‘Cabaret’ Tops Nominations in L.A. Ovations

The touring company of “Cabaret,” which transformed the seldom-used Wilshire Theatre into a slice of Weimar Republic night life, received nine nominations for this year’s annual Ovation Awards--more than any other production.

Nominees in 26 categories were announced at a ceremony Monday afternoon at the Coronet Theatre. The awards will be presented on Nov. 8 at La Mirada Theatre. Jason Alexander will emcee.

“Fosse” was a close runner-up with eight, followed by “Hedda Gabler” and “Summer and Smoke” with six each. “Art” and “Play On!” garnered five nominations each.

Among production companies, Center Theatre Group took 24 nominations, followed by the Geffen Playhouse with 10.

The competition in the actress categories is especially star-studded. Annette Bening (“Hedda Gabler”), Linda Lavin (“Collected Stories”), Phyllis Frelich (“Gila”) and Ruby Dee (“My One Good Nerve”) all are among nominees for best actress in a play, while Carol Burnett is nominated for best actress in a musical for “Putting It Together.”

The Ovation eligibility season was from Sept. 1, 1998, to Aug. 31, 1999, and 287 productions were registered for the competition, which is sponsored by Theatre LA, an association of more than 150 theaters and producers.

The nominees:

* Play/Larger: “Art,” produced by Center Theatre Group at the Doolittle Theatre; “Collected Stories,” Geffen Playhouse; “Enigma Variations,” Mark Taper Forum; “Hedda Gabler,” Geffen Playhouse; “My One Good Nerve: A Visit With Ruby Dee,” a Sidney, Harry, Ossie Production at Canon Theatre

* Play/Smaller: “Death of a Salesman,” Falcon Theatre; “Shiva Arms,” Eileen T’Kaye at the Coast Playhouse; “Summer and Smoke,” Fountain Theatre; “Texarkana Waltz,” Circle X Theatre at the Los Angeles Playhouse; “The Adding Machine,” Sacred Fools Theatre

* Musical/Larger: “Cabaret,” the Cabaret Company at the Wilshire Theatre; “Fosse,” Ahmanson Theatre; “Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly,” TLS-LA Productions at Coronet Theatre; “Play On!,” Pasadena Playhouse; “West Side Story,” Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center

* Musical/Smaller: “Harry Thaw Hates Everybody,” Indecent Exposure at Los Angeles Theatre Center; “Reefer Madness!,” Dead Old Men Productions/Stephanie Steele at Hudson Theatre; “Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show,” Paula Holt at Tiffany Theaters; “The Last Session,” TLS-LA Productions, Michael Alden, Kim and Ronda Espey at Tiffany Theaters; “Too Old for the Chorus,” Celebration Theatre

* Writing of a World Premiere: Craig Carlisle, “Bob Funk”; Dan Fante, “Boiler Room”; Doug Motel, “Shiva Arms”; Louis Broome, “Texarkana Waltz”; Marie Cain, Shelly Markham & Mark Winkler, “Too Old for the Chorus”

* New Translation/Adaptation: Roeg Jacob, “Enigma Variations”; Jon Robin Baitz and Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey, “Hedda Gabler”; Richard Krevolin, “King Levine”; Kevin Murphy & Dan Studney, “Reefer Madness!”; Allison Comins-Richmond, “The Cherry Orchard”

* Director/Musical: Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, “Cabaret”; Richard Maltby Jr. and Ann Reinking, “Fosse”; Laural Meade, “Harry Thaw Hates Everybody”; Mark Waldrop, “Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly”; Andy Fickman, “Reefer Madness!”

* Director/Play: Matthew Warchus, “Art”; Gene Saks, “Barrymore”; Simon Levy, “Summer and Smoke”; Allison Narver, “Texarkana Waltz”; Lauren Hollingsworth, “The Adding Machine”

* Leading Actor/Play: Joe Sears, “A Tuna Christmas”; Alfred Molina, “Art”; Christopher Plummer, “Barrymore”; Michael Leydon Campbell, “Bob Funk”; Doug Motel, “Shiva Arms”

* Leading Actress/Play: Linda Lavin, “Collected Stories”; Phyllis Frelich, “Gila”; Annette Bening, “Hedda Gabler”; Ruby Dee, “My One Good Nerve: A Visit With Ruby Dee”; Tracy Middendorf, “Summer and Smoke”

* Leading Actor/Musical: Michael K. Lee, “Beijing Spring”; Norbert Leo Butz, “Cabaret”; John Barrowman, “Putting It Together”; Bob Simon, “Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show”; Bob Stillman, “The Last Session”

* Leading Actress/Musical: Carolee Carmello, “Bells Are Ringing”; Carol Burnett, “Putting It Together”; Susan Egan, “Putting It Together”; Taewon Yi Kim, “The Last Empress”; Wonjung Kim, “The Last Empress”

* Featured Actor/Play: Mueen Ahmad, “Asylum”; Geoffrey Rivas, “Fool for Love”; Byron Jennings, “Hedda Gabler”; Paul Benedict, “Hughie”; K.C. O’Neill, “Profit”

* Featured Actress/Play: Dorie Barton, “Die! Mommy! Die!”; Lee Garlington, “Risk Everything/Problem Child”; Elizabeth Cava, “The Clairvoyant”; Jennifer Griffin, “The Elektra Fugues”; Robin Bartlett, “The Old Neighborhood”

* Featured Actor/Musical: Desmond Richardson, “Fosse”; Chad Borden, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”; Richard Allen, “Play On!”; Kevin Ramsey, “Play On!”; Joel Traywick, “The Last Session”

* Featured Actress/Musical: Barbara Andres, “Cabaret”; Elizabeth Parkinson, “Fosse”; Yvette Cason, “Play On!”; Jennifer Leigh Warren, “Starr Struck: A Musical Investigation”; Michele Mais, “The Last Session”

* Ensemble Performance: casts of “Four Roses,” “Harry Thaw Hates Everybody,” “Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly,” “Reefer Madness!,” “The Boys Next Door,” Hollywood Court Theatre

* Set Design/Larger: Mark Thompson, “Art”; Robert Brill, “Cabaret”; John Arnone, “Collected Stories”; Ming Cho Lee, “Enigma Variations”; Riccardo Hernandez, “Hedda Gabler”

* Set Design/Smaller: Steve Mitchell, “Broadway”; Bob Steinberg, “Gila”; Gary Smoot, “Texarkana Waltz”; Kris Sandheinrich, “The Illusion”; Sharon Rubin, “Wet Weather Cover”

* Costume Design/Larger: William Ivey Long, “Cabaret”; Santo Loquasto, “Fosse”; Dunya Ramicova, “Hedda Gabler”; Howard Crabtree, “Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly”; Mariana Elliott, “Play On!”

* Costume Design/Smaller: Salvatore Salamone, “Broadway”; Dione H. Lebhar, Ronald Case and Michael Bottari, “Die! Mommy! Die!”; Dick Magnanti, “Reefer Madness!”; Jeanne Reith, “Summer and Smoke”; Karen Zeunert, “The Illusion”

* Lighting Design/Larger: Hugh Vanstone, “Art”; Mike Baldassari and Peggy Eisenhauer, “Cabaret”; Robert Wierzel, “Enigma Variations”; Andrew Bridge, “Fosse”; Hyung O Choi, “The Last Empress”

* Lighting Design/Smaller: Kris Sandheinrich, “Broadway”; Ken Booth, “Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show”; Kathi O’Donohue, “Summer and Smoke”; Brian Schulte, “The Adding Machine”; David Hahn, “The Illusion”

* Sound Design/Larger: Brian Ronan, “Cabaret”; John Zalewski, “Fool for Love”; Jonathan Deans, “Fosse”; Jon Gottlieb, “Hughie”; Ki Young Kim, “The Last Empress”

* Sound Design/Smaller: Paul James, “Foot/Mouth”; John Zalewski, “Harry Thaw Hates Everybody”; John Zalewski, “One Flea Spare”; Peter Stenshoel, “Summer and Smoke”; John Zalewski, “The Inspector General”

* Choreography: Rob Marshall, “Cabaret”; Bob Fosse and Ann Reinking, “Fosse”; Keith Cromwell, “Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly”; Michael Goorjian, “Reefer Madness!”; Sha Newman, “West Side Story”