Buffalo Rising Online

May 24th 2007, 2:19pm By Tom Dooney

Nominations have been announced for the 2007 Artie Awards, the annual honors for this region's professional theaters, performers and stage designers. The announcement was made on May 21, at popular watering hole Q, on Allen Street, a hang-out for local actors and home to a Monday evening Broadway show tune karaoke.

The announcement was made by Anthony Chase, theater editor of the weekly newspaper and founder of the awards, along with Lisa Ludwig, popular actress and frequent host of the awards presentation.

The Artie Awards will be presented at the Town Ballroom on Monday, evening, June 4, 2007. The doors open at 7:30 and the ceremony begins at 8 PM. The event will be hosted by Mr. Chase, actor Norm Sham and Loraine O’Donnell, actress and one of the hosts of WKBW Channel 7's "PM Buffalo."

In addition to honoring local theater and theatrical artists, the Arties are an important annual fundraiser for programs providing care, treatment and service to the local AIDS Community. Over the course of the Arties sixteen years history, many thousands of dollars have been donated to several different AIDS charities. This year's awards presentation will benefit for Benedict House, a residence and support service for individuals living with AIDS.

These nominations and honors were made from a crop of almost a hundred professional theatrical productions, comic, dramatic and musical, produced in Buffalo from, roughly mid-May 2006 to mid-May 2007. To be eligible for an Artie, an artist must live and work in the Buffalo area, a theater must produce work locally, primarily with local artists.

In addition to the categories listed below, the Arties include the Katharine Cornell Awards, given to visiting artists for outstanding contributions to the theater season.

This year, Katharine Cornell Awards will be presented to playwright Tom Fontana for his play The Fourth Wise Man (produced by Studio Arena Theatre), actress Lele Frechette for her performance in Late Night Catechism (Shea’s Smith Theatre) to Gin Hammond for her performance in The Syringa Tree (Studio Arena Theatre), lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr., and composer David Shire for A Time for Love (Studio Arena Theatre) and Mara Nemanis for her performance in Air Heart (Alleyway Theatre).

In addition, Citations of Excellence will be given to the Buffalo Infringement Festival for supporting a breadth of new performance and independent production in Buffalo; and to the Buffalo Central Terminal for welcoming theater, proving that including theater and the arts as part of its renewal plans brings exponential vitality to a renovated site. To spectacular effect, Torn Space productions produced their site specific original script Terminus, at the Central Terminal. Terminus has been nominated for five Arties for design and production as well as for Outstanding New Play.

2007 ARTIE AWARD NOMINATIONS

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY The Glass Menagerie, Kavinoky Theatre Love! Valour! Compassion!, Buffalo United Artists Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme, Irish Classical Theatre The Sisters Rosensweig, Jewish Repertory Theatre Terminus, Torn Space

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL Familiar Strangers, MusicalFare Junie B. Jones, Theatre of Youth A Man Of No Importance, Irish Classical Theatre Musical Of Musicals, O’Connell & Company Reefer Madness, Alleyway Theatre

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Louis Colaiacovo / The Tricky Part Jimmy Janowski / Die, Mommie, Die Carl Kowalkowski / Endgame Gerry Maher / Talking Heads, A Chip in the Sugar Brendan Powers / Observe the Sons of Ulster…

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY Greg Natale, The Sisters Rosensweig Vincent O'Neill, Endgame Dan Shanahan, Terminus Chris Standart, Hurlyburly Robert Waterhouse, Metamorphosis

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A PLAY Double Dyke Drama, Buffalo United Artists presents The Brazen-Faced Varlets Endgame, Torn Space Love! Valour! Compassion!, Buffalo United Artists Metamorphosis, New Phoenix Theatre Observe the Sons of Ulster…, Irish Classical Theatre

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL Randall Kramer, Tick Tick Boom Roger Paolini, Musical of Musicals Brother Augustine Towey, A Man of No Importance Michael Walline, Familiar Strangers Todd Warfield, Reefer Madness

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A MUSICAL Buffalo Zings! 2, O’Connell & Company Musical Of Musicals, O’Connell & Company Reefer Madness, Alleyway Theatre Tick, Tick... Boom, MusicalFare Unholy Trinity, Alleway Theatre

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY John Joy, Endgame Tim Klein, Love! Valour! Compassion! Ozzie Lumpkin, Mule Bone Eric Rawski, Love! Valour! Compassion! Michael Votta, Hurlyburly

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY Jeanne Cairns / Talking Heads, Waiting for the Telegram Josephine Hogan, The Birthday Party Kelli Bocock Natale, The Sisters Rosensweig Christina Rausa, The War Room Kathleen Betsko Yale, The Witches

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY Kelly Beuth, Ramona & Juliet Caitlin Coleman, Based on a Totally True Story Ellen Horst, Enchanted April Leah Russo, The Birthday Party Linda Stein, Hurlyburly

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Louis Colaiacovo, Tick Tick Boom John Fredo, Rainbow Journey Chris Handley, Reefer Madness Brian Riggs, A Man of No Importance Norm Sham, A Funny Thing Happened…

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Mary Craig, Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues Terrie George, Familiar Strangers Pamela Rose Mangus, Musical of Musicals Loraine O'Donnell, Familiar Strangers Jen Stafford, Musical of Musicals

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Todd Benzin, Sisters of Swing Jeff Coyle, A Funny Thing Happened… Chris Critelli, A Man of No Importance Tim Newell, A Funny Thing Happened … Tom Owen, Lost in Hollywoodland

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Stephanie Bax, Reefer Madness Nicole Marale Cimato, Junie B. Jones Kelli Bocock-Natale, A Man of No Importance Colleen Marcello, Starting Here Starting Now Kim Piazza, Lost in Hollywoodland

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY John Fredo, Leader of the Pack Carlos Jones, Reefer Madness Michael Walline, Familiar Strangers Kathy Weese, Tick Tick Boom Doug Weyand, Sisters of Swing

OUTSTANDING NEW PLAY The Best Woman, Gary Earl Ross Familiar Strangers, Michael J. Walline Memory Garden, Rebecca Ritchie Terminus, Dan Shanahan The War Room, Darryl Schneider

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN David King, The Glass Menagerie Aaron Miller, Terminus Neal Radice, Reefer MadnessChris Schenk, Familiar Strangers Ken Shaw, The Giver

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN Brian Cavanagh, The Glass Menagerie Chris Cavanagh, Familiar Strangers Melissa Meola, Terminus Neal Radice, Reefer Madness Kurt Schneiderman, Metamorphosis

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN Jenipher Gurney, Enchanted April Tessa Lew, A Man of No Importance Donna Massimo, Love's Labours Lost Ken Shaw, The Giver Todd Warfield, Reefer Madness

Monday, June 4, Doors at 7:30PM and ceremony at 8 PM Town Ballroom 681 Main, 14203, 852.3900