2015 Barrymore Nominees Announced, Suburban Companies Lead the Pack

A scene from from “Into the Woods.”

The 2015 Barrymore Award nominees for Philadelphia Theatre Excellence were announced this afternoon. Norristown-based Theatre Horizon‘s staging of Sondheim’s Into the Woods received the most nominations this season, a total of 12. 11th Hour Theatre Company‘s Field Hockey Hot and Bristol Riverside Theatre‘s Ragtime received nine nominations each.

Overall, Theatre Horizon scored a total of 19 nominations, including nods for their productions of In the Blood and Into the Woods. People’s Light in Malvern came in second, with 14 nominations for their productions of Fences, The Cherry Orchard, Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon, and Bach at Leipzig. Theatre Exile also racked up 14 nominations for their stagings of The Whale and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Philly-based Wilma Theater scooped up nine nominations, most for their production of Rapture, Blister, Burn, while the Arden Theatre Company scored six, mostly for the staging of yet another Sondheim show, Passion.

The full list of nominees is listed below. The recipients will be announced at the Barrymore Awards ceremony on Monday, November 2nd at 7 pm at the Merriam Theatre. For more information, visit their website.

Outstanding Overall Production of a Play

• Caught (InterAct Theatre Company)
• The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane (InterAct Theatre Company)
• In the Blood (Theatre Horizon)
• Rapture, Blister, Burn (The Wilma Theater)
• To The Moon (1812 Productions)
• The Whale (Theatre Exile)
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Theatre Exile)

Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical

• Field Hockey Hot (11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Herringbone (Flashpoint Theatre Company)
• Into the Woods (Theatre Horizon)
• Ragtime (Bristol Riverside Theatre)

Outstanding Direction of a Play

• Joe Canuso (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)
• Matt Pfeiffer (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
• Matt Pfeiffer (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
• Joanna Settle (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
• Rick Shiomi (Caught, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Pirronne Yousefzadeh (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Pirronne Yousefzadeh (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

• Keith Baker (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Matthew Decker (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Bill Fennelly (Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
• Megan Nicole O’Brien (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)

Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play

• Pearce Bunting (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)
• Peter DeLaurier (QED, Lantern Theater Company)
• Charlie DelMarcelle (The Glass Menagerie, Act II Playhouse)
• Michael Genet (Fences, People’s Light)
• Scott Greer (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
• Scott Greer (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
• Jered McLenigan (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play

• Carla Belver (The Glass Menagerie, Act II Playhouse)
• Kim Carson (Nora, Delaware Theatre Company)
• Melanye Finister (Fences, People’s Light)
• Eleanor Handley (Lost in Yonkers, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Aimé Donna Kelly (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Mary McDonnell (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
• Catharine Slusar (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)

Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical

• Derrick Cobey (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Ben Dibble (Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
• Michael Thomas Holmes (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Steve Pacek (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)

Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical

• Rachel Camp (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Kim Carson (Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon, People’s Light)
• Liz Filios (Passion, Arden Theatre Company)
• April Woodall (Souvenir, Montgomery Theater)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play

• Akeem Davis (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)
• Charlie DelMarcelle (The Jungle Book, Arden Theatre Company)
• Dan Hodge (The Fair Maid of the West, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective)
• Dave Johnson (The Taming of the Shrew, Lantern Theater Company)
• Anthony Lawton (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
• Graham Smith (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
• Ed Swidey (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play

• K.O. DelMarcelle (Detroit, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
• K.O. DelMarcelle (The Taming of the Shrew, Lantern Theater Company)
• Lynette Freeman (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Emilie Krause (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Theatre Exile)
• Campbell O’Hare (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
• Campbell O’Hare (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
• Susan Riley Stevens (Nora, Delaware Theatre Company)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical

• Alex Bechtel (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Charlie DelMarcelle (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Michael Doherty (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Michael Phillip O’Brien (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical

• Liz Filios (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Leigha Kato (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Ciji Prosser (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Leah Walton (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)

Outstanding Scenic Design

• Scott Bradley (brownsville song (b-side for tray), Philadelphia Theatre Company)
• Brian Dudkiewicz (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)
• Melpomene Katakalos (Caught, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Lance Kniskern (The Taming of the Shrew, Lantern Theater Company)
• Kristen Robinson (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
• Jason Simms (Lost in Yonkers, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Jason Simms (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)

Outstanding Costume Design

• Esther Arroyo (Nora, Delaware Theatre Company)
• Maggie Baker (Penelope, Inis Nua Theatre Company)
• Marie Anne Chiment (Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon, People’s Light)
• Marla Jurglanis (Bach at Leipzig, People’s Light)
• Marla Jurglanis (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
• Rosemarie McKelvey (La Bête, Arden Theatre Company)
• Lauren Perigard (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)

Outstanding Lighting Design

• Russell H. Champa (brownsville song (b-side for tray), Philadelphia Theatre Company)
• Cecilia Durbin (In the Blood, Theatre Horizon)
• Dennis Parichy (The Cherry Orchard, People’s Light)
• Thom Weaver (Passion, Arden Theatre Company)
• Thom Weaver (Rapture, Bister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)
• Thom Weaver (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
• Yi Zhao (Hamlet, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Sound Design

• Christopher Colucci (The Hound of Baskervilles, Lantern Theater Company)
• Christopher Colucci (Uncanny Valley, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Christopher Colucci (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
• Jorge Cousineau (Bach at Leipzig, People’s Light)
• Daniel Perelstein (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Daniel Perelstein (Passion, Arden Theatre Company)
• Ryan Rumery (brownsville song (b-side for tray), Philadelphia Theatre Company)

Outstanding Original Music

• Alex Bechtel (To The Moon, 1812 Productions)
• Christopher Colucci (The Whale, Theatre Exile)
• ILL DOOTS (Hands Up: 6 Playwrights, 6 Testaments, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
• Michael Ogborn (Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon, People’s Light)
• Michael Ogborn (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Daniel Perelstein (The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane, InterAct Theatre Company)
• Stew (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Choreography/Movement

• Samantha Bellomo (Bach at Leipzig, People’s Light)
• Stephen Casey (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
• Michael Cosenza (The Fair Maid of the West, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective)
• Dann Dunn (Catch Me If You Can, The Eagle Theatre)
• Ellie Mooney (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Ian Rose (As You Like It, Quintessence Theatre Group)
• Ian Rose (The Three Musketeers, Quintessence Theatre Group)

Outstanding Music Direction

• Dan Kazemi (Field Hockey Hot, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Dan Kazemi (Herringbone, Flashpoint Theatre Company)
• Amanda Morton (Into the Woods, Theatre Horizon)
• Ryan Touhey (Ragtime, Bristol Riverside Theatre)

Outstanding Ensemble in a Play

• Bach at Leipzig (People’s Light)
• The Fair Maid of the West (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective)
• The Hound of Baskervilles (Lantern Theater Company)
• In the Blood (Theatre Horizon)
• The Jungle Book (Arden Theatre Company)
• Little Rock (Passage Theatre Company)
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Theatre Exile)

Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical

• Arthur and the Tale of the Red Dragon (People’s Light)
• Field Hockey Hot (11th Hour Theatre Company)
• Into the Woods (Theatre Horizon)
• Ragtime (Bristol Riverside Theatre)

Independence Foundation Award for Outstanding New Play

• Caught by Christopher Chen (InterAct Theatre Company)
• The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane by Jen Silverman (InterAct Theatre Company)
• Hands Up: 6 Playwrights, 6 Testaments by The New Black Fest (Flashpoint Theatre Company)
• To The Moon by Jennifer Childs (1812 Productions)

Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist

• Alex Bechtel
• Benjamin Camp
• Akeem Davis
• Katherine Fritz
• Bi Jean Ngo

Virginia Brown Martin Philadelphia Award

• The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane (InterAct Theatre Company)
• The Gun Show (Passage Theatre Company)
• In the Blood (Theatre Horizon)
• Speech and Debate (Azuka Theatre)
• The Whale (Theatre Exile)

June and Steve Wolfson Award for an Evolving Theatre Company

• The Berserker Residents
• EgoPo Classic Theater
• Flashpoint Theatre Company
• Philadelphia Artists’ Collective
• Quintessence Theatre Group
• Simpatico Theatre Project

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Johnnie Hobbs Jr.