DayTony/Hall of Fame gala salutes 2014-15 season
And the winners are ...
More than 150 theater enthusiasts gathered Aug. 8 at Sinclair Community College for the 12th annual DayTony Awards and 14th annual Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame induction.
Hosted by DayTony president Debra Strauss, the gala saluted achievements of actors, directors and designers from Dayton’s 20 14-15 theater season, as voted on by nine participating theaters.
The organizations that received medallions of excellence and/or merit were:Beavercreek Community Theatre (BCT), Clark State Community College (CSCC), Dare 2 Defy Productions (D2D), Dayton Playhouse (DP), Dayton Theatre Guild (DTG), Lebanon Theatre Company (LTC), Troy Civic Theatre (TCT), X enia Area Community Theatre (X ACT) and Yellow Springs Center Stage (YSCS).
Five shows shared top honors as Outstanding Overall Production:“40 0 0 Miles” (DTG), “Avenue Q ” (BCT), “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (BCT), “The Fantasticks” (DP), and “Sweeney Todd” (BCT).
“Our true goal is to be a community of theaters where we collaborate with each other,” Strauss said.
Hall of Fame induction
Director/ choreographer Joe Deer, head of Wright State U niversity’s Musical Theatre Program and a Human Race Theatre Company resident artist, was the sole inductee into the prestigious Hall of Fame. In addition to directing more than 150 productions encompassing off-Broadway, regional, summer stock, and collegiate theaters, Deer has performed in Broadway and national tours of such shows as “Anything Goes,” “Brigadoon” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” He is also the author of “Directing In Musical Theatre:An Essential Guide,” co-author of “Acting in Musical Theatre” (with Rocco Dal Vera) and the director of WSU ’s Musical Theatre Initiative.
“This is the greatest compliment I could be paid,” said Deer, who gave specific thanks to his family (wife Caitlin Larsen Deer and son Leo), WSU , Human Race and Muse Machine. “I am deeply honored. (As a director) I get to make dreams come true or at least make them come to life on stage. Dayton is a wonderful place to live and practice the art form we love. All theater is local.”
Deer, who staged a marvelously magical “Peter Pan” for WSU last season, is preparing for a busy fall. He will direct “The Full Monty” for the Human Race and “Chicago” at WSU . “4000 Miles,”Dayton Theatre Guild “Man of La Mancha,”Lebanon Theatre Company “The Dixie Swim Club,”Troy Civic Theatre “Lillies of the Field,”Xenia Area Community Theatre “Three Tables,”Yellow Springs Center Stage Dixie Swim Club” Tori Kocher,“Grease” Katrina Kittle and Nabachwa Ssensalo,“Criminal Hearts” (DTG) Ryan McCarty,“The Foreigner” Jared Mola,“Night of the Living Dead Live!”(DP) and “4000 Miles” Dave Nickel,“Moon Over Buffalo”(TCT)
Mousetrap”