Small Stages, SCR Lead Circle Nominations

Small theaters dominate the nominations for the 2001 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. But the larger South Coast Repertory led the pack in total nominations for a single company (nine) and in the special awards that were announced with the nominations Tuesday.

Four productions that were in sub-100-seat theaters garnered the most nominations for individual shows. “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” received eight, followed by “Big River” and “Orson’s Shadow” with six each, and “The Birthday Party” with five.

South Coast Rep, however, won the Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence--an honor usually given to a smaller theater. And Amy Freed won the Ted Schmitt Award for outstanding premiere script for “The Beard of Avon,” which played at South Coast Rep last summer.

The circle is made up primarily of theater writers from small publications and does not include staff members from the Los Angeles Times.

The awards will be presented in a public ceremony on April 1 at Burbank Center Stage. Information: (323) 860-6560.

The nominees and special award winners:

Production: “Big River,” Deaf West Theatre; “The Birthday Party,” Matrix Theatre; “Orson’s Shadow,” Black Dahlia Theatre; “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?,” Greenway Court Theatre.

Playwright: David Lindsay-Abaire, “Kimberly Akimbo”; Austin Pendleton, “Orson’s Shadow”; Roger Guenveur Smith, “A Huey P. Newton Story.”

Musical score: Jason Robert Brown, “Kimberly Akimbo”; Robert Lindsey Nassif, “The Flight of the Lawnchair Man” from “3hree”; Richard Rodgers & Stephen Sondheim, “Do I Hear a Waltz?”

Director: Jeff Calhoun, “Big River”; Andrew J. Robinson, “The Birthday Party”; Rick Sparks, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

Adaptation: Jeff Calhoun, “Big River”; Mark Savage, “Pinafore!”; Rick Sparks and Gary Carter, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

Musical direction: Steven Landau, “Big River”; Steve Orich, “Do I Hear a Waltz?”; John Randall, “Always ... Patsy Cline”

Lead performance: Andrew Ableson, “Orson’s Shadow”; Anthony Crivello, “Do I Hear a Waltz?”; Gretchen German, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”; Geraldine Hughes, “Orson’s Shadow”; Beth Kennedy, “A Servant to Two Masters”; Robert Machray, “Orson’s Shadow”; Maria O’Brien, “Mrs. Feuerstein”; Angela Paton, “The Birthday Party”; R. Christofer Sands, “Pinafore!”; Douglas Sills, “Much Ado About Nothing”; Armin Shimerman, “The Birthday Party”; Jeff Sugarman, “Orson’s Shadow.”

Featured performance: J. Todd Adams, “The Lonesome West”; Amy Chaffee, “The Lonesome West”; Clinton Derricks-Carroll, “Central Avenue”; Kevin Earley, “1776”; John Gallagher Jr., “Kimberly Akimbo”; Leslie Hicks, “A Little Night Music”; William Dennis Hunt, “Trelawny of the Wells”; Gregory Itzin, “The Birthday Party”; Sara Newman, “Everyday Life”; Carole Shelley, “The Circle”; Eileen T’Kaye, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

Scenic design: Patty Briles, “Two-Headed”; Ray Klausen, “Big River”; Michael C. Smith, “Trelawny of the Wells.”

Lighting design: Keith Endo, “Everyday Life”; Kathi O’Donohue, “The Night of the Iguana”; Robert L. Smith, “A Mislaid Heaven.”

Costume design: Gregg Barnes, “Flower Drum Song”; Audrey Eisner, “Everyday Life”; Shon LeBlanc, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

Sound design: DE3 of Polyrhythmic & the Collective, “Infinity”; John Epperson, “Lypsinka! The Boxed Set”; B.C. Keller, “Much Ado About Nothing.”

Choreography: Jeff Calhoun, “Big River”; Art Manke, “Much Ado About Nothing”; Rick Sparks, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

Makeup/hair/wig design: Douglas Noe, “A Servant to Two Masters”; Stephen Ratliff, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”; Michael Serrato, “Pinafore!”

Margaret Harford Award (sustained excellence): South Coast Repertory.

Angstrom Award (lifetime achievement in lighting): Kim Killingsworth.

Ted Schmitt Award (best premiere script): Amy Freed, “The Beard of Avon.”

Bob Z Award: (lifetime achievement in set design): Dwight Richard Odle.

Natalie Schafer Award: (emerging comic actress): Beth Kennedy.

Polly Warfield Award: (an excellent season in a small or mid-size theater): Pacific Resident Theatre.