Bill's Best of 2014: NOMINATIONS

The 2014 nominations for "Bill's Best" are listed below.  But first, here are a few tips for looking at this list:

1.  "Best of" lists are, by their nature, subjective.  These are the work of a single person.  Me.  You don't have to agree with anything on the list.

2.  This is not a definitive list; I only saw 60 shows this year.  I estimate that there may be 200 or more shows produced in Colorado each year.  So this is a small sample, and there is ample room for disagreements.  However, please don't tell me that a show you saw but I didn't was the best.  I can't judge shows I didn't see.

3.  I saw some very good productions this year that are NOT on this list.  That's a shame, but that's a predictable outcome of such a list.  Although I have no doubt that every actor, actress, and crew put on the "best" show they could, not every show can be the best show of the year for everybody.

4.  Of the 60 shows I saw, more than 30 are in the category "DRAMA."  That's a lot.  To better sort through 30 or so plays, I originally wanted to split the companies into "large" and "small" categories.  I found that inadequate.  I added "Micro Companies" to the mix.  There are some very small companies that run on a shoestring.  

For example, Denver's Dangerous Theatre seats, I would estimate, less than 30 ticket holders.  The theater is located in a sleepy industrial park near I-25 and 6th Avenue in Denver.  Seriously...you would never find it without a GPS.  There is no way they can compete with bigger, shinier venues.  

I also included Spark Theatre in the micro company group because their seating is also very limited.  Selling every seat would hardly pay the monthly utility bill at Spark.  In addition, they have to deal with a bar across the street that blasts music constantly, and occasional police/fire vehicles rumbling by (about 30 feet from the seats), sirens blaring.

Finally, I added Triptych Theatre Company to the micro company group because they have a tiny footprint in Colorado.  Based in Los Angeles, Triptych put on Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries in Boulder this summer.  This was their fourth Colorado production, but their first since 2009.

What these three companies have in common is that they run not on ticket sales, donors, or matching funds.  They run on passion.  Pure and simple.  They cannot, and should not, compete with shows at the Denver Center level.  They do theater on a personal, passionate basis.  For that, they should be recognized, and I have done so on this list.

I will be announcing the winners in each category in the new few days.

DRAMA

DRAMA, LARGE COMPANIES, BEST PLAY

1.  Shadowlands, Denver Center Theatre Company 

2.  Venus in Fur, Theatreworks

3.  The Whipping Man, Curious Theatre Company

4.  The Last Romance, Arvada Center (Creede Repertory Theatre)

DRAMA, LARGE COMPANIES:  BEST ACTOR

1.  Graeme Malcolm, as C.S. Lewis, Shadowlands, Denver Center Theater Company.

2.  Sean Scrutchins, as Caleb, The Whipping Man, Curious Theatre.

3.  Cajardo Lindsey, as Simon, The Whipping Man, Curious Theatre. 

4.  John S. Green, as Ralph, The Last Romance, Arvada Center  (Creede Repertory Theatre)

DRAMA, LARGE COMPANIES:  BEST ACTRESS

1.  Carley Cornelius, as Vanda, Venus in Fur, Theatreworks.

2.  Kathleen McCall as Joy Davidson, Shadowlands, Denver Center Theater Company.

3.  Christy Brandt as Carol, The Last Romance, Arvada Center (Creede Repertory Theatre)

DRAMA, LARGE COMPANIES:  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.   John Hutton as Warnie, Shadowlands, Denver Center Theater Company.

2.  Sean Thompson, as the Young Man, The Last Romance, Arvada Center (Creede Repertory Theatre).

3.  Sam Gregory, as Christopher, Shadowlands, Denver Center Theatre Company.

DRAMA, SMALL COMPANIES, BEST PLAY:

1.  The Outgoing Tide, Firehouse Theatre Company

2.  Grounded, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company

3.  The Well of Happiness, Lafayette Theatre Company

4.  The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, Springs Ensemble Theatre Company

5.  The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Edge Theatre Company

6.  The Women of Lockerbie, Coal Creek Theatre Company

7.  The Lion in Winter, Thunder River Theatre Company

DRAMA, SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST ACTOR

1.  Daniel Traynor, as Tom, The Glass Menagerie, PHAMALY.

2.  Jim Landis as Gunner, The Outgoing Tide, Firehouse Theatre Company.

3.  Lon Winston as King Henry II, The Lion in Winter, Thunder River Theatre Company.

4.  Steve Emily as Martin, The Goat or Who is Sylvia, Springs Ensemble Theatre.

DRAMA, SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST ACTRESS

1.  Laura Norman as The Pilot, Grounded, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.

2.  Leah Jenkins as Desdemona, Desdemona:  A Play About a Handkerchief, Springs Ensemble Theatre.

3.  Anne Sandoe as Olive, The Women of Lockerbie, Coal Creek Theatre of Louisville.

4.  Emily Patton Davies as Maureen, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Edge Theatre Company.

DRAMA, SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.  Andrew Uhlenhopp as Colonel Nathan Jessup, A Few Good Men, Spotlight Theatre Company

2.  Robert Kramer as Tilden, Buried Child, The Edge Theatre Company.

3.  Dan Mundell as Dodge, Buried Child, The Edge Theatre Company.

4.  Donny Petro as Colin, The Well of Happiness, Lafayette Theatre Company.

DRAMA, SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1.  Emma Messenger, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Edge Theatre Company.

2.  Missy Moore as Shelley, Buried Child, The Edge Theatre Company.

3.  Jenna Bainbridge as Laura, The Glass Menagerie, PHAMALY.

4.  Trary Maddelone as Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Lion in Winter, Thunder River Theatre Company.

DRAMA, MICRO COMPANIES, BEST PLAY

1.  Miracle on 34th Street, Spark Theatre

2.  Awaiting the Apocalypse, Denver’s Dangerous Theatre

3.  Gruesome Playground Injuries, Triptych Theatre Company

DRAMA, MICRO COMPANIES, BEST ACTOR:

1.  Wade Livingston as Kris Kringle, Miracle on 34th Street, Spark Theatre

2.  Jamie Wollrab as Doug, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Triptych Theatre Company.

DRAMA, MICRO COMPANIES, BEST ACTRESS:

1.  Laila Ayad as Kayleen, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Triptych Theatre Company.

2.  Kaity Gray as Doris, Miracle on 34th Street, Spark Theatre Company.

DRAMA, MICRO COMPANIES, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

1.  Matthew Davis as Fred Gailey, Miracle on 34th Street, Spark Theatre Company.

2.  Marq Del Monte as Mort, Awaiting the Apocalypse, Denver’s Dangerous Theatre.

3.  Patrick Call as Cameron, Awaiting the Apocalypse, Denver’s Dangerous Theatre.

COMEDY

COMEDY (LARGE COMPANIES), BEST PLAY:

1.  The Lying Kind, Theatreworks

2.  The Servant of Two Masters, Theatreworks

3.  Church Basement Ladies:  A Second Helping, BDT Stage

4.  Psycho Beach Party, Theatreworks

COMEDY (LARGE COMPANIES):  BEST ACTOR

1.  Sammie Joe Kinnett as Truffadino, Servant of Two Masters, Theatreworks.

2.  Sammie Joe Kinnett as Gobbel, The Lying Kind, Theatreworks.

3.  Stephen Cole Hughes as Blunt, The Lying Kind, Theatreworks.

4.  Doug Atkins as Chiklet, Psycho Beach Party, Theatreworks.

COMEDY (LARGE COMPANIES):  BEST ACTRESS

1.  Tracy Warren as Karin, Church Basement Ladies, A Second Helping, BDT Stage.

2.  Barb Reeves as Vivian, Church Basement Ladies, A Second Helping, BDT Stage.

3.  Eryn Carman as Smeraldina, The Servant of Two Masters, Theatreworks.

COMEDY  (LARGE COMPANIES):  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.  Julian Bucknall as Reverend Shandy, The Lying Kind, Theatreworks.

2.  John Windsor-Cunningham as Balthasar, The Lying Kind, Theatreworks.

3.  Wayne Kennedy as The Pastor, Church Basement Ladies, A Second Helping, BDT Stage.

COMEDY (LARGE COMPANIES):  BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1.  Kate Berry as Mrs. Forrest, Psycho Beach Party, Theatreworks.

2.  Bethany Ann Talley as Berdine, Psycho Beach Party, Theatrworks.

3.  Billie McBride as Garson, The Lying Kind, Theatreworks.

4.  Emma Messenger as Gronya, The Lying Kind, Theatreworks.

COMEDY (SMALL COMPANIES), BEST PLAY

1.  Art, Springs Ensemble Theatre

2.  Sylvia, Ashton & Abster Productions

3.  William Shakespeare in the Land of the Dead, Lafayette Theatre Company

4.  5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Square Product Theatre Company and Goddess Here Productions

COMEDY (SMALL COMPANIES):  BEST ACTOR

1.  Emory John Collinson as Serge, Art, Springs Ensemble Theatre

2.  Aaron Jennejahn as Marc, Art, Springs Ensemble Theatre

3.  Kurt Keilbach as William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare in the Land of the Dead, Lafayette Theatre Company.

4.  John Ashton as Greg, Sylvia, Ashton & Abster Productions.

COMEDY (SMALL COMPANIES):  BEST ACTRESS

1.  Emily K. Harrison as Dale Prist, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Square Product Theatre Company.

2.  Amie MacKenzie as Sylvia, Sylvia, Ashton & Abster Productions.

COMEDY  (SMALL COMPANIES):  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.  Artemis Martin as Will Kemp, William Shakespeare in the Land of the Dead, Lafayette Theatre Company.

2.  Tupper Callum as Tom, Phyllis, and Leslie, Sylvia, Ashton & Abster Productions.

3.  Matt Radcliffe as Yvan, Art, Springs Ensemble Theatre Company.

COMEDY (SMALL COMPANIES):  BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1.  Jessica Robblee as Ginny, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Square Product Theatre Company.

2.  Laurie Lynch as Vern, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Square Product Theatre Company.

3.  Abby Apple Boes as Kate, Sylvia, Ashton & Abster Productions.

MUSICALS

MUSICAL, LARGE COMPANIES, BEST PLAY:

1.  Mary Poppins, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

2.  She Loves Me, Arvada Center

3.  Sisters of Swing, BDT Stage

4.  Memphis, Arvada Center

5.  Tarzan the Musical, Arvada Center

MUSICAL, LARGE COMPANIES:  BEST ACTOR

1.  Andrew Russell as Georg, She Loves Me, Arvada Center.

2.  Kevin Pierce as Bert, Mary Poppins, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

3.  Brian Ogilvie, Tarzan, Tarzan the Musical, Arvada Center.

4.  Jim Hogan as Huey Calhoun, Memphis, Arvada enter.

MUSICAL, LARGE COMPANIES:  BEST ACTRESS

1.  Shannon Steele as Kala, Tarzan the Musical, Arvada Center.

2.  Julia Jackson as Amalia Balash, She Loves Me, Arvada Center.

3.  Aisha Jackson as Felicia, Memphis, Arvada Center.

4.  Norell Moore, Sisters of Swing, BDT Stage.

MUSICAL LARGE COMPANIES:  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.  Keith L. Hatten as Delray, Memphis, Arvada Center.

2.  Mathenee Treco as Bobby, Memphis, Arvada Center.

3.  Tom Auclair as George Banks, Mary Poppins, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

MUSICAL LARGE COMPANIES:  BEST SUPORTING ACTRESS

1.  Sally Hybl as Winifred Banks, Mary Poppins, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

2.  Joanie Brousseau as Laverne, Sisters of Swing, BDT Stage.

3.  Tracy Warren as Maxene, Sisters of Swing, BDT Stage.

4.  Jennifer Lorae as Ilona Ritter, She Loves Me, Arvada Center.

MUSICAL (SMALL COMPANIES): BEST PLAY

1.  1940s Radio Hour, Lake Dillon Theatre Company

2.  Thoroughly Modern Millie, First Company

3.  Company, Equinox Theatre Company

4.  Love, Marriage, & Other Natural Disasters:  A New Stephen Sondheim Review, Gastineau & Friedland

5.  The Full Monty, Aspen Theatre Company

MUSICAL, SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST ACTOR

1.  Adam Shelton as Bobby, Company, Equinox Theatre Company.

2.  Tally Sessions as Jerry Lukowski, The Full Monty, Aspen Theatre Company.

3.  Frank Sansone as B.J. Gibson, 1940s Radio Hour, Lake Dillon Theatre Company.

4.  Nichola Madson as Jimmy Smith, Thoroughly Modern Millie, First Company.

MUSICAL, SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST ACTRESS

1.  Mallory Jo as Millie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, First Company.

2.  Diane Huber as Ann Collier, 1940s Radio Hour, Lake Dillon Theatre Company.

3.  Mica Dominguez-Robinson as Marta, Company, Equinox Theatre Company.

MUSICAL SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.  Richard Jarrett as “Keno” Walsh, The Full Monty, Aspen Theatre Company.

2.  Grant Haralson as Wally Ferguson, 1940s Radio Hour, Lake Dillon Theatre Company. 

3.  Randy Donaldson as “Horse,” The Full Monty, Aspen Theatre Company.

4.  Christopher Alleman as Johnny Cantone, 1940s Radio Hour, Lake Dillon Theatre Company.

MUSICAL SMALL COMPANIES:  BEST SUPORTING ACTRESS

1.  Brittany Jeffery as Ginger Brooks, 1940s Radio Hour, Lake Dillon Theatre Company.

2.  Ensemble nomination:  Janine Gastineau/Paula Jayne Friedland, Love, Marriage, and Other Natural Disasters, A New Steven Sondheim Review, Gastineau/Friedland Production.

3.  Erica Aubrey as Pam Lukowski, The Full Monty, Aspen Theatre Company.


Stay tuned for the winners...

Bill's Best of 2104: Playlist for awards...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…the time for my annual year-end recognition of the best plays I saw in 2014.  My first post to theatercolorado.com was in March, 2012, and the first awards were announced in December, 2012.

I saw and reviewed 60 plays this year.  They are listed below (in no particular order), along with the producing company.  I will post a list of nominations for “Bill’s Best” in the next few days.

I’ll be breaking the nominees into two groups this year:  Large Companies, and Small Companies.  It’s a fairly arbitrary division.  I don’t know any theater’s budget, but some clearly have many more resources than others.  To be fair, I thought competition should be between those with similar resources.  

Please keep in mind that I did NOT see every show in Colorado this year (and I doubt anyone else did either).  I can only pick winners from the shows I saw.  I have no doubt missed many outstanding productions/performances.  Your personal list of winners may vary greatly from mine.

Since this is a hobby, the “Bill’s Best” awards have been web only awards.  I have not figured out how to print, frame, and deliver hard copy awards to all the different theaters and actors who deserve a trophy to display.  

This year, for the first time, I will print and frame a certificate for any award winners who contact me and request the framed version.  Details will follow when the awards are announced.

So here are all the shows I reviewed this year, also know as the candidates for “Bill’s Best, 2014.”

DRAMA:

Large Companies:

1.  Ludlow, 1914, Theatreworks.

2.  The Weir, Theatreworks.

3.  Venus in Fur, Theatreworks.

4.  The Last Romance, Arvada Center.

5.  Shadowlands, Denver Center Theatre Company.

6.  The Whipping Man, Curious Theatre Company.

Small Companies:

  

7.  The Lion in Winter, Thunder River Theatre Company.

8.  All My Sons, Thunder River Theatre Company.

9.  Grounded, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.

10.  Ambition Facing West, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.

11.  And the Sun Stood Still, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.

12.  Annapurna, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.

13.  A Steady Rain, The Edge Theatre Company.

14.  Orphans, The Edge Theatre Company.

15.  Buried Child, The Edge Theatre Company.

16.  The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Edge Theatre Company.

17.  Frozen, Equinox Theatre Company.

18.  Bug, Equinox Theatre Company.

19.  Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Lafayette Theatre Company.

20.  The Well of Happiness, Lafayette Theatre Company.

21.  Sherlock Holmes and the Masters of Crime, Lafayette Theatre Company.

22.  Rattlesnakes, Springs Ensemble Theatre Company.

23.  The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, Springs Ensemble Theatre Company.

24.  Desdemona:  A Play About a Handkerchief, Springs Ensemble Theatre Company.

25.  Awaiting the Apocalypse, Denver’s Dangerous Theatre.

26.  The Outgoing Tide, Firehouse Theatre Company.

27.  Master Class, Goddess Here Productions.

28.  Gruesome Playground Injuries, Triptych Theatre Company.

29.  A Few Good Men, Spotlight Theatre Company

30.  The Women of Lockerbie, Coal Creek Theatre of Louisville.

31.  The Glass Menagerie, PHAMALY.

32.  The 10th, Breckenridge Backstage Theatre Company

33.  Miracle on 34th Street, Spark Theatre Company.

34.  Gideon’s Knot, Square Product Theatre Company and Goddess Here Productions.

COMEDY:

Large Companies:

1.  Girls Only:  The Secret Comedy of Women, Denver Center Attractions.

2.  The Lying Kind, Theatreworks.

3.  The Servant of Two Masters, Theatreworks.

4.  Psycho Beach Party, Theatreworks.

Small Companies:

5.  The Butler Did It, Black Box Theatre Company.

6.  Sylvia, Ashton & Abster Productions.

7.  5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Square Product Theatre Company.

8.  William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead, Lafayette Theatre Company.

9. The WYNOT Radio Theatre Show, Mutual Consent Radio Theatre Company.

10.  Art, Springs Ensemble Theatre Company.

MUSICALS:

Large Companies:

1.  Mary Poppins, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

2.  Dracula, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

3.  Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

4.  Forever Plaid, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

5.  Tarzan, the Stage Musical, Arvada Center.

6.  Memphis, Arvada Center.

7.  She Loves Me, Arvada Center.

8.  Sisters of Swing, BDT Stage.

9.  Church Basement Ladies:  A Second Helping, BDT Stage.

10.  1940s Radio Hour, Lake Dillon Theatre Company.

11.  Ring of Fire, Lake Dillon Theatre Company.

Small Companies:

12.  Thoroughly Modern Millie, First Company.

13.  The Full Monty, Aspen Theatre Company.

14.  Company, Equinox Theatre Company.

15.  35MM:  A Musical Exhibition, Ignite Theatre Company.

16.  Love, Marriage, and Other Natural Disasters, produced by Gastineau/Friedland).


Nominations from this list to follow soon...

About theatrecolorado.blogspot.com...

Photo credit:  Dan Wheeler Photography.

I thought that this might be a good time to provide some background information to readers at theatercolorado.blogspot.com as I work on recognizing the best shows I saw in 2014.  With that in mind, here’s some points that I think are worth putting in writing for all.

Theater Colorado started in 2012 as an outlet for my thoughts about plays I was seeing with my late wife Linda.  She was a Henry judge for the Colorado Theater Guild, and she got 2 complimentary tickets for the shows she was assigned to judge.  She was a theater major at Minot (ND) State University, and she was passionate about theater.  I have always been a “fan” of theater, and Linda encouraged me to write my thoughts about the shows we saw.  I shared them with a couple of our Henry judge friends (thanks, Brent & Rowena), who encouraged me to keep writing and to put my reviews online for all.

Readers at theatercolorado.blogspot.com may have wondered what expertise I have to judge their work.  My background includes living with a passionate theater person (Linda) for 22.5 years.  She schooled me on many technical and fairly obscure facts about putting a show together.  That doesn’t make me an expert.  It just gives me some insight into the process as well as the product.

What I consider my “expertise” for reviewing plays is that I am sitting in the audience, taking in the production.  I write from that point of view, which is, after all, the point of view that is perhaps the most important.  If a show doesn’t work for the audience, it doesn’t really work.

I do bring some basic skills to theatercolorado.blogspot.com, including a fairly extensive background in writing.  Before I retired in 2009, writing was a daily, and a critical, part of my work.  

My other strength (at least in my opinion), is my focus on details during a performance.  I don’t take notes, at least not on paper.  It’s too distracting; I would miss important lines while writing notes.  Rather, I focus on the performance, making mental notes of the details that define the show.  Sometimes those notes are related to the script (I try to remember a few of the most important lines), but mostly they are mental notes about the set, the acting, the singing, the lighting, the sound, the blocking, and sometimes the intangibles that can make or break a performance.

Linda and I disagreed somewhat on script issues; she was adamant that a good performance of a flawed script could still be a worthwhile experience.  For me, if the script is flawed, it’s very hard for me to appreciate the technical excellence on the stage.  

Linda passed away on May 6, 2013 from a recurrence of breast cancer.  The last show we saw together was Always, Patsy Cline...on April 20, 2013.  As she was admitted to hospice, she was complaining that she had tickets for Sense & Sensibility the Musical at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, May 10.  She wanted to be released in time to see it.  She was THAT passionate about theater.

In December, 2013, I replaced Linda as a Henry judge at the Colorado Theater Guild. Being a Henry judge and writing at Theater Colorado helps me keep Linda's passion alive.

I remarried in May, 2014, and Roxie and I now both embrace Linda's love of theater.  Roxie works full time, so there are scheduling challenges for us to get to some shows.  Because we often are driving from Colorado Springs to some destination to the north or west after she finishes her shift at the FedEx data center, we have to stop somewhere for dinner before the show.  For others in a similar situation, I added a pre/post show dinner suggestion with each post.

My blog is a hobby.  I don’t get paid for it, but it does have significant costs for travel from Colorado Springs to wherever the shows are, and frequent overnight stays in motels.  Shows in Aspen, Carbondale, and northern Colorado theaters require an overnight stay.  Since most of the shows are in the Denver/Boulder area, a lot of productions are a 2 hour round trip, plus about 2 hours in the theater.  If we have 2 shows in the Denver/Boulder area in a single weekend, we often stay overnight at a hotel.  

Each review runs approximately 1,000 words, and takes about 4 hours to draft, edit, format, and post.  I am currently getting 200-300 hits per day on Theater Colorado, with approximately 300 hits on each post by the end of its run.  Some posts get a great deal more traffic than the average; one post this year exceeded 5,000 hits.  Since theatercolorado.blogspot.com went live in March, 2012, the posts have received a combined total of more than 160,000 hits.

If you have specific questions about theatercolorado.blogspot.com, or about my background or writing process, please feel free to leave me a comment below.