Tuesday, September 01, 2020

Ellly Nominations, 2020

Remember theater?  You know – that place where you went inside a beautiful building and sat down with a bunch of other people and watched actors perform on stage for you?  There is no theater anywhere now (not even on Broadway), but SARTA (Sacramento Area Regional Theater Association) is remembering when there was theater and announced their nominations for Elly awards on Sunday.  Despite the 100 degree heat, four SARTA board members took turns announcing this year’s nominees–in their pajamas, from a secret location.

The Woodland Opera house gathered 47 nominations.

“Jingle ARRGH the Way!” was nominated for 8 Elly awards in the Children's Theatre Productions Category:
Eva Sarry, Direction
James Glica-Hernandez, Musical Direction
Eva Sarry, Choreography
Mark Deamer, Set Design
Nikki Pendley, Lighting Design
Kevin Wenger, Sound Design
Travis Lindquist, Leading Male - Adult
Marcia Gollober, Supporting Female - Adult

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was nominated for 14 Elly Awards in the Children's Theatre Productions Category:
Woodland Opera House, Overall Production
Andrea St. Clair, Direction
Joey Vincent, Set Design
Denise Miles, Costume Design
Craig Vincent, Lighting Design
Kevin Wenger, Sound Design
Kirsten Myers, Leading Female - Adult
Amelia Robinson-Burmester, Leading Female - Youth
Patrick Jordan, Leading Male - Adult
Cullen Smith, Supporting Female - Adult
Christopher Olvera (The Child Catcher), Supporting Male - Adult
Dave Lack, Supporting Male - Adult
Gil Sebastian (The Toymaker), Supporting Male - Adult
Trevor Braskamp, Supporting Male - Adult

“I couldn't be prouder of my “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” cast/crew for ALL of our Elly Nominations!,” said Andrea St Clair.  Erin Richerson said, “I  LOVED being a part of this show. These nominations make my heart burst with pride!”

Steppin' Out was nominated for 3 Elly Awards in the Comedy Category:
Jenny Plasse, Leading Female
Denise Miles, Costume Design
Craig Vincent and Nikki Pendley, Lighting Design

Gil Sebastian, nominated for director for “Of Mice and Men” said “I have been an actor in regional theatre throughout Northern California for nearly 40 years... In that time, I have been a part of some amazing productions. I got nominated for portraying the role of the Toymaker in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” for Best Director for “Of Mice and Men,” for Set Design for “Of Mice and Men,” and for Best Overall Production of “Of Mice and Men.” I am overwhelmed and am so grateful to my “Mice and Men” cast,; many of whom were also nominated for awards. I am blessed to be a part of this amazing community.

“Of Mice and Men” was nominated for 8 Elly Awards in the Drama Category:
Woodland Opera House, Overall Production
Gil Sebastian, Direction
Angela Baltezore and Gil Sebastian, Set Design
Denise Miles, Costume Design
Craig Vincent, Lighting Design
Jason Hammond, Leading Male
Chad Fisk, Supporting Male
Paul Fern, Supporting Male

“Newsies” was nominated for 13 Elly Awards in the Musicals Category:
Woodland Opera House, Overall Production
Crissi Cairns, Direction
Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya, Choreography
James Glica-Hernandez and Jia-Min Rosendale, Musical Direction
Joey Vincent, Set Design
Denise Miles, Costume Design
Craig Vincent, Lighting Design
Grace Leekley, Leading Female
Casey Camacho, Leading Male
Ernestine Balisi, Supporting Female
Collin Robinson-Burmester, Supporting Male
Elio Gutierrez, Supporting Male
Rodger McDonald, Supporting Male

“I am delighted Woodland Opera House’s Newsies was recognized with so many Elly nominations from SARTA this year,” said James Glica-Hernandez “Newsies was a show where all the stars aligned to create a remarkable production. We were lucky to have such a consistently strong cast, crew, and director group full of talent and collegiality.”

Veronica Gersalia was nominated for an Elly Award in the Comedy, Drama or Musical Category for “Newsies”

“We are so proud of our Opera House family of actors, directors, musical directors, choreographers, and set, costume, lighting, sound, and make-up designers, and we appreciate SARTA recognizing them for their outstanding work.” says Woodland Opera House.

Brian McCann and Daniel Thatcher were nominated for their set design for Davis Musical Theater’s Youth Theater production of “The Addams Family” and Jean Henderson was nominated for her costumes for DMTC’s musical production of “Camelot.”

Named for the late Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of the Sacramento Bee, the Elly Awards celebrate excellence and the outstanding achievements of community theaters and artists in the greater Sacramento area. Created 38 years ago by local community actors, the Elly Awards have grown from a local Sacramento tradition to now include theatres within a 70-mile radius!

In honor of the 38th annual Elly Awards, SARTA will be hosting a single Virtual Elly Award Ceremony for both the Youth and Adult divisions on Sunday, September 13 at 7pm on Twitch TV. For more information, please visit www.ellyawards.com or call 916-443-8229.

These may be the last Elly Awards for awhile.