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Victorian Players triumph at Marquee Awards
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
It’s a big day for the Victorian Players.
The theater company housed in a former church near downtown Youngstown took home 16 Marquee Awards on Saturday night.
It was the first time the small Mahoning Avenue theater emerged as the biggest winner since the Marquees were started seven years ago.
The Marquees honor the best in Mahoning Valley theater. The winners for the 2009-10 season were revealed in a dinner-ceremony at St. Michael’s Church hall in Canfield.
The Victorian had received 39 nominations for the 2009-10 season, also a record for the theater. Only the Youngstown Playhouse received more nominations, with 44.
Propelling the Vic was its production of “The Elephant Man,” which garnered eight awards — the most for any single play or musical. Making up the balance was “Block 5,” with four awards; “Sherlock Holmes: the Final Adventure,” two awards; and “Death Takes a Holiday,” two.
“Block Five,” written by local theater veteran J.E. Ballantyne Jr., has now won 14 Marquees, including the 10 it received for its original production in 2005 at the Oakland Center for the Arts.
Coming in a close second in the 2009-10 Marquees was the Oakland Center for the Arts with 13 awards. The Youngstown Playhouse finished third with 10.
The big winner for the Oakland was “W;T,” which pulled down five awards, including Best Actress in a Play (Molly Galano).
Best Actor in a Play was a three-way tie — one of many Saturday evening — between John Cox (“Block 5”) and John Pecano (“The Elephant Man”).
On the musical side, the Best Actress and Best Actor awards went to Nikita Jones and Joshua Green for the lead roles in “Ragtime” by Top Hat Productions.
Top-show honors were distributed as follows: “Ragtime,” Best Revival of a Play or Musical; “Block 5,” Best Special Theatrical Event; “The Elephant Man” and “W;T” (tie), Best Play; and “Blues In the Night,” Best Musical.
Cox received Best Director of a Musical for “Blues In the Night.” Best Director of a Play was a three-way tie between Cox and Chris Fidram, who co-directed” “The Elephant Man,” and Robert Dennick Joki (“W;T”).
Three local theater veterans were inducted into the Legends of the Theatre Hall of Honor at Saturday’s ceremony. Comprising the class of 2010 were John and Rennie Griffith and Sis Soller, all of the Youngstown Playhouse.
The Marquee Awards, sponsored by the Youngstown Area Community Theater Alliance, judges the work of at least 15 regional theaters.
Here is a complete list of the 2009-10 winners:
Play: “The Elephant Man,” Victorian; “W;T,” Oakland.
Musical: “Blues in the Night,” Youngstown Playhouse.
Director (musical): John Cox for “Blues in the Night,” Youngstown Playhouse.
Director (play): John Cox and Christopher Fidram for “The Elephant Man,” Victorian Players; Robert Dennick Joki for “W;T,” Oakland.
Special theatrical event: “Block 5,” Victorian Players and J&B Productions.
Revival of a play or musical: “Ragtime,” Top Hat.
Lead actor (musical): Joshua Green as Coalhouse Walker in “Ragtime,” Top Hat.
Lead actor (play): John Cox as Josef Cartier in “Block 5,” Victorian and J&B; John Pecano as John Merrick in “The Elephant Man,” Victorian Players.
Lead actress (musical): Nikita Jones as Sarah in “Ragtime,” Top Hat.
Lead actress (play): Molly Galano as Dr. Vivian Bearing in “W;T,” Oakland.
Supporting actor (musical): Tom O’Donnell as Tim Haller in “All Shook Up,” Youngstown Playhouse; Ben Solomon as Perchik in “Fiddler on the Roof,” New Castle Playhouse.
Supporting actor (play): Glenn Stevens as Franz Zeireis in “Block 5,” Victorian Players and J&B Productions.
Supporting actress (musical): Moly Makselan as Christmas Present in “How the Drag Queen Stole Christmas,” Oakland.
Supporting actress (play): Joyce Jones as Susie Monahan in “W;T,” Oakland; Gerri Sullivan as E.M. Ashford in “W;T,” Oakland.
Featured actor (musical): Anthony Villa as Houdini in “Ragtime,” Top Hat Productions.
Featured actor (play): Gary Deckant as Ross in “The Elephant Man,” Victorian; Dylan White as Sid Prince in “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure,” Victorian.
Featured actress (musical): Melissa Cook as Pickles in “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” Oakland.
Featured actress (play): Audrey Allen as Stephanie in “Death Takes a Holiday,” Victorian.
Character performance (musical): Connie Baer as June Sanders in “Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming,” Salem Community Theater; Jerry McCallum as Tony Hendon in “Lucky Stiff,” Carnation City Players.
Character performance (play): Candace DiLullo as Edith in “Blithe Spirit,” Youngstown Playhouse; Jon Cox as Mr. Sawyer in “Miracle on 34th Street,” Youngstown Playhouse.
Cameo performance by an actor (musical): Andrew Labedz as Eddie in “The Rocky Horror Show,” Oakland Center for the Arts.
Cameo performance by an actor (play): Chuck Kettering as Major Whitred in “Death Takes a Holiday,” Victorian.
Cameo performance by an actress (musical): Regina Reynolds as Jessica Cranshaw in “Curtains,” Youngstown Playhouse.
Lighting design: Ellen Licitra for “Dinner with Friends,” Oakland.
Musical direction: Debra Burkhart for “Lucky Stiff,” Carnation.
Choreography: Brandon Martin for “Blues in the Night,” Youngstown Playhouse.
Costume design: Pam Sacui for “The Elephant Man,” Victorian Players.
Female ensemble member: Moly Makselan for “An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein,” Oakland.
Male ensemble member: Charles Kettering for “An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein,” Oakland.
Followspot operator: Casey Cox, Rachel McGrail, Meysha Harville for “Blues in the Night,” Youngstown Playhouse.
Lightboard operator: Stephanie Sarrach for “Dinner with Friends,” Oakland.
Female juvenile (musical): Chloe Noel Housteau as Annie in “Annie,” Carnation.
Female juvenile (play): Lisandra Stebner as Genevieve in “The Spirit of Christmas,” Centaur and Main Street Theater; Lauren Cline as Susan in “Miracle on 34th Street,” Youngstown Playhouse.
Male juvenile (musical): Donny Wolford as Little Boy in “Ragtime,” Top Hat.
Male juvenile (play): Dylan White as Benjamin Wallach in “Block 5,” Victorian and J&B Productions.
Swing actor: Sam Luptak Jr. for “The Elephant Man,” Victorian Players; Dave Wolford for “Ragtime,” Top Hat.
Swing actress: Caty Sacui for “The Elephant Man,” Victorian.
Properties design: Kim Neville and Gerri Sullivan for “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure,” Victorian.
Scenic design: George A. Orr for “The Mousetrap,” New Castle Playhouse.
Sound design: Christopher Fidram for “The Elephant Man,” Victorian; Scott Sutton for “Into the Woods,” Salem.
Sound operation: Sara Klimenko and Danna Bozick for “Dinner with Friends,” Oakland.
Stage manager: Dorene White for “Blues in the Night,” Youngstown Playhouse.