Paramount leads all theaters with 26 equity Jeff nominations
A week ago, Paramount Theatre announced the suspension of its Bold series at the Copley Theatre in the wake of a possible reduction in Aurora’s “previously communicated municipal support.”
The artistic impact of Copley’s now-shuttered series was evidenced Monday, when Paramount received a total of 26 equity Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, five of them for Copley productions “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” “Peter” earned nominations for supporting performer Nick Sandys, sound designer Eric Backus and for play ensemble. “Spelling Bee” earned nominations for supporting performer Elizabeth Stenholt and for musical ensemble.
The Jeff Awards recognize excellence in Chicago-area equity or union theater. Non-equity Jeff Awards recognize excellence in nonunion theater within Chicago city limits.
Paramount’s cirque-inspired revival of “Cats” — a spectacle in the best sense of the word — received nine nominations, which was second only to Writers Theatre’s 11 nods for its stellar regional premiere of “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.”
“Cats” received nominations for large musical, ensemble, director Trent Stork, costume designer Izumi Inaba, lighting designer Greg Hofmann, choreographer Kasey Alfonso, music director Kory Danielson, wig/hair/makeup designer Katie Cordts and circus choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi.
Stork, Hofmann and Danielson also earned nominations for Paramount’s dazzling regional premiere of “Frozen” — which surprisingly did not receive a nod for best large musical. “Frozen’s” other nominations included principal musical performer Beth Stafford Laird, costume designer Mara Blumenfeld, projection designer Paul Deziel, puppet designer Jesse Mooney-Bullock and set designer Jeffrey D. Kmiec, who also picked up a nomination for his immersive “Million Dollar Quartet” at Stolp Island Theatre.
As for “Million Dollar Quartet,” Paramount’s long-running jukebox tuner picked up nominations for best large musical and for directors Jim Corti and Creg Scalvi.
Writers Theatre’s 19 total nominations included a leading 11 nominations — more than any other production — for “The Great Comet.” The Jeff committee nominated the show for large musical, ensemble, director Katie Spelman, principal performers Evan Tyrone Mitchell and Aurora Penepacker, supporting performer Joseph Anthony Byrd, set designer Courtney O’Neill, costume designer Raquel Adorno, sound designer Eric Backus, lighting designer Yael Lubetzky and music director Matt Deitchman.
Court and Goodman theaters earned 21 nominations, while Drury Lane and Marriott Theatre received 16 nominations. Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, which earned its first Jeff Award last year, received three nominations. Director Steve Scott and set designer Mara Ishihara Zinky were recognized for their work on “Native Gardens,” and Laura Leonardo Ownby received a supporting performer nomination for her work in “The Outsider.”
Other productions with multiple nominations include Goodman’s “The Color Purple” (large musical, ensemble, director Lili-Anne Brown, principal musical performer Brittany Mack, supporting performers Nicole Michelle Haskins and Aerie Williams, choreographer Breon Arzell and music director Jermaine Hill).
Marriott’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” was nominated in the categories of large musical, ensemble, director and choreographer Amber Mak, principal musical performer Devin DeSantis, supporting performer Lorenzo Rush Jr. and costume designer Theresa Ham.
Drury Lane’s “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” earned nominations for large musical, director Scott Weinstein, supporting musical performer Sawyer Smith, costume designers Ryan Park and Zhang Yu, lighting designer Ryan O’Gara, and puppet designers Caitlin McLeod and Zachary Sun.
The 57th awards ceremony takes place Friday, Sept. 19, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Tickets go on sale at noon Monday, Aug. 11, at jeffawards.org.