Urinetown Big Winner at Helen Hayes Awards
DCist theater critic Missy Frederick contributed to this report.
Signature Theatre's production of Urinetown took top honors at last night's Helen Hayes Awards, D.C.'s local theater awards ceremony, taking home 8 prizes including director of a musical (Joe Calarco), choreographer (Karma Camp), four different acting awards (Will Gartshore is pictured right accepting his award for lead actor in a musical, which he shared in a tie with Michael McElroy from Big River), and outstanding resident musical. No other productions stood a chance against the Urinetown juggernaut, though Studio Theatre's production of Richard Greenburg's Take Me Out, Shakespeare Theatre Company's staging of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan and Woolly Mammoth's stark The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl each took home two awards each.
Other notable winners include Eunice Wong as lead actress in a resident play for last summer's The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, and S. M. Shephard-Massat taking the Charles MacArthur Award for outstanding new play for Starving at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Shephard-Massat said during her acceptance speech that she'd love to be able to make a living full-time as a playwright. "And if anybody has any idea about this, I'm sitting in the third row."
The ceremony, held at the Warner Theatre and hosted by Broadway veteran and D.C. native Brad Oscar, was a chance for D.C.'s theater community to come together for two hours and honor each other's achievements. Given the inherent ridiculousness attached to nearly any awards ceremony that places artists in competition with one another, the Helen Hayes Awards are refreshingly inclusive; Not only did the nominating committee feel free to include up to ten names in some categories, it also awarded ties in a liberal fashion (both lead actor and lead actress in a musical, lead actor in a resident play, and outstanding resident play). Last night's Helen Hayes awards were a big sloppy wet kiss to D.C. theater -- with the possible exception of Brad Oscar's opening musical number, a parody of "Give My Regards to Broadway", which was unnecessarily focused on D.C. theater's inferiority complex in comparison to New York.
Oscar's other musical performances, with help from Kristi Ambrosetti and Vanessa Vaughn, as well as last year's host E. Faye Butler, were appropriately fluffy and peppered with inside jokes. DCist thoroughly enjoyed the show, and was pleased to see most of the players to whom we awarded shoutouts take home prizes. You can see a full list of nominees and winners here. Our observations on the evening's acceptance speeches after the jump.
Aww!-worthy moment: There were many, but we were particularly touched by Joe Calarco's acknowledgment that everything's better when you're in love, thanking his partner Brian.
Way to be gracious: We appreciated Robert Perdziola, winner of Outstanding Costume Design for Lady Windermere's Fan at Shakespeare Theatre, who managed to thank everyone you could think of associated with costuming, all the way down to the dressers.
Most sincere overuse of the word "adore": Outstanding Choreography winner Karma Camp, Urinetown, whose love for her cast and crewmates was palpable.
Funniest Acceptance Speech: Oddly enough, went to the representative from American Airlines, accepting the KPMG Award for Distinguished service to the Washington Theatre Community for the airline. He gamely mocked his company's profit motive and managed to make the old joke about short acceptance speeches new again.
Most unfortunate gaffe: Bruce R. Nelson from Rep Stage, who waxed on about the virtues of the Baltimore Theatre Community until he realized he was talking to the wrong crowd.
Least effective use of the words "I had a dream": Franca Barchiesi, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Resident Play, who was not paying homage to Dr. King but delivering a rambling acceptance speech about a dream she'd had uniting her with the greatest artists in history. What?
Best anecdote: Studio Theatre artistic director Joy Zinoman, lamenting the fact that casting calls for Take Me Out weren't done naked. "This is some small consolation," she said of her award for best resident production.
Photo credit: Carol Pratt, for the Helen Hayes Awards