The Jeff Awards nominations predict the future of Chicago theater
Purportedly honoring the best in local theater, The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee has announced its nominations for outstanding Equity theater productions for the 2008-2009 season. And after studying the list, The A.V. Club noticed some intriguing patterns; expect to see these trends in full force next year from awards-hungry companies.
Trend #1: Expect more premières.
For the second consecutive year, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for theater made its debut in Chicago, with this year going to Lynn Nottage's Ruined at Goodman Theatre, a politically charged drama set in a Congolese brothel. The Midwest premières of The History Boys, Caroline, Or Change, The Seafarer, and Blackbird all received multiple nominations, and each proved to be a blockbuster success for its respective theater. So it has been written.
For the second consecutive year, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for theater made its debut in Chicago, with this year going to Lynn Nottage's Ruined at Goodman Theatre, a politically charged drama set in a Congolese brothel. The Midwest premières of The History Boys, Caroline, Or Change, The Seafarer, and Blackbird all received multiple nominations, and each proved to be a blockbuster success for its respective theater. So it has been written.
Trend #2: Relevancy.
"Ripped from the headlines" isn't just for Law & Order anymore. The aforementioned Ruined and Next Theatre's The Overwhelming both used war-torn Africa as the setting for moral drama, and both are nominated for Best Play in their respective size categories. Victory Garden's controversial two-person sexual-abuse drama, Blackbird, gained nominations for actors Mattie Hawkinson and CSI's William L. Petersen. Caroline, Or Change—a musical about race relations during the Civil Rights movement—greatly benefited from debuting in a time and place when Martin Luther King's dream was seeing fruition: Hyde Park in the fall of 2008, home to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.
"Ripped from the headlines" isn't just for Law & Order anymore. The aforementioned Ruined and Next Theatre's The Overwhelming both used war-torn Africa as the setting for moral drama, and both are nominated for Best Play in their respective size categories. Victory Garden's controversial two-person sexual-abuse drama, Blackbird, gained nominations for actors Mattie Hawkinson and CSI's William L. Petersen. Caroline, Or Change—a musical about race relations during the Civil Rights movement—greatly benefited from debuting in a time and place when Martin Luther King's dream was seeing fruition: Hyde Park in the fall of 2008, home to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Trend #3: Staging risk equals reward.
Chicago Shakespeare's The Troublesome Reign And Lamentable Death Of King Edward II and Twelfth Night both garnered multiple nominations by approaching the plays from unorthodox perspectives. Edward II featured promenade staging, with the audience sharing the same space as the actors, creating a tense atmosphere where the action was at times only inches away. Twelfth Night, set on a pier complete with a 7,000-gallon pool, had the actors soaked from head to toe. The risk of amped-up sexuality and overt political parallels failed to pay off for Macbeth, though, which garnered no nominations. So, in short: Weird staging good; uncomfortable themes not so good.
Chicago Shakespeare's The Troublesome Reign And Lamentable Death Of King Edward II and Twelfth Night both garnered multiple nominations by approaching the plays from unorthodox perspectives. Edward II featured promenade staging, with the audience sharing the same space as the actors, creating a tense atmosphere where the action was at times only inches away. Twelfth Night, set on a pier complete with a 7,000-gallon pool, had the actors soaked from head to toe. The risk of amped-up sexuality and overt political parallels failed to pay off for Macbeth, though, which garnered no nominations. So, in short: Weird staging good; uncomfortable themes not so good.
Trend #4: More musicals in the suburbs.
Suburban theaters tend to steer clear of straight plays in favor of large-scale musicals because, quite simply, they fill seats. Drury Lane Oakbrook and Marriot Theatre Lincolnshire raked in the musical nominations for productions of The Boys From Syracuse, Miss Saigon, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Chicago's resident musical theater renaissance man David H. Bell gained four nominations for his work directing, choreographing, and writing for musicals in the suburbs. Although it means shelling out for gas or a Metra ticket, the suburbs continue to be home to some of the best musical theater in the area. Or so the Jeff awards foretell.
Suburban theaters tend to steer clear of straight plays in favor of large-scale musicals because, quite simply, they fill seats. Drury Lane Oakbrook and Marriot Theatre Lincolnshire raked in the musical nominations for productions of The Boys From Syracuse, Miss Saigon, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Chicago's resident musical theater renaissance man David H. Bell gained four nominations for his work directing, choreographing, and writing for musicals in the suburbs. Although it means shelling out for gas or a Metra ticket, the suburbs continue to be home to some of the best musical theater in the area. Or so the Jeff awards foretell.
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