Photo Flash: Rubicon Theatre Honored with Eight 2012 Ovation Award Nominations

Rubicon Theatre Company, Ventura County's premier professional theatre company, received eight Ovation nominations at L.A. Stage Alliance's announcement ceremony at the Renberg Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening. The complete list of Ovation nominations are as follows:

• Best Production of a Play (Large Theatre) – The Mystery of Irma Vep
• Best Lead Actor in a Play – Jamie Torcellini, The Mystery of Irma Vep
• Best Director of a Play – Jenny Sullivan, The Mystery of Irma Vep
• Best Sound Design (Large Theatre) – David Beaudry, The Mystery of Irma Vep
• Best Costume Design (Large Theatre) – Alex Jaeger, The Mystery of Irma Vep
• Best Book for an Original Musical – Cheri Steinkellner, Hello! My Baby
• Best Choreography – Lee Martino, Hello! My Baby
• Best Featured Actor in a Play – Chris Butler, Gem of the Ocean Founded in 1989, the L.A.

 

Check out photos of the nominees-some onstage in the productions-below!

Stage Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. For the 2011-2012 voting season, a total of 400 productions from 173 companie were registered. Voters are Los Angeles theatre professionals who are chosen each season by the Ovation Awards Rules Committee (through an application process). The list of nominees is determined by a tabulation of scores conducted by the entertainment accounting firm, Green Hasson Janks. This year's eligibility period for nomination ran from September 1, 2011 through August 28, 2012. The 2012 Ovation Awards ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 12, 2012 at the historic Los Angeles Theatre, 615 South Broadway, in downtown Los Angeles.

 

Says Rubicon Artistic Director James O'Neil, "We were thrilled to be nominated in multiple categories and for diverse types of work -- a historical drama by Pulitzer Prize Winner August Wilson about the African American experience in the early part of the 20th century; a wildly farcical comedy by Charles Ludlam (of Theatre of the Ridiculous); and a World Premiere musical by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Cheri Steinkellner. We are thankful to our audiences and board of directors for their incredible support of theatre that both challenges and entertains."

 

"We are also grateful to the entire staff at Rubicon," adds Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns. "We were particularly excited to receive nominations in technical categories this year – sound and costumes. We have an incredibly committed and talented artistic and production staff and this certainly speaks to their high standards."

 

In addition to the above, on September 11, it was announced that Rubicon received 17 Awards from Stage Scene L.A. for the 2011-2012 Season as follows:

• Best Production, Musical – Daddy Long Legs (at PCPA)
• Best Duo Performance – Ephie Aardema and Kevin Earley in Daddy Long Legs
• Best Ensemble Cast Performance, Musical Revue – Justine Bennett, Sylvie Davidson, Justin Flagg, Brendan Willing James, Anthony Manough, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, Jennifer Leigh Warren in Lonesome Traveler
• Best Sound Design, Musical – Jonathan Burke, Hello! My Baby and Lonesome Traveler
• Best Scenic Design – Thomas A. Giamario, Hello! My Baby and Lonesome Traveler
• Best Costume Design – Marcy Froehlich, Hello! My Baby
• Outstanding Production, Musical Revue – Lonesome Traveler (at Laguna Playhouse)
• Outstanding Direction of a Musical – BrIan McDonald, Hello! My Baby
• Outstanding Direction of a Musical Revue – James O'Neil, Lonesome Traveler
• Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor, Musical – Ciaran McCarthy, Hello! My Baby
• Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress, Musical – Evie Hutton, Hello! My Baby
• Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actor, Musical – Harley Jay, Hello! My Baby
• Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actress, Musical – Kristine Zbornik, Hello! My Baby
• Outstanding Musical Direction, Larger Theatre – Dan Wheetman, Lonesome Traveler and Lloyd Cooper, Hello! My Baby
• Choreographer of the Year – Lee Martino, Hello! My Baby
• Lighting Designer of the Year – Jeremy Pivnick, Hello! My Baby

Rubicon Theatre Company begins its 15th anniversary season Our Town/Your Theatre this fall in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. Rubicon presents a diverse mainstage series of comedies, dramas and musicals, including World Premieres, in an historic former church, built in the 1920s, at the corner of Laurel and Main. Founded by Artistic Directors Karyl Lynn Burns and James O'Neil, and administrated by the duo with CFO Patricia Baldwin, Rubicon has garnered a reputation for presenting innovative productions of classic and contemporary works and for creating a nurturing environment for artists, where exploration and experimentation are encouraged. Rubicon has been a home for many respected artists of stage and screen.

Luminaries who have graced the Rubicon stage include Bill Irwin, Larry Hagman, Michael Learned, Jack Lemmon, Ted Neeley, Hunter Parrish, Paul Provenza, Linda Purl, Joe Spano, John Ritter, Bruce Weitz, Lillias White, Stephanie Zimbalist, Bonnie Franklin, Susan Clark and many others. Company members include Joseph Fuqua and George Ball, and Jenny Sullivan serves as Artistic Associate. The final production of Rubicon's 2011-2012 Season, Private Lives, continues through September 30 at the theatre. For more about Rubicon, visit www.rubicontheatre.org.

Chris Butler (110 In The Shade on Broadway, Yellowman, Stick Fly, You Can't Take It With You) as Caesar Wilks in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. Butler is nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Photo Credit: Ed Krieger

Jenny Sullivan (Rubicon Artistic Associate, Steel Magnolias, Nazi Hunter, Simon Wiesenthal, Hamlet) is nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Director of a Play for The Mystery of Irma Vep. Photo Credit: James Scolari

Jamie Torcellini (Billy Elliot, Cats, Man of La Mancha, Beauty and the Beast) as Nicodemus Underwood and Joseph Fuqua (The Tempest, Hamlet, Doubt, All My Sons) as Jane Twisden. The Mystery of Irma Vep is nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play (Large Theatre); Jamie Torcellini is nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Lead Actor in a Play. Photo Credit: David Bazemore

Jamie Torcellini (Billy Elliot, Cats, Man of La Mancha, Beauty and the Beast) as Lady Enid Hillcrest in The Mystery of Irma Vep. Torcellini is nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Lead Actor in a Play. Photo Credit: David Bazemore

Jacob Mattison as Artie Coots, Tad Murroughs as Albie Coots, Ciara¡n McCarthy (National Tour of The Wedding Singer) as Mickey McKee, and Kristine Zbornik (9 to 5 and A Catered Affair on Broadway) as Ethel Coots in the World Premiere of Hello! My Baby. McCarthy won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical; Zbornik won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Peformance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Photo Credit: Daniel P. Lam

Ixchel Lopez as Marie, Harley Jay (Rent on Broadway) as Johnny Giovanni, Zach Johnson as Kid Vicious, Evie Hutton (National Tour of Hairspray) as Nelly Gold and Erick Paul as Dickie the Duck in the World Premiere of Hello! My Baby. Jay won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical; Hutton won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical. Photo Credit: Daniel P. Lam

Ciara¡n McCarthy (National Tour of The Wedding Singer) as Mickey McKee and Evie Hutton (National Tour of Hairspray) as Nelly Gold in the World Premiere of Hello! My Baby. McCarthy won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical; Hutton won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical. Photo Credit: Daniel P. Lam

Ciara¡n McCarthy (National Tour of The Wedding Singer) as Mickey McKee and Evie Hutton (National Tour of Hairspray) as Nelly Gold with the cast of the World Premiere of Hello! My Baby. McCarthy won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical; Hutton won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical. Photo Credit: Daniel P. Lam

Cheri Steinkellner (Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner for "Cheers,"? Tony nominee for Sister Act) is nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Book for an Original Musical for Hello! My Baby.


BrIan McDonald (Rubicon Associate Producer and Education Director, Master Harold…and the boys, Bus Stop) won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical for the World Premiere of Hello! My Baby. Photo courtesy of Rubicon Theatre

Kevin Earley (Les Miserables, Thoroughly Modern Millie, A Tale of Two Cities, Death Takes a Holiday on Broadway) as Jervis Pendleton and Ephie Aardema (A Room With A View, National Tours of Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music) as Jerusha Abbott in Daddy Long Legs. Daddy Long Legs won a Stage Scene LA Award for Best Production of a Musical; Aardema and Earley won a Stage Scene LA Award for Best Duo Performance. Photo Credit: Luis Escobar/Reflections Photography

James O'Neil (Rubicon Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Gem of the Ocean, The Tempest, Fiddler on the Roof) won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical Revue for Lonesome Traveler. Photo Credit: James Scolari

Justine Bennett (LA-based artist who has performed at The Fillmore, The Troubadour and the Hotel Cafe), Sylvie Davidson (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jane Austen's Emma, Getting Near to Baby and Great Expectations), Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper (Julius Caesar, The Prudent Wife, The Tryal and Monster Island), Justin Flagg (We the People: America Rocks!, The Devil and Tom Walker, The First Lowering and The Taming of the Shrew), Jennifer Leigh Warren (Big River on Broadway, Little Shop of Horrors, Marie Christine), Anthony Manough (Disney's The Lion King, Jesus Christ Superstar, prior Rubicon appearances include Songs for a New World and Man of La Mancha) and Brendan Willing James (shared the stage with Little Feat, Blondie, Kenny Loggins, Glen Phillips, Edwin McCain and The Young Dubliners) in Lonesome Traveler. The cast won a Stage Scene LA Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance in a Musical Revue; Lonesome Traveler won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical Revue. Photo Credit: Ed Krieger

Brendan Willing James (shared the stage with Little Feat, Blondie, Kenny Loggins, Glen Phillips, Edwin McCain and The Young Dubliners), Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper (Julius Caesar, The Prudent Wife, The Tryal and Monster Island) and Justin Flagg (We the People: America Rocks!, The Devil and Tom Walker, The First Lowering and The Taming of the Shrew) in Lonesome Traveler. The cast won a Stage Scene LA Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance in a Musical Revue; Lonesome Traveler won a Stage Scene LA Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical Revue. Photo Credit: Jeanne Tanner