The winners will be a announced at a gala awards ceremony Nov. 6 at the Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.<\/b>
\nThe 2016-2017 theater season in Chicago was, by any measure, an exceptionally great one for musical theater. That is one conclusion to be reached by scanning the list of nominees for the 2016-2017 Jeff Awards, which honor excellence in Equity professional productions at both \u201clarge\u201d and \u201cmidsize\u201d theaters in the Chicago area.
The other conclusion? Perhaps as a result of the ever more fierce competition in this field, a couple of altogether fabulous musical productions failed to be nominated, and audiences who caught them might be astounded by their lack of inclusion.
Consider this: The nominations for best \u201clarge\u201d production include \u201cSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street\u201d and \u201cDisney\u2019s Little Mermaid\u201d (both at Paramount Theatre in Aurora) ; \u201cCrazy for You\u201d (at the Drury Lane Theatre) , and \u201cParade\u201d (at Writers Theatre) . Sadly, not included were the roof-raising \u201cJesus Christ Superstar, \u201d featuring an all African-American cast (at Paramount) , and the absolutely beguiling revival of \u201cShe Loves Me\u201d (at Marriott Theatre) . \u201cThe Bridges of Madison County\u201d (also at Marriott) , did garner nominations for both its stellar leads.
On the \u201cmidsize\u201d front there are three worthy musical nominees: \u201cIn the Heights\u201d and \u201cThe Scottsboro Boys\u201d (both at Porchlight Music Theatre) , and \u201cDisney\u2019s Mary Poppins\u201d (at Mercury Theater Chicago) . In addition, the three shows selected for inclusion in the \u201cBest Revue\u201d category \u2014 \u201cMarry Me a Little\u201d (Porchlight) , \u201cSmokey Joe\u2019s Cafe\u201d (Drury Lane) and \u201cSpamilton\u201d (at The Royal George Theatre) \u2014 could all easily be considered full-fledged works of musical theater.
When it comes to plays, the nominations were all over the map, with \u201clarge theater\u201d productions including: \u201cBlues for an Alabama Sky\u201d (at Court Theatre) and \u201cEast Texas Hot Links\u201d (at Writers Theatre) , both directed by Ron OJ Parson; \u201cHand to God\u201d (Victory Gardens Theatre) ; \u201cMan in the Ring \u201d (Court Theatre) and \u201cUncle Vanya\u201d (Goodman Theatre) . Unaccountably missing here is the Goodman Theatre production of Charles Smith\u2019s haunting \u201cObjects in the Mirror, \u201d although it is among the nominees for best new play.
The plays nominated in the \u201cmidsize\u201d category include \u201cBorn Yesterday\u201d (Remy Bumppo Theatre) ; \u201cThe Columnist \u201d (American Blues Theater) ; \u201cEnd of the Rainbow\u201d (a play with tons of music, at Porchlight Music Theatre) ; \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!\u201d (American Blues Theater) , and \u201cSilent Sky\u201d (First Folio Theatre) .
Timothy Edward Kane (from left) , Susaan Jamshidi, Lindsay Stock and Ross Lehman in Selina Fillinger\u2019s \u201cFaceless, \u201d at Northlight Theatre. | Michael Brosilow
The \u201cnew play\u201d category gives a good indication of the vast range of work that arrived on Chicago stages and includes: Michael Cristofer\u2019s \u201cMan in the Ring\u201d (Court Theatre) ; Selina Fillinger\u2019s \u201cFaceless\u201d (Northlight Theatre) ; Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon\u2019s \u201cMiss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley\u201d (Northlight Theatre) ; Ike Holter\u2019s \u201cThe Wolf at the End of the Block\u201d (Teatro Vista) ; Antoinette Nwandu\u2019s \u201cPass Over\u201d (Steppenwolf Theatre) ; Madhuri Shekar\u2019s \u201cQueen\u201d (Victory Gardens) and Charles Smith\u2019s \u201cObjects in the Mirror\u201d (Goodman Theatre) .
While all the performers nominated for Jeffs are fully deserving, several notable performances were sadly overlooked, including actresses Tyla Abercrumbie (in \u201cEast Texas Hot Links\u201d) , Toya Turner (in \u201cBlues for an Alabama Sky\u201d) , Brittany Burch and Janelle Villas (in \u201cPilgrims, \u201d at The Gift Theatre) and Wandachristine (in \u201cBeauty\u2019s Daughter, \u201d a solo show produced by American Blues Theater) , and actors Tom Irwin (in \u201cThe Christians\u201d) and Julian Parker (in \u201cPass Over\u201d) , both at Steppenwolf.
The Jeff Awards ceremony (open to the public) will be held Nov. 6 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, and will include performances from the nominated musicals and revues, pre-show appetizers and a cash bar, and a post-show buffet. For complete information and tickets visit www.jeffawards.org .
Court Theatre\u2019s production of \u201cBlues for an Alabama Sky\u201d is among the plays nominated for a 2016-2017 Jeff Award. | Michael Brosilow
Angela Ingersoll starred as Judy Garland, with Kyle Hatley as her fiance, in the Porchlight Music Theatre production of \u201cEnd of the Rainbow.\u201d | Kelsey Jorissen
Marton Csokas plays Astrov and Kristen Bush plays Yelena in the Goodman Theatre production of \u201cUncle Vanya.\u201d | Liz Lauren<\/p>\n

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