SCR Leads in Critic Award Nominations : Stage: Orange County theater is a candidate for 10 citations; LATC and Mark Taper also do well.

South Coast Repertory, the Los Angeles Theatre Center and the Mark Taper Forum have bagged the largest number of nominations for the 21st annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards for outstanding work in 1989.

South Coast Rep, the big winner for the last two years (for “Misalliance” in 1987 and “The Crucible” in 1988), again came out at the top of the list with 10 nominations for five 1989 productions, while LATC drew nine for six shows.

The Mark Taper Forum’s eight nominations for “Stand-Up Tragedy” are the most garnered by any one play. It is contending for a production award with the West Coast Ensemble’s “Cloud Nine,” LATC’s “The Marriage of Bette and Boo” and the “The Phantom of the Opera,” at the Ahmanson.

Two non-category awards were announced. The Margaret Harford Award is going to the Back Alley Theatre, which has given up its Van Nuys theater base and is active in name only. It was cited for “12 years of provocative new plays.”

A special award will go to the Los Angeles company of “Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding” for “reviving the old-fashioned idea of happenings and having some fun with it.”

The Drama Critics Circle recognizes distinguished achievement in the theater and does not designate “bests” or “winners,” so there can be multiple recipients (or none) in any given category. Awards will be presented April 8. The nominees:

Production: “Cloud Nine,” produced by West Coast Ensemble in association with Singular Productions, at West Coast Ensemble; “The Marriage of Bette and Boo,” produced by Bill Bushnell and Diane White for the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC); “The Phantom of the Opera,” produced by Cameron Mackintosh and the Really Useful Theatre Company, at the Ahmanson Theatre; “Stand-Up Tragedy,” produced by Gordon Davidson/Robert Egan for the Mark Taper Forum.

Direction: David Emmes, “You Never Can Tell” (South Coast Repertory); Dennis Erdman, “The Marriage of Bette and Boo”; Arthur Laurents, “Gypsy” (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion); Allison Liddi, “Cloud Nine”; Ron Link, “Stand-Up Tragedy”; Harold Prince, “The Phantom of the Opera”; Lee Shallat, “Wenceslas Square,” Matrix Theatre.

Writing: Bill Cain, “Stand-Up Tragedy”; John Olive, “The Voice of the Prairie” (Back Alley Theatre); Larry Shue, “Wenceslas Square”; Alfred Uhry, “Driving Miss Daisy” (Henry Fonda Theatre).

Lead Performance: Raymond J. Barry, “Once in Doubt,” (LATC); Roscoe Lee Browne, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” (LATC); Jack Coleman, “Stand-Up Tragedy”; Michael Crawford, “The Phantom of the Opera”; Tyne Daly, “Gypsy”; Michael Delorenzo, “Stand-Up Tragedy”; Christine Ebersole, “The Marriage of Bette and Boo”; Julie Harris, “Driving Miss Daisy”; Cleo Laine, “Into the Woods” (Ahmanson Theatre); John Lithgow, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (CTG/Ahmanson at the Doolittle); Robert Machray, “The Boys Next Door” (Pasadena Playhouse); Jonathan McMurtry, “Breaking the Code” (SCR); Deirdre O’Connell, “Three Ways Home” (LATC); Joe Spano, “American Buffalo” (Gnu Theatre); Joe Spano, “A Chorus of Disapproval” (SCR).

Featured Performance: Raymond Cruz, “Buck” (Heliotrope Theatre); Dan Gerrity, “Stand-Up Tragedy”; I.M. Hobson, “You Never Can Tell”; Nancy Lenehan, “Wenceslas Square”; Alan Mandell, “The Road to Mecca” (SCR); Cynthia Nixon, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; Tom Waits, “Demon Wine” (LATC).

Ensemble Performance: “Cloud Nine.”

Scenic Design: Maria Bjornson, “The Phantom of the Opera”; Michael Devine, “The Road to Mecca”; Cliff Faulkner, “You Never Can Tell”; Carl Toms, “Hapgood,” CTG/Doolittle.

Lighting Design: Andrew Bridge, “The Phantom of the Opera”; Michael Gilliam, “Stand-Up Tragedy”; Paulie Jenkins, “The Road to Mecca”; Peter Maradudin, “You Never Can Tell”; Marianne Schneller, “Demon Wine.”

Costume Design: Maria Bjornson, “The Phantom of the Opera”; Ann Hould-Ward, “Into the Woods”; Michelle Robinson, “Cloud Nine”; Shigeru Yaji, “You Never Can Tell.”

Sound Design: Jon Gottlieb, “Minimata” (LATC); Brian Ronan, “The Blue Dahlia” (Court Theatre); Jerry Sider, “The Voice of the Prairie.”

Choreography: Shabba-Doo, “Stand-Up Tragedy”; Ronald Young, “Stepping Out” (Pasadena Playhouse).

Musical Direction: Roger Cantrell, “The Phantom of the Opera”; Eric Stern, “Gypsy.”

Original Musical Score: Stephen Sondheim, “Into the Woods.”