Moby-Dick Musical, Billy Porter-Helmed The Purists, More Earn 2020 Elliot Norton Award Nominations | Playbill

Awards Moby-Dick Musical, Billy Porter-Helmed The Purists, More Earn 2020 Elliot Norton Award Nominations The virtual ceremony will also present a posthumous Sustained Excellence honor to Boston stage veteran Johnny Lee Davenport.
Tom Nelis, Manik Choksi, Andrew Cristi, and Dawn L. Troupe in Moby-Dick Maria Baranova

The Boston Theater Critics Association, under the direction of President Joyce Kulhawik, has revealed the nominations for the 2020 Elliot Norton Awards. The 38th annual ceremony, set for May 11, will take place virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Among the front-runners is Dave Malloy's musical adaptation of Moby-Dick, which made its world premiere at Cambridge's American Repertory Theater last year, with seven nominations. Malloy and Tony-winning director Rachel Chavkin were both recognized for their work, which marked a reunion for the pair at the venue after collaborating on Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

The Huntington Theatre Company production of Dan McCabe's The Purists also earned seven nods, including one for its Tony-winning director, Billy Porter.

Additional artists to receive nominations include Tony winner Alice Ripley for her performance in Sunset Boulevard at North Shore Music Theatre, Kimberly Senior for her production of Sweat at the Huntington, and playwright Will Power for his Detroit Red at ArtsEmerson.

The ceremony will present a posthumous Sustained Excellence prize to Johnny Lee Davenport, a veteran Boston-based actor who died earlier this year, as well a special citation to Shear Madness, which ended its 40-year run at Charles Playhouse last month.

Outstanding Musical Production
Parade, Moonbox Productions
Moby-Dick, American Repertory Theater
Sunset Boulevard, North Shore Music Theatre
Caroline, or Change, Moonbox Productions
Pacific Overtures, Lyric Stage Company of Boston

Outstanding Production, Large Theater
The Purists, Huntington Theatre Company
Sweat, Huntington Theatre Company
Detroit Red, ArtsEmerson

Outstanding Production, Midsize Theater
Pass Over, SpeakEasy Stage Company and The Front Porch Arts Collective
The Children, SpeakEasy Stage Company
Cloud 9, The Nora
Cambodian Rock Band, Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Vanity Fair, Underground Railway Theater

Outstanding Production, Small or Fringe Company
The Return, Israeli Stage
The Stone, Arlekin Players Theatre
The Ebonic Woman, Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans
The Seagull, Arlekin Players Theatre
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Apollinaire Theatre Company

Outstanding Direction, Large Theater
Rachel Chavkin, Moby-Dick
Billy Porter, The Purists
Kimberly Senior, Sweat
Lee Sunday Evans, Detroit Red
Kevin P. Hill, Sunset Boulevard

Outstanding Direction, Midsize Theater
Lee Mikeska Gardner, Cloud 9
Benny Sato Ambush, black odyssey boston
David R. Gammons, Vanity Fair
Marti Lyons, Cambodian Rock Band
Eric Tucker, The Crucible

Outstanding Direction, Small or Fringe Theater
Jason Modica, Parade
Danielle Fauteux Jacques, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart
Igor Golyak, The Stone
Igor Golyak, The Seagull
Guy Ben-Aharon, The Return

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actor
Aaron Patterson, Parade
Nicholas Rodriguez, Sunset Boulevard
Rashed Alnuaimi, Oliver!
Tom Nelis, Moby-Dick
Peter Mill, The Rocky Horror Show

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress
Yewande Odetoyinbo, Caroline, or Change
Alice Ripley, Sunset Boulevard
Katrina Z Pavao, Little Shop of Horrors
Haley K. Clay, Parade

Outstanding Actor, Large Theater
Will LeBow, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Morocco Omari, The Purists
Eric Berryman, Detroit Red

Outstanding Actor, Midsize Theater
Nathan Malin, Admissions
Kadahj Bennett, Pass Over
Hubens “Bobby” Cius, Pipeline
Brandon Greene, black odyssey boston
Albert Park, Cambodian Rock Band

Outstanding Actor, Small or Fringe Theater
Nael Nacer, The Return
Brooks Reeves, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart
Alexander Pobutsky, Hir
Seamus G. Doyle, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Minh-Anh Day, Wolf Play

Outstanding Actress, Large Theater
Analisa Velez, The Purists
Izzie Steele, The Purists
Nora Eschenheimer, Cymbeline
Jennifer Regan, Sweat
Tyla Abercrumbie, Sweat

Outstanding Actress, Midsize Theater
Cheryl McMahon, Admissions
Paula Plum, The Children
Ireon Roach, School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play
Karen MacDonald, The Children
Debra Wise, Vanity Fair

Outstanding Actress, Small or Fringe Theater
Darya Denisova, The Stone
Anne Gottlieb, The Seagull
Lily Kaufman, Cry It Out
Becca A. Lewis, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart
Philana Mia, The Return

Outstanding Ensemble, Large Theater
Moby-Dick, American Repertory Theater
The Purists, Huntington Theatre Company
Sweat, Huntington Theatre Company
Quixote Nuevo, Huntington Theatre Company
Sunset Boulevard, North Shore Music Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble, Midsize Theater
School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play, SpeakEasy Stage Company
Cloud 9, The Nora
Choir Boy, SpeakEasy Stage Company
black odyssey boston, Underground Railway Theater and The Front Porch Arts Collective
Pipeline, The Nora and WAM Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble, Small or Fringe Theater
The Ebonic Woman, Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans
Parade, Moonbox Productions
The Seagull, Arlekin Players Theatre
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Apollinaire Theatre Company
The Stone, Arlekin Players Theatre

Outstanding New Script
The Purists by Dan McCabe
Moby-Dick by Dave Malloy
Wolf Play by Hansol Jung
The Ebonic Woman by Ryan Landry
Detroit Red by Will Power

Outstanding Design, Large Theater
Moby-Dick, American Repertory Theater
Scenic design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Brenda Abbandandolo, lighting design by Bradley King, sound design by Hidenori Nakajo, puppet design by Eric F. Avery, wig, hair and make-up design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt

Sunset Boulevard, North Shore Music Theatre
Scenic design by Kyle Dixon, costume design by Anthony Powell and Kelly Baker, lighting design by Jose Santiago, wig and hair design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt

Detroit Red, ArtsEmerson
Scenic and costume design by Adam Rigg, lighting design by Alan C. Edwards, sound design by Justin Ellington, projection design by Ari Herzig

Sweat, Huntington Theatre Company
Scenic design by Cameron Anderson, costume design by Junghyun Georgia Lee, lighting design by D.M. Wood, sound design by Pornchanok Kanchanabanca

Quixote Nuevo, Huntington Theatre Company
Scenic design by Takeshi Kata; costume design by Rachel Anne Healy; lighting design by Brian J. Lilienthal; sound design by David R. Molina

Outstanding Design, Midsize Theater
Vanity Fair, Underground Railway Theater
Scenic design by David R. Gammons; costume design by Leslie Held; lighting design by Jeff Adelberg; sound design by David Wilson; properties coordinated by Ciara McAloon

black odyssey boston, Underground Railway Theater and The Front Porch Arts Collective
Scenic design by Jon Savage, costume design by Nadine Grant, lighting design by Aja M. Jackson, sound design by Dewey Dellay, property design by Elizabeth Rocha

Cloud 9, The Nora
Scenic design by Allison Olivia Choat, costume design by Elizabeth Rocha, lighting design by Whitney Brady-Guzmán, sound design by David Bryan Jackson, property design by Stef Tivan

Pass Over, SpeakEasy Stage Company and The Front Porch Arts Collective
Scenic design by Baron E. Pugh, costume design by Chelsea Kerl, lighting design by Kathy A. Perkins, sound design by Anna Drummond

The Cake, Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Scenic design by Matt Whiton, costume design by Charles Schoonmaker, lighting design by Aja M. Jackson, sound design by Arshan Gailus

Outstanding Design, Small or Fringe Theater
Parade, Moonbox Productions
Scenic design by Lindsay Genevieve Fuori, costume design by Chelsea Kerl, lighting design by Steve Shack, sound design by Elizabeth Cahill, hair and wig design by Peter Mill

The Seagull, Arlekin Players Theatre
Scenic design by Nikolay Simonov, costume design by Nastya Bugaeva, lighting design by Jeff Adelberg

The Stone, Arlekin Players Theatre
Stage design by David R. Gammons, costume design by Nastya Bugaeva, lighting design by Jeff Adelberg, videos designed by Vladimir Gusev

Vietgone, Company One Theatre
Scenic and projection design by Izmir Ickbal costume design by Debra Kim Sivigny, lighting design by Jennifer Fok, sound design by Aubrey Dube, properties by Kelly Smith

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Apollinaire Theatre Company
Set/lighting design by Danielle Fauteux Jacques, costume design by Elizabeth Rocha, sound design by David Reiffel

Outstanding Musical Direction
Catherine Stornetta, Parade
David Freeman Coleman, Choir Boy
Dan Rodriguez, Caroline, or Change
Milton Granger, Sunset Boulevard
Or Matias, Moby-Dick

Outstanding Choreography
Yewande Odetoyinbo and Ruka White, Choir Boy
Kira Troilo, Parade
Ilyse Robbins, Swan Lake in Blue

 
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