Suburban productions score big on Jeff nominations

There's joy in Lincolnshire today with Monday's announcement that Marriott Theatre had received 19 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, most of them for its brilliantly re-imagined regional premieres "Les Miserables" (nine nominations for musical, ensemble, director, actor, supporting actor and actress, costumes, music direction and others) and "The Producers" (seven nominations for musical, director, actors, supporting actor, costumes, choreography and others).

Oak Brook's Drury Lane Theatre received nine nominations including five for its delicious revival of "Sweet Charity" (musical, director, actress, lighting and choreography). Glencoe's Writer's Theatre also received nine nominations with Skokie's Northlight Theatre earning eight and Oak Brook's First Folio Theatre earning five. Highwood's Apple Tree Theatre received three nominations while Evanston's Next and Piven theater companies earned two nominations each.

Chicago companies receiving multiple nominations include this year's regional Tony Award winner Chicago Shakespeare Theater (16), Goodman Theatre (15) and Shattered Globe Theatre which earned 10 nominations, most for its superb "Requiem for a Heavyweight" recognized in the best play, director, actor, set, sound, lighting and fight choreography categories. Chicago Dramatists' nine nods include four for its smash hit "A Steady Rain."

The awards honor excellence in Chicago-area equity (union) productions that opened between Aug. 1, 2007, and July 31, 2008. Awards for non-equity (nonunion) productions were announced earlier this year.

The 40th annual Jeff Award ceremony - held Oct. 20 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts - marks the introduction of a new two-tier system designating equity theaters as large (Marriott, Drury Lane Oakbrook and Water Tower, Writers', Northlight, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Second City and others) and mid-size (First Folio, Next, Apple Tree, Light Opera Works, Remy Bumppo, the Gift, Silk Road and others).

The designation, based on a theater's annual budget, resulted from a brand audit two years ago, said Jeff Marks, Jeff Committee media and marketing chairman.

"We contacted all the theaters and every past award nominee concerning the concept of tiering the awards," said Marks. "We did a national survey of other awards programs. Almost all have multiple tiers."

According to Marks, the proposal to separate theaters according to budget size met with near unanimous approval. The committee then sent out a proposal on how categories might be tiered and came up with the following: production - play, production - musical, production - revue (given sufficient nominees), set, costume, lighting and sound design. Bowing to Actors Equity and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, acting, directing and choreography will remain single categories as will the ensemble award which Marks calls the Chicago theater's most important acting award.

Marks claims no theaters expressed reservations about the new separate but equal designations, adding that "this was a clear request from the theater community."

In a competitive theater town like Chicago, where larger companies often receive the lion's share of attention, mid-size companies benefit from the recognition the new system affords them.

"Jeff Award recognition by nominations, awards or opening night recommendations are extremely important for grant requests and fundraising activities for theaters," said Marks.

Marks also revealed that the Jeff Committee is teaming with HMS Media to produce a 13-part series showcasing Chicago theater that begins filming in the next few months. He anticipates the series will air locally next year, likely in partnership with WTTW Channel 11, with a national broadcast to follow. For a complete list of nominees see jeffawards.org.