Goodman leads pack of Jeff nominations
Twenty-four world-premiere plays and musicals are among the 2018 Equity Jeff Awards nominations announced early Tuesday.
Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the Equity Jeff Awards honor outstanding artists throughout the greater Chicago theater community. This year, 178 nominations in 31 categories recognized productions that opened between August 1, 2017, and July 31, 2018.
Leading the field of nominees this year is the Goodman Theatre, with 15 (led by productions including “Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3),” “Wolves” and “A View from the Bridge”) followed by Court Theatre with 13 (“Five Guys Named Moe,” “All My Sons,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”), Porchlight Music Theatre with 12 (“Memphis,” “Billy Elliot”), Marriott Theatre with 11 (“Ragtime,” “Murder for Two”) and 10 each for Chicago Shakespeare Theater (“Macbeth,” “The Taming of the Shrew”), Paramount Theatre (“Cabaret,” “Million Dollar Quartet”) and Victory Gardens Theater (“Fun Home,” “Lettie”).
New this year are two awards in the “ensemble” category: ensemble/play and ensemble/musical or revue. Five musicals and eight plays were nominated in their respective new categories. Also, directors’ nominations for plays and musicals are for the first time split into two categories: large and midsize productions.
The winners will be announced Oct. 22 at the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. For tickets, $65-$85) to the event and more information, visit jeffawards.org.
2018 EQUITY JEFF AWARD NOMINEES
PRODUCTION – PLAY – LARGE “All My Sons” — Court Theatre
“Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)” — Goodman Theatre
“Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner”— Court Theatre
“Macbeth”— Chicago Shakespeare Theater “A View from the Bridge”—Goodman Theatre
PRODUCTION — PLAY — MIDSIZE
“The Cake”— Rivendell Theatre Ensemble “Jitney”— Congo Square Theatre Company “Machinal”— Greenhouse Theater Center in association with North Central College “Southern Gothic” — Windy City Playhouse “Traitor”— A Red Orchid Theatre
PRODUCTION – MUSICAL OR REVUE – LARGE
“Cabaret”— Paramount Theatre
“Five Guys Named Moe”— Court Theatre “Fun Home”— Victory Gardens Theater “Million Dollar Quartet”— Paramount Theatre “Ragtime” — Marriott Theatre
PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – MIDSIZE
“Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story”— American Blues Theater
“Hair”— Mercury Theater Chicago “Memphis”— Porchlight Music Theatre
ENSEMBLE – PLAY
“Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)”— Goodman Theatre
“Jitney”— Congo Square Theatre Company “Machinal”—Greenhouse Theater Center in association with North Central College “Southern Gothic”— Windy City Playhouse “Support Group For Men”— Goodman Theatre “The Taming of the Shrew”—Chicago Shakespeare Theater
“Traitor”— A Red Orchid Theatre
“The Wolves”— Goodman Theatre
ENSEMBLE – MUSICAL OR REVUE
“Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story” – American Blues Theater
“Five Guys Named Moe”— Court Theatre “Forever Plaid”— Theatre at the Center “Hair”— Mercury Theater Chicago “Million Dollar Quartet”— Paramount Theatre
DIRECTOR — PLAY — LARGE
Dexter Bullard, “Mies Julie”— Victory Gardens Theater
Niegel Smith, “Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)”— Goodman Theatre Vanessa Stalling, “The Wolves”— Goodman Theatre
Ivo Van Hove, “A View from the Bridge”— Goodman Theatre
Chay Yew, “Lettie”— Victory Gardens Theater
DIRECTOR — PLAY — MIDSIZE
David H. Bell, “Southern Gothic”— Windy City Playhouse
Cheryl Lynn Bruce, “Jitney”— Congo Square Theatre Company
Jacob Harvey, “Machinal”— Greenhouse Theater Center in association with North Central College
Michael Shannon, “Traitor” — A Red Orchid Theatre
Lauren Shouse, “The Cake”— Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
DIRECTOR – MUSICAL OR REVUE – LARGE
Nick Bowling, “Ragtime”— Marriott Theatre Marc Bruni, “Trevor the Musical”— Writers Theatre
Gary Griffin, “Fun Home”— Victory Gardens Theater
Michael Heitzman, “42nd Street”— Drury Lane Productions
Ron OJ Parson, “Five Guys Named Moe” — Court Theatre
DIRECTOR – MUSICAL – MIDSIZE
Daryl Brooks, “Memphis”— Porchlight Music Theatre
Lili-Anne Brown, “Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story”— American Blues Theater Brenda Didie, “Hair”— Mercury Theater Chicago