Nominees Announced for the First Annual Kevin Kline Awards

Seventeen professional St. Louis theater companies are represented in the nominations for the first annual Kevin Kline Awards. Thirty-seven plays and musicals produced in the St. Louis area during 2005 now share 113 nominations in 22 different categories for the coveted new award. The nominations were announced on KWMU-FM's "St. Louis on the Air" on January 19.

"It is very reaffirming to see that the nominations cut across such a wide swath of St. Louis theater," said Steve Isom, executive director for the Professional Theater Awards Council of Greater St. Louis (PTAC), which administers the awards. "Seventeen of our 23 professional companies have received nominations. This reaffirms our belief that there is quality theater to be found throughout the area, in theaters large and small."

PTAC was formed in 2004 to heighten awareness of theater in St. Louis. During the twelve months of 2005, 79 different plays and musicals were evaluated by a floating pool of 36 judges. Each show was seen by seven judges, and each judge was required to submit his or her ballot within 24 hours of attending a production, thus insuring that each production was weighed on its own merits rather than in comparison to others.

Kevin Kline, for whom the awards are named, will return to St. Louis for the gala awards celebration on Monday, March 20, at the newly-restored Roberts Orpheum Theater (the former American Theater), to be hosted by another former St. Louisan, Jason Danieley, star of Broadway shows The Full Monty and Candide. Tickets can be purchased by calling 314-276-8165 or by going to www.kevinklineawards.org.

THE NOMINATIONS:

Outstanding Production of a Musical
Footloose (Stages St. Louis)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Hello, Dolly! (Stages St. Louis)
Man of La Mancha (Stages St. Louis)
West Side Story (The Muny)

Outstanding Production of a Play
Going to See the Elephant (Orange Girls)
The Merchant of Venice (New Jewish Theatre)
Take Me Out (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
The Tempest (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)
Valhalla (HotCity Theatre)

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Kevin Backstrom (West Side Story, The Muny)
Ron Gibbs (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Muny)
Michael Hamilton (Footloose, Stages St. Louis)
Michael Hamilton (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)
Michael Hamilton (Man of La Mancha, Stages St. Louis)
Edward Stern (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Director of a Play
Deanna Jent (Going to See the Elephant, Orange Girls)
Tom Martin (Lobby Hero, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Rob Ruggiero (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Wayne Salomon (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Spotlight Theatre)
Russell Treyz (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Outstanding Musical Direction
Lisa Campbell Albert (Man of La Mancha, Stages St. Louis)
Tim Carpenter (Crowns, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Al Fischer (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)
Kelsey Halbert (West Side Story, The Muny)
Ben Whiteley (Beauty and the Beast, The Muny)

Outstanding Choreography
Kevin Backstrom (West Side Story, The Muny)
Dana Lewis (Footloose, Stages St. Louis)
Dana Lewis (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)
Janet Watson (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Vivian Anderson-Watt and Theodore Jamison (Dancing on Air, Historyonics)

Outstanding Costume Design
Lou Bird (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)
Jennifer "JC" Carter (Dangerous Liaisons, St. Louis Shakespeare)
Michael J. McDonald (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Reggie Ray (Crowns, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Austin Sanderson (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)

Outstanding Lighting Design
Christopher Edwards (Valhalla, HotCity Theatre)
Don Guy (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)
John Lasiter (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Matthew McCarthy (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)
Matthew McCarthy (Man of La Mancha, Stages St. Louis)
Peter Sargent (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)

Outstanding Set Design
John Ezell (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Mark Halpin (Hello, Dolly!, Stages St. Louis)
Adrian W. Jones (Take Me Out, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Christopher Pickart (Lobby Hero, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis)
Christopher Pickart (The Tempest, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis)