Thirty individuals and organizations will receive the South Florida Silver Palm Theatre Awards this December, founded eleven years ago to honor theatrical excellence, the organization announced Friday with a list of the recipients.
“The Silver Palm Awards are presented annually to those whove made an outstanding or unique contribution to South Florida theatre,” explained Silver Palm Awards Executive Producer Tony Finstrom. “There are no nominees, no winners or losers, and no limit to the number of citations given in any category, though there really are no official categories.”
“If we were all still in school, and report cards were issued at the end of the year, these are the names that would make up the honor role,” Finstrom added.
The awards are determined by a vote of the South Florida theatre press corps, whom Finstrom drafts each year into submitting nominations. The votes are then tallied, from which a final list of recipients is determined.
Silver Palm Awards have been presented to over 200 individuals and/or groups during the previous ten theatre seasons. The “2017-2018 Season” consisted of shows that opened between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018.
A new award has been named for co-founder Iris Acker who passed away in September. Her son, Mitchell Acker, will present it.
This years awards ceremony and reception take place on Monday, December 10, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Playwright/actor and previous winner of multiple Silver Palm Awards Michael McKeever will host the awards presentation, assisted by Silver Palm Award-winning actress/singer Leah Sessa.
Open to the public, there is a $20 advance reservation admission charge, or a $25 cash-only admission charge at the door. For further information and/or reservations, visit: http://www.silverpalmawards.com.
The 2017-2018 Silver Palm Award recipients, in alphabetical order, are:
– Joseph Adler for his outstanding direction of THE HUMANS, GLORIA, IF I FORGET and IM GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD at GableStage
– Clay Cartland for his outstanding performances in Rock Of Ages and Disaster! at Slow Burn Theatre
– Jeffrey Cason, Jr., an outstanding new choreographer, for his work on God’s Trombones at M Ensemble
– Christopher Demos-Brown for his outstanding new play Wrongful Death And Other Circus Acts at Zoetic Stage
– Patrick Fitzwater for his outstanding direction of Memphis and The Bridges Of Madison County, and his outstanding choreography for Memphis, The Secret Garden and Rock Of Ages at Slow Burn Theatre
– Sabrina Lynn Gore for her outstanding performance in Next To Normal at Infinite Abyss Productions and Measure for Measure Theatre
– Anna Lise Jensen for her outstanding performances in The Bridges Of Madison County at Slow Burn Theatre, Fun Home at Zoetic Stage, Once at Actors Playhouse, and I Love You, Youre Perfect, Now Change at MNM Productions
– Rita Joe for her outstanding performances in White Guy On The Bus at GableStage and Seven Guitars at M Ensemble
– Kimmi Johnson for her outstanding performance in Fun Home at Zoetic Stage
– Jill Kratish for her outstanding commitment to, and programming of, regional work at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts
– Michael Leeds for his outstanding direction of White Guy On The Bus at GableStage
– J. Barry Lewis for his outstanding direction of An Inspector Calls at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre and Equus at Palm Beach Dramaworks
– Bruce Linser for his outstanding performance in The Drowsy Chaperone at The Wick Theatre, and for his outstanding direction of Woody Guthries American Song at Palm Beach Dramaworks
– Mia Matthews for her outstanding performances in Hairspray at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Hir at Island City Stage, and The Revolutionists at FAUs Theatre Lab
– Michael McClain for his outstanding set designs for Wrongful Death And Other Circus Acts, Fun Home, and Topdog/Underdog at Zoetic Stage, and Be Here Now at FAUs Theatre Lab
– Michael McKeever for his outstanding performance in Mr. Parker at Island City Stage, and for his outstanding new plays Mr. Parker at Island City Stage and The Camp at the West Boca Theatre Company
– Stuart Meltzer for his outstanding direction of Fun Home, Wrongful Death And Other Circus Acts, and Topdog/Underdog at Zoetic Stage
– Kim Ostrenko for her outstanding performance in Communion at Primal Forces
– Palm Beach Dramaworks (awarded to the producer) for its outstanding Woody Guthrie’s American Song Ensemble, featuring: Jeff Raab, Sean Powell, Cat Greenfield, Don Noble, Julie Rowe, Joshua Lubben, Michael Lubben and Tom Lubben
– Elizabeth Price for her outstanding performance in The Accident at Primal Forces, and her outstanding direction of Straight White Men at Thinking Cap Theatre
– Nicholas Richberg for his outstanding performances in Billy And Me at Palm Beach Dramaworks, and Fun Home at Zoetic Stage
– John Rodaz for his outstanding direction of An Octoroon and Cabaret, and his outstanding set design for An Octoroon at Area Stage
-Caleb Scott for his outstanding performance in Dancing Lessons at Zoetic Stage
– Dawn C. Shamburger for her outstanding costume designs for The Revolutionists at FAUs Theatre Lab
– Jessica Shulte for her outstanding performance in Constellations, and her outstanding direction of Art at New City Players
– Laura Turnbull for her outstanding performances in The Pink Unicorn at Primal Forces, Be Here Now at FAUs Theatre Lab, and Wrongful Death And Other Circus Acts at Zoetic Stage
– Michael Ursua for his outstanding performances in La Cage Aux Folles at MNM Productions and The Secret Garden at Slow Burn Theatre, and for his outstanding musical direction of Zanna Don’t at Island City Stage and Memphis at Slow Burn Theatre
– Tom Wahl for his outstanding performances in Billy And Me at Palm Beach Dramaworks, and White Guy On The Bus at GableStage
– Mike Westrich for his outstanding performances in Hedwig And The Angry Inch at Outre Theatre, and Little Shop Of Horrors at MNM Productions
– IRIS ACKER AWARD for sustained excellent work in South Florida Theatre to Stage Manager Suzanne Clement Jones
Finstrom (a playwright), BECON TV talk show host Iris Acker, and Florida Media News critic Ron Levitt were the co-founders of this award, and they served on this years Silver Palm Nominating Council along with Christine Dolen (artburstmiami.com, Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel), Hap Erstein (Palm Beach Post, and Palm Beach ArtsPaper.com), Bill Hirschman (FloridaTheaterOnStage.com, and FloridaWeekly.com), John Thomason (Boca Raton Magazine, and FloridaTheatreOnStage.com), J.W. Arnold (South Florida Gay News), Roger Martin (MiamiArtzine.com, and BroadwayWorld.dom), Michelle F. Solomon.(MiamiArtzine.com, and FloridaTheaterOnStage.com), Jeffrey Bruce (TalkinBroadway.com), and Mary Damiano (freelance theatre journalist/critic).
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