Best Actress, Play
The nominees are:
Kate Alexander for Florida Studio Theatre’s Golda’s Balcony. In one of those bravura roles where a performance has to carry the show, Alexander convincingly achieved the transformation to become iconic figure Golda Meir.
Lisa Morgan for the Banyan Theater Company’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Morgan’s performance as the scandalous Mrs. Warren was appropriately hard-edged, good-natured, earthy and tender when required.
Barbara Redmond for the Banyan Theater Company’s The Retreat from Moscow. Redmond’s wrenching portrayal of an abandoned wife, stunned and bitter about the sudden change in her life, was at the heart of this smartly written play.
Julie Lachance for the FSU/Asolo Conservatory’s The Blue Window. Craig Lucas’s play demanded a sudden shift in gears from comedy to tragedy, especially in Lachance’s role as a woman struggling to recover from an unthinkable loss, and she nailed all the conflicting emotions.
Susan Greenhill for Florida Studio Theatre’s Fiction. As a smart, talented, happily married woman with personal and professional secrets, Greenhill was funny, warm and finely nuanced.
And the award goes to; Barbara Redmond for the Banyan’s The Retreat from Moscow—a riveting performance.

Best Actor, Play
The nominees are:
David S. Howard for the Asolo Rep’s Nobody Don’t Like Yogi. The perfect pairing of a real-life legend, baseball’s Yogi Berra, and actor Howard, who scored a grand slam in this funny, touching one-man show.
Juan Javier Cardenas for the FSU/Asolo Conservatory’s The Bacchae. All of the Conservatory cast deserves praise here for their skill at dealing with a contemporary concept of a Greek tragedy, but Cardenas as a charismatic, coolly calculating Dionysus was particularly memorable.
Colby Chambers for the Asolo Rep’s Amadeus. Chambers made us laugh at Mozart’s follies and feel for his losses in a performance that was uniquely his own, not borrowed from earlier well-known portrayals of the character.
Jeffrey Plunkett for Florida Studio Theatre’s Permanent Collection. In a role as a curator in the midst of controversy that became increasingly complex with every turn, Plunkett skillfully handled the curves.
Eric Miller for Florida Studio Theatre’s Stage III production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore. As a crazed killer trying to make his mark, Miller was frightening, intense and often hilarious.
And the award goes to: Sorry, guys, you were all great, but it was Howard’s turn at bat.

Best Play:
The nominees are:
The Asolo Rep’s Men of Tortuga. Bracingly sharp and satiric, this world premiere was funny, terrifying and timely in its depiction of greed and power run amok.
Florida Studio Theatre’s Permanent Collection. The FST cast caught all the subtle nuances in Thomas Gibbons’ play examining the sometimes surprising faces of racism in America today.
Florida Studio Theatre’s Stage III production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Bloody, yes, in its tale of a ruthless bunch of Irish would-be terrorists. Bloody funny, too. And thanks to FST for finally bringing prize-winning playwright Martin McDonagh’s work to town.
The Asolo Rep’s Nobody Don’t Like Yogi. Proving that you don’t need a cast of thousands to bring life to an era, Yogi was that rare breed—both a commercial hit and a critical darling. Let’s go nine more innings.
The FSU/Asolo Conservatory production of The Bacchae. Despite its ancient Greek roots, this rendering of the classic tale provided the shock of the new—in a mind-bending sort of way.
And the award goes to: It was tough to decide this one, but I’ll go with FST’s relentless The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

Best Musical
The nominees are:
The Players of Sarasota production of Miss Saigon. Yes, it was tough to fulfill the minority requirements here, but the cast was compelling in both the vocal and dramatic departments, and the show met its technical challenges, too.
The Players of Sarasota production of Nine. This adaptation of the Fellini classic 8 ½ was a brand-new experience for any local theater company, and a welcome one for the audience, with inspired singing, dancing and acting by the ensemble cast.
The Manatee Players’ Sweeney Todd. This dark, atmospheric production (which went on to win in the Southeastern Theatre Conference competition) was just about perfect, with a cast adept at both memorable characterization and the demands of the powerful Stephen Sondheim score.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s Once On This Island. A lively, colorful show that never stopped moving—and touched the heart as well.
Venice Little Theatre’s Stage II production of Into the Woods. What a treat—more Sondheim, excellently played by some of the theater community’s most talented practitioners.
The Golden Apple’s The Full Monty. Naughty, but also definitely nice, with a strong cast and an upbeat spirit.
And the award goes to: Really a tough call here—in the end, I had to go for a tie between Manatee’s Sweeney Todd and Stage II’s Into the Woods in a Sondheim vs. Sondheim faceoff.

A Few Special Awards
The “He’s There When You Need Him” Award: To the Asolo Rep’s Eberle Thomas for stepping in masterfully at the last moment when the untimely death of another actor made it necessary, especially for a crucial role in Men of Tortuga.
The “Best Family Entertainment” Award: To the Manatee Players’ engaging Seussical, for giving audiences of all ages a chance to relive Dr. Seuss memories and relate to the host of unique characters he created.
The “Up and Comer” Award: To Owen Teague, a lively and likeable presence in the Players of Sarasota production of Nine—without overdoing the cuteness factor. And to Alex Vercheski, playing a believable mix of kid and grown-up in not one but two productions of The Full Monty, at the Golden Apple and Venice Little Theatre.