On November 6, 2006 The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee honored excellence in Chicago-area Equity theatre by presenting 32 awards to recipients in 28 categories for productions that opened between August 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006. The Jeff Committee sent judges to the opening nights of 123 Equity productions offered by 51 producing organizations, and recommended 92 of these productions for further judging by the entire committee, which made them eligible for Jeff Awards.
Court Theatre led the recipients with 10 awards. Their interpretation of the musical Man of La Mancha, which will move to the Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut in February 2007, garnered six awards, including Production - Musical, and August Wilson's Fences received four awards, including Production - Play. Northlight Theatre and Geva Theatre Center's A Marvelous Party: The Noël Coward Celebration also received four awards, including Production - Revue.
Goodman Theatre's creative team of Robert Falls and Roche Schulfer received a Special Award for their 20-year collaboration, which has helped bring the Goodman—and Chicago theatre—to national eminence.
New works recognized by the committee were the musical Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein from About Face Theatre and the Museum of Contemporary Art, written by Stephen Flaherty and Frank Galati, and Lydia R. Diamond’s play Voyeurs de Venus, produced at Chicago Dramatists.
Directing honors went to Charles Newell (Man of La Mancha), Ron OJ Parson (Fences), and David Ira Goldstein (A Marvelous Party: The Noël Coward Celebration).
Design award recipients are as follows:
Scenic Design
John Culbert, Man of La Mancha, Court Theatre
Costume Design
Mara Blumenfeld, A Flea in Her Ear, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Sound Design
Mikhail Fiksel & André Pluess, Blind Mouth Singing, Teatro Vista
Lighting Design
Mark McCullough, Man of La Mancha, Court Theatre
Hosts Ora Jones and Ed Kross presided over a lively ceremony, which included scenes or numbers from every nominated musical, play and revue and was directed for the first time by Michael Weber, himself a nominee. Presenters included many past Jeff Award recipients.
For a full list of all Award recipients visit: www.jeffawards.org.