CT Critics Circle Announces Awards Nominations

Nicole Scimeca and Mary Beth Peil in 

Hartford Stage's Anastasia Photo: Joan Marcus

Hartford Stage's Anastasia, Playhouse on Park's Hair, Goodspeed Musicals' La Cage Aux Folles, Long Wharf Theatre's My Paris and Ivoryton Playhouse's South Pacific are the nominees for outstanding production of a musical at the 26th annual Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, which will be presented 7:30 pm Monday, June 13 at Hartford Stage.

For outstanding production of a play, the nominees are Ayad Akhtar's  Disgraced (Long Wharf Theatre), David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People (TheaterWorks)  Paula Vogel/RebeccaTaichman's Indecent (Yale Repertory Theatre), John Logan's Red (Westport Country Playhouse) and Samuel Beckett's  Happy Days (Yale Repertory Theatre).

The awards recognize outstanding achievements from the state's 2015-2016 professional theater season. The group includes theater critics and writers from the state's print, radio and on-line media.

The awards event, co=sponsored by TheaterWorks and Hartford Stage, is free and open to the public. Winners will be announced at the show which will be hosted by Tina Fabrique, who starred in the musical Ella at  theaters across the country (including TheaterWorks and Hartford Stage) and who currently is appearing in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying at CT Repertory Theatre

Anne Keefe, stage manager of New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre and on Broadway for more than 25 years and part of the leadership team that saved and transformed the Westport Country Playhouse, is this year's recipient of the Connecticut Critics Circle's Tom Killen Award.

Nominees for outstanding actor in a play: 

R. Ward Duffy for Good People (TheaterWorks)

Conor Hamill for Third (TheaterWorks),

Rajesh Bose for Disgraced (Long Wharf)

Steven Skybell for  Broken Glass (Westport Country Playhouse)

Stephen Rowe for Red (Westport Country Playhouse)

Nominees for outstanding actor in a musical: 

Riley Costello for Peter Pan (Connecticut Repertory Theatre)

Jamison Stern for La Cage Aux Folles (Goodspeed)

Carson Higgins for Memphis (Ivoryton Playhouse)

David Pittsinger for South Pacific (Ivoryton Playhouse)

Bobby Steggert for My Paris (Long Wharf)

Nominees for outstanding actress in a play: 

Erika Rolfsrud for Good People (TheatreWorks)

Brenda Meaney for And a Nightingale Sang (Westport Country Playhouse)

Felicity Jones for Broken Glass (Westport Country Playhouse)

Elizabeth Lande for Wit (Playhouse on Park)

Dianne Wiest for Happy Days (Yale Repertory Theatre)

Nominees for outstanding actress in a musical: 

Adrianne Hick for South Pacific (Ivoryton Playhouse)

Renee Jackson for Memphis (Ivoryton)

 Katerina Papacostas for Evita (Music Theatre of Connecticut)

Rashidra Scott for Anything Goes (Goodspeed Musicals)

Christy Altomare for Anastasia

Rajesh Bose and Nicole Lowrance. Photo: T, Charles Erickson

Nominees for outstanding director of a play: 

Rob Ruggiero for Good People

Rebecca Taichman for Indecent

Gordon Edelstein for Disgraced

Jackson Gay for The Moors (Yale Repertory Theatre) 

Mark Lamos for Red

Nominees for outstanding director of a musical: 

David Edwards for South Pacific

Rob Ruggiero for La Cage Aux Folles,

Sean Harris for Hair

Kathleen Marshall for My Paris 

Darko Tresnjak for Anastasia

Nominees for outstanding ensemble: 

The casts of Hair, Indecent, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Music Theatre of Connecticut), Measure for Measure (Long Wharf Theatre) and Art (Westport Country Playhouse.)

Nominees for outstanding featured actor in a play: 

Richard Kline for And a Nightingale Sang

Benim Foster for Disgraced

Charles Janasz for Romeo and Juliet (Hartford Stage)

Richard Topol for Indecent

Michael Rogers for The Call (TheaterWorks).

Nominees for outstanding featured actor in a musical: 

John Bolton for Anastasia

Teren Carter for Memphis

Christopher DeRosa for Evita

Tom Hewitt for My Paris 

William Selby for South Pacific

Nominees for outstanding featured actress in a play: 

Megan Byrne for Good People

Shirine Babb for Disgraced

Kandis Chappell for Romeo and Juliet

Jodi Stevens for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike 

Birgit Huppuch for The Moors 

Nominees for outstanding featured actress in a musical: 

Patricia Schumann for South Pacific

Mara Davi for My Paris

Caroline O'Connor for Anastasia

Mary Beth Peil for Anastasia 

Jodi Stevens for Legally Blonde (Summer Theatre of New Canaan)

Nominees for outstanding choreography: 

Darlene Zoller for Hair

Todd Underwood for Memphis

Kathleen Marshall for My Paris

Peggy Hickey for Anastasia 

David Dorfman for Indecent

Nominees for outstanding set design: 

Alexander Dodge for Rear Window (Hartford Stage)

Alexander Dodge for Anastasia

Alexander Woodward for The Moors

Derek McLane for My Paris 

Allen Moyer for Red

Nominees for outstanding lighting design: 

Christopher Akerlind for Indecent

York Kennedy for Rear Window

Donald Holder for My Paris

Donald Holder for Anastasia

Andrew F. Griffin for The Moors.

Nominees for outstanding costume design: 

Michael McDonald for La Cage Aux Folles

Fabian Fidel Aguilar for The Moors

Linda Cho for Anastasia

Paul Tazewell for My Paris

Nominees for oustanding sound design:

Jane Shaw for Rear Window

Darron L. West for Body of an American (Hartford Stage)

David Budries for Red

Brian Ronan for My Paris 

Peter Hylenski for Anastasia

Nominees for outstanding projection design: 

Olivia Sebesky for My Paris

Aaron Rhyne for Anastasia

Alex Basco Koch for The Body of an American 

Rasean Davonte Johnson for Cymbeline (Yale Repertory Theatre)

Sean Nieuwenhuis for Rear Window

Receiving an award for outstanding debut is Mohit Gautam for Disgraced.

Receiving a special award are Lisa Gutkin and Aaron Halva, co-composers and co-music drectors who created the Klezmer music for Yale Rep's world premiere of Indecent.

The general public can RSVP for the awards ceremony at  www.hartfordstage.org. For information on the Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, visit www.ctcritics.org.