2020 Jeff Awards- Equity

This has been a crazy year. Theater in Chicago, for the most part became dormant with the rise of Covid-19. Since March, many of our theater’s have been inactive with the exception of some streaming and outdoor activities. Tonight we paid tribute to the theater of the latter part of 2019 and the start of the promising year of 2020. It was far different than years of the past. We were at home, drink in hand, watching the lovely and very talented Michelle Lauto as hostess. She was terrific ( as always) and a three hour-to four hour evening became a 90 minute show ( all the acceptance speeches were missing) and the numbers and scenes from each production were somewhat limited , albeit, terrific.

The show was wonderful and for the theater audiences of Chicago, they could enjoy seeing the highlights of the wonderful season we almost had last  year

The 2020 Equity award recipients are:
Production – Play (Large)
• “King Hedley II” – Court Theatre
Production – Play (Midsize)
• “The Boys in the Band” – Windy City Playhouse
Production – Musical or Revue (Large)
• “An American in Paris” – Drury Lane Productions
Production – Musical or Revue (Midsize)
• “Monty Python’s Spamalot” – Mercury Theater Chicago
Ensemble – Play
• “The Boys in the Band” – Windy City Playhouse
• “The Leopard Play, or Sad Songs for Lost Boys” – Steep Theatre Company
Ensemble – Musical or Revue
• “Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies” – Porchlight Music Theatre

New Work
• Lee Edward Colston II – “The First Deep Breath” – Victory Gardens Theater
• Levi Holloway – “Grey House” – A Red Orchid Theatre
• Loy A. Webb – “His Shadow: A Parable” – 16th Street Theater
Director – Play (Large)
• Wardell Julius Clark – “Kill Move Paradise” – TimeLine Theatre Company
Director – Play (Midsize)
• Carl Menninger – “The Boys in the Band” – Windy City Playhouse
Director – Musical or Revue (Large)
• Lili-Anne Brown – “The Color Purple” – Drury Lane Productions
Director – Musical or Revue (Midsize)
• L. Walter Stearns – “Monty Python’s Spamalot” – Mercury Theater Chicago
Performer in a Principal Role – Play
• Carrie Coon (Agnes White) – “Bug” – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
• Kelvin Roston, Jr. (Hedley) – “King Hedley II” – Court Theatre
Performer in a Principal Role – Musical
• Josh Drake (Jerry Mulligan) – “An American in Paris” – Drury Lane Productions
• Eben K. Logan (Celie) – “The Color Purple” – Drury Lane Productions
Solo Performance
• Rebecca Spence (Narrator) – “Every Brilliant Thing” – Windy City Playhouse
Performer in a Revue
• Lorenzo Rush, Jr. (The Raconteur) – “Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies” – Porchlight Music Theatre
Performer in a Supporting Role – Play
• Deanna Reed-Foster (Pearl Thomas) – “The First Deep Breath” – Victory Gardens Theater
• A.C. Smith (Elmore) – “King Hedley II” – Court Theatre
Performer in a Supporting Role – Musical
• Skyler Adams (Adam Hochberg) – “An American in Paris” – Drury Lane Productions
• Nicole Michelle Haskins (Sofia) – “The Color Purple” – Drury Lane Productions
Scenic Design – Large
• Takeshi Kata – “Bug” – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Scenic Design – Midsize
• William Boles – “The Boys in the Band” – Windy City Playhouse
• Joe Schermoly – “The Gulf” – About Face Theatre
Costume Design – Large
• Theresa Ham – “Beauty and the Beast” – Paramount Theatre
Costume Design – Midsize
• Kristy Leigh Hall – “Howards End” – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Sound Design – Large
• Mikhail Fiksel – “Dana H.” – Goodman Theatre
Sound Design – Midsize
• Jeffrey Levin – “Grey House” – A Red Orchid Theatre
Lighting Design – Large
• Heather Gilbert – “Bug” – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Lighting Design – Midsize
• Mike Durst – “Grey House” – A Red Orchid Theatre
Choreography
• Lynne Kurdziel-Formato – “An American in Paris” – Drury Lane Productions
Original Music in a Play
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo – “Lindiwe” – Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Musical Direction
• Jermaine Hill – “Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies” – Porchlight Music Theatre
Projection Design
• Kevan Loney – “An American in Paris” – Drury Lane Productions
Artistic Specialization
• Breon Arzell (Movement Choreographer) – “Kill Move Paradise” – TimeLine Theatre Company
• Steve Cuiffo (Illusion and Lip Sync Consultant) – “Dana H.” – Goodman Theatre
By Company with multiple nominations:
• Drury Lane Productions – 8
• Windy City Playhouse – 5
• Steppenwolf Theatre Company – 4
• A Red Orchid Theatre – 3
• Court Theatre – 3
• Porchlight Music Theatre – 3
• Goodman Theatre – 2
• Mercury Theater Chicago – 2
• TimeLine Theatre Company – 2
• Victory Gardens Theater – 2
By Productions with multiple awards:
• “An American in Paris” – 5
• “The Boys in the Band” – 4
• “Bug” – 3

-2020 Honor Roll Awards
In addition to the traditional Jeff Awards, six Chicago-based organizations that have made extraordinary efforts to support the arts and artists during the pandemic were recognized. The Jeff Awards Honor Roll spotlights the work of groups in 2020 which have taken their passion for Chicago theater to another level to ensure the arts community survives and thrives. They are:
• League of Chicago Theatres
• The Arts for Illinois Relief Fund – administered by Arts Alliance Illinois in partnership with 3Arts and Arts Work Fund
• Chicago Theatre Relief Fund – developed by the League of Chicago Theatres and seeded with a generous grant from the Saints
• Season of Concern
• The Chicago Theatre Bike Ride
• The Show Will Go On! – A Youth Benefit Concert to Support Chicago Theatres