Herald & Review (Decatur, IL)
December 31, 1993
Section: Life
Page: B5
And the Winners are...
For the eighth time, the Herald & Review presents its annual theater awards, the Heralds. Here are the best of 1993.
Musicals made their mark in 1993.
Taking top honors in the eighth annual Herald Awards were “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” by the Little Theatre-On The Square in Sullivan and “Sunday in the Park with George” by Millikin University in Decatur.
In all, musicals captured 11 of 13 theater awards given this year by the Herald & Review.
Theater critics Theresa Churchill and David Burke made their picks from 18 Central Illinois stage shows altogether.
Besides “Black Patent Shoes,” the Little Theatre staged “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Cabaret,” “Noises Off” and “Phantom.”
Decatur’s Theatre 7 produced “Rumors,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Glass Menagerie” and “School for Scandal.”
Along with “George,” Millikin put on “Company,” “The Rimers of Eldritch,” “The Cherry Orchard,” “Jerry’s Girls,” “To Gillian on Her
37th Birthday,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Romantic Comedy” and “Wings.”
Winners are awarded trophies, as they have been since the Heralds were established in 1986. This year, runners-up will receive certificates for the
first time.
Prizes may be picked up between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays at the newspaper office, 601 E. William St., beginning Monday.
Best Show
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? -The Little Theatre cast and crew present the parochial school experience so smoothly, it’s a scream. The players deliver hilarious lyrics as easily as revolving set pieces convert the stage to a schoolyard, classroom, confessional and back again.
Runners-up: “Rumors,” Theatre 7. “Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin.
Best Actor
Doan Myles MacKenzie -Emcee, “Cabaret,” Little Theatre. Funny and frightening all at once, the Webster University (St. Louis) student mesmerizes the audience with agile dancing, singing and acting. His painted smile frames the show’s comedy while his evil laughter hails the arrival of the Third Reich.
Runners-up: Larry White, Henry Higgins, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. Salvatore Ingurgio, George Seurat, “Sunday in the Park With George,” Millikin.
Best Actress
Karen Olson -Becky Bakowski, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre. The Millikin University graduate blossoms from a chubby child to a beautiful young woman whose reprise of “The Best of Friends” brings tears to her eyes and ours -in the midst of laughter.
Runners-up: Patty Barr, Eliza Doolittle, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. Julie Cardia, Dot/Marie, “Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin.
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Paul -Gerard Carriere, “Phantom,” Little Theatre. Having won in 1991 for his portrayal of Jud in “Oklahoma!”, Paul picks up his second
Herald for best supporting actor with strong acting as the phantom’s father and powerful voice, honed at Northwestern University.
Runners-up: Dana Kisor, gentleman caller, “The Glass Menagerie,” Theatre 7.
Clarence Wummel, Leo Janowitz, “Romantic Comedy,” Millikin.
Best Supporting Actress
Nancy Jo Batman -Claire Ganz, “Rumors,” Theatre 7. Better known as an author (and picked for her performance before she joined the H&R staff), the Decatur resident carries over her ironic writing style in her dry portrayal of a wisecracking wife.
Runners-up: Sally Jo Bannow-Mendell, Sister Lee, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre. Suzanne C. Spinosa, Yente,
“Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin.
Best Director
David A. Golden -”Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin. Chair of the department of theatre and dance, Golden wins his fourth Herald for best director by bringing together impressive performances, set design and costumes to create an artistic adventure. He was honored for “A Chorus Line” in 1987, “The Oresteia” in 1989 and “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1990.
Runners-up: Scott Rueter, “Rumors,” Theatre 7. Dale Calandra, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre.
Best Musical Direction
Maria Klott -”Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin. The assistant professor of music conducts the famous score with a seasoned hand, filling scene changes beautifully and never overpowering the voices when the curtain goes up. This makes her third straight Herald Award for musical direction after winning in 1991 for “Evita” and in 1992 for “A ... My Name is Alice.”
Runners-up: JR Alexander, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre. Maria Klott, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7.
Best Choreography
John D. Russell -”My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. The Monticello man’s work fills the stage with creative movement and shows off the long gowns with
sweeping waltzes.
Runners-up: Marc Robin, “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Little Theatre. Darlene Harshbarger, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin.
Best Set Design
Doug Molash -”Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin. The assistant theatre professor deftly transforms white backdrops into a stage awash in the colors of the park painting that is the subject of this musical. Another nice touch is a translucent canvas that exposes George’s face as he stabs it with a brush.
Runners-up: Siona Benjamin, “Phantom,” Little Theatre. Mark Britton, “Rumors,” Theatre 7.
Best Costumes
Mary Spencer -”Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin. The best of the staff costumer’s period gowns seemed to be painted with the same dot technique used by the title character. And who could forget the “magic” dress that literally stands alone while its wearer steps out for a short dance?
Runners-up: Michele Friedman Siler, “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Little Theatre. Dina Fryman, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7.
Best Lighting
William W. Murray IV -”Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin University. The senior from Libertyville captures the mood of life’s great changes, as when he silhouettes the wedding party against blues and golds on “Sunrise, Sunset.”
Runners-up: Gerald Thamm, Little Theatre, “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Anne Thompson, “The Glass Menagerie,” Theatre 7.
Best Makeup
Cast of “Cabaret” -Little Theatre. The emcee’s clownish face enhances the dichotomies of his character -male/female and good/evil. The hollow eyes and cheeks of the chorus then create an unforgettable finale of horror.
Runners-up: Bil Larrick, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. Matt Smulski, “Romantic Comedy,” Millikin.
Best Hair
Molly Shade -”The Glass Menagerie,” Theatre 7. The Decatur resident’s tightly controlled styles are both appropriate to the period and to the drama.
Runners-up: Cast of “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Little Theatre. Mary Spencer, “Romantic Comedy,” Millikin.
December 31, 1993
Section: Life
Page: B5
And the Winners are...
For the eighth time, the Herald & Review presents its annual theater awards, the Heralds. Here are the best of 1993.
Musicals made their mark in 1993.
Taking top honors in the eighth annual Herald Awards were “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” by the Little Theatre-On The Square in Sullivan and “Sunday in the Park with George” by Millikin University in Decatur.
In all, musicals captured 11 of 13 theater awards given this year by the Herald & Review.
Theater critics Theresa Churchill and David Burke made their picks from 18 Central Illinois stage shows altogether.
Besides “Black Patent Shoes,” the Little Theatre staged “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Cabaret,” “Noises Off” and “Phantom.”
Decatur’s Theatre 7 produced “Rumors,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Glass Menagerie” and “School for Scandal.”
Along with “George,” Millikin put on “Company,” “The Rimers of Eldritch,” “The Cherry Orchard,” “Jerry’s Girls,” “To Gillian on Her
37th Birthday,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Romantic Comedy” and “Wings.”
Winners are awarded trophies, as they have been since the Heralds were established in 1986. This year, runners-up will receive certificates for the
first time.
Prizes may be picked up between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays at the newspaper office, 601 E. William St., beginning Monday.
Best Show
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? -The Little Theatre cast and crew present the parochial school experience so smoothly, it’s a scream. The players deliver hilarious lyrics as easily as revolving set pieces convert the stage to a schoolyard, classroom, confessional and back again.
Runners-up: “Rumors,” Theatre 7. “Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin.
Best Actor
Doan Myles MacKenzie -Emcee, “Cabaret,” Little Theatre. Funny and frightening all at once, the Webster University (St. Louis) student mesmerizes the audience with agile dancing, singing and acting. His painted smile frames the show’s comedy while his evil laughter hails the arrival of the Third Reich.
Runners-up: Larry White, Henry Higgins, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. Salvatore Ingurgio, George Seurat, “Sunday in the Park With George,” Millikin.
Best Actress
Karen Olson -Becky Bakowski, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre. The Millikin University graduate blossoms from a chubby child to a beautiful young woman whose reprise of “The Best of Friends” brings tears to her eyes and ours -in the midst of laughter.
Runners-up: Patty Barr, Eliza Doolittle, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. Julie Cardia, Dot/Marie, “Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin.
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Paul -Gerard Carriere, “Phantom,” Little Theatre. Having won in 1991 for his portrayal of Jud in “Oklahoma!”, Paul picks up his second
Herald for best supporting actor with strong acting as the phantom’s father and powerful voice, honed at Northwestern University.
Runners-up: Dana Kisor, gentleman caller, “The Glass Menagerie,” Theatre 7.
Clarence Wummel, Leo Janowitz, “Romantic Comedy,” Millikin.
Best Supporting Actress
Nancy Jo Batman -Claire Ganz, “Rumors,” Theatre 7. Better known as an author (and picked for her performance before she joined the H&R staff), the Decatur resident carries over her ironic writing style in her dry portrayal of a wisecracking wife.
Runners-up: Sally Jo Bannow-Mendell, Sister Lee, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre. Suzanne C. Spinosa, Yente,
“Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin.
Best Director
David A. Golden -”Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin. Chair of the department of theatre and dance, Golden wins his fourth Herald for best director by bringing together impressive performances, set design and costumes to create an artistic adventure. He was honored for “A Chorus Line” in 1987, “The Oresteia” in 1989 and “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1990.
Runners-up: Scott Rueter, “Rumors,” Theatre 7. Dale Calandra, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre.
Best Musical Direction
Maria Klott -”Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin. The assistant professor of music conducts the famous score with a seasoned hand, filling scene changes beautifully and never overpowering the voices when the curtain goes up. This makes her third straight Herald Award for musical direction after winning in 1991 for “Evita” and in 1992 for “A ... My Name is Alice.”
Runners-up: JR Alexander, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” Little Theatre. Maria Klott, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7.
Best Choreography
John D. Russell -”My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. The Monticello man’s work fills the stage with creative movement and shows off the long gowns with
sweeping waltzes.
Runners-up: Marc Robin, “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Little Theatre. Darlene Harshbarger, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin.
Best Set Design
Doug Molash -”Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin. The assistant theatre professor deftly transforms white backdrops into a stage awash in the colors of the park painting that is the subject of this musical. Another nice touch is a translucent canvas that exposes George’s face as he stabs it with a brush.
Runners-up: Siona Benjamin, “Phantom,” Little Theatre. Mark Britton, “Rumors,” Theatre 7.
Best Costumes
Mary Spencer -”Sunday in the Park with George,” Millikin. The best of the staff costumer’s period gowns seemed to be painted with the same dot technique used by the title character. And who could forget the “magic” dress that literally stands alone while its wearer steps out for a short dance?
Runners-up: Michele Friedman Siler, “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Little Theatre. Dina Fryman, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7.
Best Lighting
William W. Murray IV -”Fiddler on the Roof,” Millikin University. The senior from Libertyville captures the mood of life’s great changes, as when he silhouettes the wedding party against blues and golds on “Sunrise, Sunset.”
Runners-up: Gerald Thamm, Little Theatre, “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Anne Thompson, “The Glass Menagerie,” Theatre 7.
Best Makeup
Cast of “Cabaret” -Little Theatre. The emcee’s clownish face enhances the dichotomies of his character -male/female and good/evil. The hollow eyes and cheeks of the chorus then create an unforgettable finale of horror.
Runners-up: Bil Larrick, “My Fair Lady,” Theatre 7. Matt Smulski, “Romantic Comedy,” Millikin.
Best Hair
Molly Shade -”The Glass Menagerie,” Theatre 7. The Decatur resident’s tightly controlled styles are both appropriate to the period and to the drama.
Runners-up: Cast of “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Little Theatre. Mary Spencer, “Romantic Comedy,” Millikin.
Copyright, 1993, Herald & Review, Decatur, IL