can only be right 99-percent of the time. My winning choices have been printed in bold.
Actor
Terence Artz, A Few Good Men
Scott C. Brown, The Last Schwartz
Gerald Browning, The Love List
Cassie Cahill, Welfarewell
Ann Flannigan, The Last Schwartz
Kate Hayes, The Secret Garden
Jackson Jones, Brighton Beach Memoirs
Kelli Mohrbacher, Mauritius
Deya Ozburn, Oleanna
Michael Self, Scrooge: the Musical
Director
Troy Arnold Fisher, Scrooge: the Musical
John Munn, Oleanna
James Patrick, A Few Good Men
Brian Tyrrell, Brighton Beach Memoirs
Scot Whitney, Unexpected Tenderness
Supporting Cast
Kate Arvin, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Sam Cori, Honk! the Musical
Christian Doyle, Stardust Serenade
Amaya Eckel, Bunnicula
Ryan Holmberg, The Love List
Tim Shute, A Few Good Men
Hannah Tripp, Dog Sees God
Patrick Wigren, Scrooge: the Musical
Casi Wilkerson, boom
David Wright, Unexpected Tenderness
Show
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Dog Sees God
A Few Good Men
The Love List
Scrooge: the Musical
Tech
boom
Bunnicula
The Last Schwartz
Scrooge: the Musical
Summer in the Sixties
Comments for "The Carvies for 2011" (4)
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Speechmusic said on Dec. 24, 2011 at 6:53am
This was the best news ever. I watched Jim and the cast of a Few Good Men work very hard to do this play. Thanks for recognizing all their talents
alec clayton said on Dec. 24, 2011 at 6:56am
It's interesting how you and I agree about 90 percent of the time, Carv, but that other 10 percent... wow! Sometimes it's hard to believe we were watching the same play. Dog Sees God, really? The one I regret not seeing is A Few Good Men.
Carv said on Dec. 24, 2011 at 2:41pm
The way I saw it, Alec, Dog Sees God was the perfect material for that space and group. The writing was unexpectedly moving, and we saw good work from green actors, which speaks well of Don Welch's direction. There was certainly more polished theater available (see: anything at Harlequin), but I have to scale my expectations to the company involved. Lastly, Dog Sees God was memorable, a description I base on the fact that I can remember it well after most of a year. As I say, it's often subjective, dependent on my idiosyncratic tastes, but I'll stand by any of these nominees. Of course, choosing 5 out of over 30 shows squeezes out some exemplary plays and personnel--and they probably know who they are.
Gerald Browning said on Jan. 02, 2012 at 4:31pm
Thanks, Christian, for the nomination of my work in, and the production of, THE LOVE LIST.
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