DayTony/Hall of Fame gala salutes season’s best

Actors, directors, designers recognized.

The 14th annual DayTony Awards and 16th annual Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame induction was held Saturday, July 29 at Sinclair Community College.

The gala recognized the 201617 theater season achievements of actors, directors and designers as voted on by participating theaters.

Here are some of the top honors:

THEATER GROUPS

The nine organizations that received medallions of excellence and/or merit were: Beavercreek Community Theatre (BCT), Dare 2 Defy Productions (D2D), Dayton Playhouse (DP), Dayton Theatre Guild (DTG), Lebanon Theatre Company (LTC), Magnolia Theatre Company (MTC), Playhouse South (PS), Troy Civic Theatre (TCT), and Xenia Area Community Theatre (XACT).

BEST SHOWS

Five shows shared top honors as Outstanding Overall Production: “Foxfire,” (BCT), “Gidion’s Knot” (MTC), “Eating Raoul” (BCT), “The Elephant Man” (DTG), and “The Last Lifeboat” (DTG). The shows deemed Best of the

Season from each respective theatre were: “Foxfire” (BCT), “Children of Eden” (D2D), “The Elephant Man” (DTG), “Crimes of the Heart” (LTC), “Gidion’s Knot” (MTC), “She Kills Monsters” (PS), “Things My Mother Taught Me” (TCT), “Proposals” (DP), and “The Great Gatsby” (XACT).

“I’m proud to be a part of this theatre community,” said Debra Strauss, DayTony President and Mistress of Ceremonies. “It was a wonderful season from heartbreaking drama to roll-on-thefloor comedies.”

IN MEMORY

Also, a lovely memorial tribute narrated by DayTony Vice President Saul Caplan saluted the legacies of arts patron Noel Vaughn and actresses Stefanie Pratt and Terry Lupp.

HALL OF FAME

In addition, actress/director Jennifer Lockwood, costumer Gerri Nichols and actress/director Sheila Ramsey were respectively inducted into the Hall of Fame by Dodie Lockwood, Niccole Amersdorfer and Michael Lippert. The Hall of Fame was created to honor local theater artists and arts patrons whose lifelong participation, innovation and creativity have influenced the Dayton arts culture. The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have dedicated themselves to the cause of theater arts in Dayton or have made a significant impact on Dayton’s theater community.

Lockwood, who made her Dayton Playhouse debut at the age of seven in “The Wizard of Oz,” has directed numerous plays including “The Interview,” “The Miracle Worker,” “Deathtrap” and “The Diary of Anne Frank.” She will stage “A Few Good Men” for the Playhouse next season. She

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY CRAIG ROBERTS Patrick Hayes (left) and Jared Mola are shown in the Dayton Theatre Guild’s production of “The Elephant Man,” one of five shows deemed Outstanding Overall Production of the 2016-17 season at the DayTony Awards held Saturday, July 29 at Sinclair...