Updated at 4 p.m. April 25
Capping off a season that saw a robust return to live theater, the Boston Theater Critics Association today announced the nominees for the 39th Annual Elliot Norton Awards.
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The Huntington Theatre Company’s “The Bluest Eye,” written by playwright Lydia Diamond and adapted from Toni Morrison’s enduring debut novel, was the most nominated production with seven nods. The BTCA, of which I am a member, did some island hopping, with six nominations going to the SpeakEasy Stage Company musical “Once on This Island” and four nods for “The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s annual free summer Shakespeare production.
There were strong showings for two literary adaptations including Gloucester Stage Company’s “Tiny Beautiful Things,” adapted from Cheryl Strayed’s book of the same name. It earned five nominations and four went to the Huntington Theatre Company’s “Teenage Dick” — which satirically sets Shakespeare’s “Richard III” in a high school.
Special citations will be awarded to Julianne Boyd, the indefatigable co-founder and Artistic Director of Barrington Stage Company who retires this year, and to Arlekin Players Theater, the tiny Needham theater company that gained international attention with talent like Mikhail Baryshnikov thanks to its pandemic pivot into virtual theater.
The awards will be presented virtually on May 23rd.
Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence
John Douglas Thompson
Special Citation
Arlekin Players Theater & Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab, artistic director Igor Golyak
For pushing the boundaries of digital space to create a new genre of theater
And actress Darya Denisova
For her fresh, pioneering performances interacting virtually with a global audience, while also transcending experimental technology to excite and engage us in original, revolutionary productions “State vs. Natasha Banina,” “chekhovOS,” and “Witness."
Special Citation
Julianne Boyd, outgoing artistic director of Barrington Stage Company, for her 27 years at the helm of the award-winning, Pittsfield-based theater she co-founded — both an incubator for ambitious new work and the birthplace of Broadway hits.
The 2022 Elliot Norton Award nominees
Outstanding Musical Production
“Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
“All Is Calm,” Greater Boston Stage Company
“Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions
Outstanding Production by a Large Theater
“The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
“The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company
“Macbeth in Stride,” American Repertory Theater
Outstanding Production by a Midsize Theater
“The Sound Inside,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
“BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
“People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Outstanding Production by a Small or Fringe Theater
“Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company
“Seared,” Gloucester Stage Company
“The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Outstanding Ensemble, Large Theater
“The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company
“The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
“Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company
Outstanding Ensemble, Midsize Theater
“Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
“People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
“BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Outstanding Ensemble, Small or Fringe Theater
“Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company
“The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
“Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions
Outstanding Solo Performance
Maurice Emmanuel Parent, “Mr. Parent,” Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Jasmine M. Rush, “Queens Girl in the World,” The Nora, The Front Porch Arts Collective and The Hangar Theater at Central Square Theater
Karen MacDonald, “At Wit’s End,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Outstanding Direction for a Large Theater
Steven Maler, “The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
Awoye Timpo, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, “Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company
Outstanding Direction for a Midsize Theater
David R. Gammons, “People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Pascale Florestal, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Tonasia Jones, “BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Outstanding Direction for a Small or Fringe Theater
Lyndsay Allyn Cox, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company
Kiki Samko, “A Grinchley Christmas Carol,” Gold Dust Orphans
Danielle Fauteux Jacques, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actor
Jared Troilo, “The Last Five Years,” Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Anthony Pires Jr., “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions
Ivan C. Walks, “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions
Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress
Peli Naomi Woods, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Whitney White, “Macbeth in Stride,” American Repertory Theater
Maria Hendricks, “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions
Outstanding Performance by an Actor for a Large Theater
John Douglas Thompson, “The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
Michael Underhill, “Witch,” Huntington Theatre Company
Brian D. Coats, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actress for a Large Theater
Shannon DeVido, “Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company
Hadar Busia-Singleton, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company
McKenzie Frye, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actress for a Midsize Theater
Jennifer Rohn, “The Sound Inside,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Marianna Bassham, “People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Maureen Keiller, “Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” Greater Boston Stage Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actor for a Midsize Theater
Nathan Malin, “The Sound Inside,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Nael Nacer, “The Merchant of Venice,” Actors’ Shakespeare Project
Sharmarke Yusuf, “BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actress for a Small or Fringe Theater
Celeste Oliva, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company
Abigail Erdelatz, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Emma Laird, “Romeo and Juliet,” Apollinaire Theatre Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actor for a Small or Fringe Theater
Nael Nacer, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company
Malcolm Ingram, “Reparations,” Gloucester Stage Company
Jordan Pearson, “Seared,” Gloucester Stage Company
Outstanding New Script
“Mr. Parent,” by Melinda Lopez with Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Lyric Stage Company of Boston
“Macbeth in Stride,” by Whitney White, American Repertory Theater
“Black Bean Project,” by Melinda Lopez and Joél Pérez, Huntington Theatre Company
Outstanding Design for a Large Theater
“The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company (Scenic design by Jason Ardizzone-West; costume design by Dede Ayite and Rodrigo Muñoz; lighting design by Adam Honoré; sound design by Aubrey Dube; hair, wig and makeup design by J. Jared Janas)
“Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company (Scenic design by Wilson Chin; costume design by Kelsey Hunt; lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker; sound design by Palmer Hefferan)
“Witch,” Huntington Theatre Company (Scenic design by Luciana Stecconi; costume design by Chelsea Kerl; lighting design by Mary Louise Geiger; sound design by Melanie Chen Cole)
Outstanding Design for a Midsize Theater
“People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company (Scenic design by Jeffrey Petersen; costume design by Gail Astrid Buckley; lighting design by Jeff Adelberg; sound design by David Wilson; video design by Adam Stone)
“BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company (Scenic design by Jenna McFarland Lord; costume design by Cassandra Queen; lighting design by Kat C. Zhou; sound design by Anna Drummond)
“At Wit’s End,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre (Scenic design by Daniel Zimmerman; costume design by Teresa Snider-Stein; lighting design by Joel Shier; sound design by Scott Stauffer; filmmaker Kathy Wittman)
Outstanding Musical Direction
David Freeman Coleman, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Matthew Stern, “All Is Calm,” Greater Boston Stage Company
Julius LaFlamme, “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions
Outstanding Choreography
Jazelynn Goudy, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company
Peter DiMuro, “Everyday Life and Other Odds and Ends,” Sleeping Weazel, presented by ArtsEmerson
Levi Philip Marsman, “The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
This article was updated to correct the name of one of the script writers of "Black Bean Project."
