Theater -- Performances To Celebrate
On Seattle stages, 1992 was not, by and large, a year of great artistic risks taken or major creative strides made. Still there were performances and productions to celebrate. Some of the highs and lows are singled out here for our new Footlight Awards.
FOOTLIGHT AWARDS FOR LOCAL DRAMA
Top play productions: "Revengers' Comedies" (A Contemporary Theatre); "Inspecting Carol" (Seattle Repertory Theatre); "Shadowlands" (ACT), "Spunk" (Seattle Rep), "Love's Labours Lost" (Bathhouse Theatre); "The Good Times Are Killing Me" (Seattle Rep); "Fatty Arbuckle Spookhouse Revue" (Annex Theatre).
Best new play premiere: "Dark Rapture" by Eric Overmyer (Empty Space Theatre).
Kinky pleasures: Gender-bent productions of "Grease" (Alice B. Theatre) and "Belle Reprieve" (Split Britches/Bloolips); "Lippanzer Stallions on Ice" (Annex Theatre), country music spoof "The Spudds" (Cabaret de Paris).
Family treasures: "Dr. Doolittle in the Moon" (Seattle Children's Theatre); "Peter Pan" (Intiman Theatre), puppeteer Yang Feng (Children's Theatre Festival); "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" (Seattle Children's Theater); "A Legend of St. Nicholas" (Bathhouse Theatre).
Disappointments: "Catherine" (Intiman), "Nannerl" (On the Boards), "Warrior" (Intiman), "The Redwood Curtain" (Seattle Rep), "When We Are Married" (Seattle Rep).
Best musical revivals: "Big River" (Village Theatre), "Into the Woods" (Civic Light Opera).
Worst musical revival: "West Side Story" (5th Avenue Theatre).
Best touring musical: "Grand Hotel" (Best of Broadway series).
Worst touring musical: "Meet Me in St. Louis" (Best of Broadway).
Most over-rated but visually splendiferous touring mega-musical: "Phantom of the Opera."
New musical disappointment: "Funny Pages" (Village).
Welcome solo visitors: Anne Galjour in "Krewe of Neptune" (Fremont Palace); Corey Fischer in "Sometimes We Need a Story More Than Food" (Bathhouse); Fred Curchack in "What Fools These Mortals Be" (Fremont Palace); John Kelly in "Divine Promiscue" (at On the Boards).
The kids are all right: Run Remain in "Sit Still" (Fremont Palace).
Seattle innovator: Warner Blake, director of Puppetsoup.
Visiting innovator: Bill Irwin, in a workshop of "Mr. Fox" (Seattle Rep).
Bravura acting: Michael Winters, Barbara Dirickson in "Shadowlands" (ACT); Suzanne Bouchard, Bob Wright, Larry Ballard in "Revengers' Comedies" (ACT); Kathryn Mesney, Andrew De Rycke in "Dear Miss Elena" (Group Theatre); Ken Ruta in "Peter Pan" (Intiman); Michael Ornstein in "The Substance of Fire" (Seattle Rep); Jonathan Adams in "Julius Caesar" (Seattle Rep).
Bravo ensemble acting: "Inspecting Carol" (Seattle Rep); "Dark Rapture" (Empty Space), "Spunk" (Seattle Rep).
Young actors to watch: Leslie Law ("Revengers' Comedies," "Quartet"), Reiko Aylesworth ("Peter Pan"), Felicia Loud ("The Good Times Are Killing Me"), Jason Collins and Terence Kelley ("Big River").
Best memory: Brian Faker in Wally Shawn's loquacious solo play, "The Fever" (New City Theatre).
Design achievements: Michael Olich, set for "Spunk"; Yuriko Uematsu, set for "Voices of Christmas" (Group); Karen Gjelsteen and David Zinn, set and costumes for "Peter Pan" (Intiman); Andrei Both, set for "Julius Caesar"; Rex Carleton, set for "Meetings" (Group); Sherry Lyon and Kathryn Raske, costumes and set for "Love's Labours Lost" (Bathhouse).
Political flashpoints: Israeli-Palestinian tensions in"Abraham's Land" (New Image Theatre); liberal guilt and responsibility in "The Fever."
Good guy/gal awards: Organizers of Audiences for AIDS fundraiser; Seattle Fringe Festival and New City Theatre, for giving young artists a platform; David Mendoza of the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression, for fighting arts funding censorship.
Bad gal award: Anne-Imelda Radice, acting director of the National Endowment for the Arts, for refusing to uphold grants approved by NEA panels.
Most consistently interesting fringe theater: Annex.
Resident theater most in need of literary management: Intiman.
Fringe theater most in need of literary management: Annex.
Best theater concession stand: ACT.
Best opening nights: Annex.
Nine lives award: Empty Space.