WINNERS OF THE 37TH ANNUAL CARBONELL AWARDS ANNOUNCED
MALTZ JUPITER THEATRE SWEEPS MUSICAL CATEGORIES
AT ANNUAL CEREMONY
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — On Monday night, April 1, at the 37th annual Carbonell Awards, when the statuettes were all handed out, the musical numbers had concluded and the audience had left Broward Center for the Performing Arts to attend the after-party, two things could not be denied: South Florida is home to a rich, vibrant theatrical community packed with talent; and it was a good night to be the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.
Although the nominations were spread among 18 of South Florida theaters, three theaters dominated Monday night’s ceremony. Maltz Jupiter Theatre was honored with nine awards, winning every musical category, a feat that hasn’t happened in 34 years, when the Miami Beach Theatre of the Performing Arts swept the musical categories at the third annual Carbonell Awards. The awards for Maltz Jupiter Theatre were spread across three productions: The Music Man took honors for Best Musical, Best Actor/Musical, Matt Loehr; Musical Direction, Anne Shuttleworth; Choreography, Shea Sullivan; and Costume Design, Jose M. Rivera. Marcia Milgrom Dodgewon Best Director for Hello Dolly!, a production that also saw wins for Best Actress/Musical, Vicki Lewis; and Best Supporting Actor/Musical, Matt Loehr. Angie Radosh won the Best Supporting Actress/Musical award for Cabaret.
The awards in the play categories were divided between GableStage in Coral Gables and Zoetic Stage in Miami. GableStage won four awards: Best Production of a Play for the drama Ruined; Best Director, Joseph Adler; Best Actress, Lela Elam; and Best Supporting Actor, Robert Strain, all for their work in Ruined. Zoetic Stage won three awards: Best Actor, Tom Wahl in I Am My Own Wife; Best Supporting Actress, Elena Maria Garcia, for Moscow; and Best New Work,Moscow, by Michael McKeever.
Four other theaters were honored with one award each. Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs won the Best Ensemble award for Rumors. Matt Corey won Best Sound for The Birds atMosaic Theatre in Plantation. Margaret M. Ledford won Best Lighting for The Turn of the Screwat Naked Stage in Miami. And Michael Amico won Best Scenic Design for Talley’s Folly at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach.
Palm Beach County theaters earned 10 awards, followed by Miami-Dade theaters with 8 awards and Broward County theaters with 2 awards. (A full listing of the award winners follows.)
Along with honoring excellence in theater, a highlight of the annual Carbonell Awards ceremony is recognizing those who have made significant contributions to the arts.
The prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, awarded to an individual (or team) who has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region, was presented to Mario Ernesto Sanchez, founder and Producing Artistic Director of Teatro Avante and the International Hispanic Theatre Festival of Miami. Sanchez has worked with a passion to preserve, promote and develop Hispanic theater across the Americas with a major impact locally and internationally since founding Teatro Avante in 1979.
The Ruth Foreman Award, which recognizes significant contributions to South Florida theater development by an individual or group, was awarded to Actors’ Equity Association, the union that represents professional stage actors and stage managers across the U.S. Working to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of society, Actors’ Equity was honored in recognition of 100 years representing professional American theater on the occasion of their centennial.
The Carbonell Awards also awarded $1,000 scholarships to four South Florida students pursuing careers in theater or journalism: Sammi-Jack Martincak (Miami Dade County) who attends of New World School of the Arts; Christian Frost (Broward County) who attends J.P. Taravella High School; Vanessa Contreras (Palm Beach County) who attends John L. Leonard High School; and Jade Zaroff (Palm Beach County) who attends West Boca Community High School.
Generous Sponsors Help Set New Record
The Carbonell Awards, a not-for-profit organization, is funded by tax-deductible donations and award sponsorships. This year’s ceremony set a record for the most money raised in a single year. The generosity of this year’s sponsors shows a growing commitment from the community to the Carbonell Awards and their mission to advance theater in South Florida.
This 37th annual Carbonell Awards was generously supported by a leadership gift from the South Florida Cultural Consortium, Additional major support was provided by the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Actors’ Equity Association, Dr. Margaret and Mike Eidson, Rita and Jerry Cohen, Don Walters, Kerry and Scott Shiller, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, Ann Kelly, Mary Ellen and Michael Peyton, Tony Finstrom, Neil Goldberg Dream Foundation & Cirque Dreams, Esslinger Wooten Maxwell (EWM) Realty, designel, Broadway Across America, Broward Cultural Division, ArtServe, Palm Beach County Cultural Council, and the South Florida Theatre League.
About the Carbonell Awards
The Carbonell Awards fosters the artistic growth of professional theater in South Florida by celebrating the diversity of our theater artists, providing educational scholarships, and building audience appreciation and civic pride by highlighting achievements of our theater community. Over 25 professional theater companies in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties participate in the awards process every year. Each season volunteer panelists and judges choose nominees and recipients from hundreds of shows produced on our area stages. The Carbonell Awards also celebrate the accomplishments of our artistic leaders by presenting ‘Special Awards’ and support the next generation of artists and journalists by awarding scholarships. Along with New York’s Drama Desk and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Awards, the Carbonell Awards are among the nation’s senior regional arts awards and predate others, including Washington, D.C.’s Helen Hayes Awards. The Carbonell Awards are named after Manuel Carbonell, an internationally-renowned sculptor, who designed the original solid bronze and marble award in 1976, the signature trophy that is given to Carbonell Award winners.