criticalrant.com Alexandra Bonifield

Ten Top Productions: Literary merit. Imaginative staging. Sophisticated direction. Cohesive ensemble performance. Comprehensive technical vision and execution. Delightful, viable realities.

1. Our Town (Water Tower Theatre)
2. August: Osage County (Oklahoma City Repertory Company)
3. Much Ado About Nothing (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)
4. The Dog Problem (Undermain Theatre)
5. Umlauf’s Bicycle (The Ochre House)
6. The 39 Steps (Stage West)
7. Charm (Kitchen Dog Theatre)
8. Endgame (Undermain Theatre)
9. The Drowsy Chaperone (Theatre Three)
10. Bach at Leipzig (Circle Theatre) 

Outstanding original performances or adaptations in 2010:

• Alice in Wonderland (White Rock Pollution)
• The B(e)ast of Taylor Mac (Undermain Theatre)
• Before Night Falls (Fort Worth Opera)
• Bill (Ochre House/Balanced Almond)
• Milarepa (Fred Curchack and Laura Jorgensen)

Defining directors of 2010:

• Robin Armstrong, Bach at Leipzig and Bright Ideas (both at Circle Theatre)
• Christopher Carlos, Charm (Kitchen Dog Theater)
• Jim Covault, The 39 Steps (Stage West)
• Stephen Fried, Much Ado About Nothing (Trinity Shakespeare Festival) http://stephenfriedtheatre.blogspot.com/
• Terry Martin, Our Town (WaterTower Theatre)
• René Moreno, Cymbeline (Shakespeare Dallas); August: Osage County (Oklahoma City Rep); No Child… (Amphibian Stage Productions)
• Katherine Owens, Port Twilight, or a History of Science and The Dog Problem (both at Undermain Theatre; Port Twilight re-opened in 2010)
• Matthew Posey, St. Genet of the Flowery Teeth, Bill and Umlauf’s Bicycle (all at Ochre House)
• Michael Serrecchia, The Drowsy Chaperone (Theatre Three)
• Stan Wojewodski, Jr., Endgame (Undermain Theatre)

Top acting performances of 2010:

• Rhianna Mack, No Child…(Amphibian Stage Productions)
• Matt Posey, St. Genet of the Flowery Teeth (The Ochre House/Balanced Almond)

Top dance performances of 2010:

• Jeremy Dumont, The Drowsy Chaperone (Theatre Three)
• Morgana Shaw, Closer to Heaven (Uptown Players)

Top vocal performances of 2010:

• Wes Mason (Before Night Falls, Fort Worth Opera)
• Cara Statham Serber (It’s A Bird…It’s A Plane…It’s Superman! (Dallas Theater Center)

Most Memorable 2010 Holiday Season performance:

• A Christmas Carol reading (Stage West)

Outstanding Male Performers of 2010:

• Regan Adair: Laughter on the 23rd Floor (WaterTower Theatre); Something Intangible (Circle Theatre); The Beauty Plays, Henry IV and A Christmas Carol (all at Dallas Theater Center)
• Cameron Cobb: Betrayal (Kitchen Dog Theater)
• Joey Folsom: Our Town (WaterTower Theatre); SubUrbia (Upstart Productions); Georgie Gets A Facelift (Churchmouse Productions); Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Broken Gears Project Theatre)
• Stan Graner: Our Town (WaterTower Theatre); Sanders Family Christmas (One Thirty Productions)
• Gregory Lush: Hunter Gatherers (Second Thought Theatre); The Seagull (Kitchen Dog Theater); Sherlock Holmes in the Crucifer of Blood (Theatre Three)
• Mitchell Parrack: Bill and Umlauf’s Bicycle (both at Ochre House)
• Randy Pearlman: Is He Dead? (WaterTower Theatre); A Kind of Alaska (Upstart Productions); Alice in Wonderland (White Rock Pollution); The Sisters Rosensweig (Contemporary Theatre of Dallas)
• Mark Shum: Opus (Circle Theatre); Is He Dead? (WaterTower Theatre); The 39 Steps (Stage West)
• Drew Wall: Long Way Go Down (Kitchen Dog Theater); The Dog Problem (Undermain Theatre)
• Brian Witkowicz: Alice in Wonderland (White Rock Pollution); Charm (Kitchen Dog Theater)

Outstanding Female Performers of 2010:

• Emily Scott Banks: Our Town (WaterTower Theatre)
• Cassie Bann: SubUrbia (Upstart Productions); Gint (Broken Gears Project Theatre)
• Pam Dougherty: August: Osage County (Oklahoma City Rep); The Full Monty (WaterTower Theatre)
• Marianne Galloway: Sanders Family Christmas (One Thirty Productions); Beehive and [title of show] (both at Theatre Three)
• Jenny Ledel: Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare Dallas)
• Trisha Miller: Much Ado About Nothing (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)
• Arianna Movassagh: Hello Human Female (Audacity Theatre Lab, the second time, at Teatro Dallas); The Drowsy Chaperone (Theatre Three)
• Morgana Shaw: Closer to Heaven (Uptown Players); Well-Traveled But Not Well-Known (One Thirty Productions)
• Sally Vahle: Death of a Salesman (Dallas Theater Center)
• Cara Statham Serber: It’s a Bird…Iit’s a Plane…It’s Superman! (Dallas Theater Center)

Artists on the Way Up: Elizabeth Evans, Cassie Bann, Daniel Johnson, Justin Locklear

Outstanding 2010 Ensemble performances:

• Our Town (Water Tower Theatre) 
• Sanders Family Christmas (One Thirty Productions)
• Cymbeline (Shakespeare Dallas)
• SubUrbia, (Upstart Productions)
• Alice in Wonderland (White Rock Pollution)

Outstanding Choreography:

• John de los Santos (Before Night Falls Ft. Worth Opera)
• Robin Armstrong (Bach at Leipizig, Circle Theatre)
• Michael Serrecchia and Megan Bates Kelly (The Drowsy Chaperone, Theatre Three)

Outstanding Fight Choreography:

• Christopher Duval (Henry IV, Dallas Theater Center)
• Matthew Ellis (August: Osage County, Oklahoma City Rep)
• Bill Lengfelder (Don Giovanni, Dallas Opera)

Best Costumes of 2010:

• Aaron Patrick Turner (Much Ado About Nothing, Trinity Shakespeare; August: Osage County, Oklahoma City Rep; Is He Dead, WaterTower Theatre)
• Robin Armstrong (Bach at Leipzig, Circle Theatre)
• Barbara C. Cox (Albee’s Two on the Aisle, Wingspan Theatre)
• Ingeborg Bernerth (Anna Bolena, Dallas Opera)
• Giva Taylor (The Dog Problem and Port Twilight, Undermain)
• Marty van Kleeck (The Turquoise Pontiac, One Thirty Productions)

Best Lighting Design/ Effects:

• Steve Woods (Port Twilight or A History of Science and The Dog Problem, Undermain)
• Lisa Miller (Charm, Kitchen Dog Theater)
• Jeff Davis (Don Giovanni, Dallas Opera)
• Tristan Decker (August: Osage County, Oklahoma City Rep)

Best Sound Effects/ Musical Expression:

• Joe Illick and Stephen Dubberly (Before Night Falls, Ft. Worth Opera)
• Fred Curchack and Laura Jorgenson (Milarepa)
• Alan Shorter (director) and David H. M. Lambert (sound designer) (Opus, Circle Theatre)
• Richard Frohlich (33 Variations, Theatre Three)
  
• The Muse (The Drama Club)

Outstanding Scenic Design in 2010:

• Rodney Dobbs (Albee’s Two on the Aisle, Wingspan Theatre)
• James Wolk, Jim Covault and Jason Domm, (The 39 Steps, Stage West)
• Jeffery Schmidt (The Muse, The Drama Club; Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood, Theatre Three; Lobster Alice, Second Thought Theatre)
• Michael Heil (Much Ado About Nothing, Trinity Shakespeare)
• Benoit Dugardyn (Anna Bolena, Dallas Opera)
• Donna Marquet with assistant set designer Cindy Ernst (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare Dallas)

Bared-Fangs Designees (or, the Worst of 2010):

• The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare Dallas)
• The Dixie Swim Club (Pocket Sandwich Theatre)
• Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage and Beehive (Theatre Three)
• Give It Up! (Dallas Theater Center)
• The Seagull (Kitchen Dog Theater)
• Well (Echo Theatre)
• Little House on the Prairie (Dallas Summer Musicals)
• Two special dishonorable mentions: one involved a carnival; and the other, eating cockroaches. They felt like bad marriages: I’ll just put them behind me. Far behind me.

I appreciate and honor the hard work and talents of the artists, designers, directors and producers across this community. I have tried to give notice to the proper person(s) in the above categories; if I have left anyone out, it is unintentional. Please accept my apologies and send me any corrections.

May 2011 bring fuller houses to everyone and spread funding fairly throughout the entire arts community!