Michelle F. Solomon, ATCA, FFCC

Island City Stage’s Artistic Director Andy Rogow clutched his Carbonell award at the podium Monday night and said, “this will look great in the Island City Stage office, which happens to be my car.”

The small, LGBT focused theater company, which performs its shows at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale, cleaned up at the Carbonell Awards, Florida’s own version of the Tony Awards held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

Island City Stage’s The Timekeepers won in six of the categories for which it was nominated. The Timekeepers, about a Jewish man and a gay man who form an unlikely bond in a Holocaust concentration camp, won for Best Production of a Play; Best Director, Michael Leeds; Best Actor, Michael McKeever; Best Scenic Design, Michael McClain; Best Sound Design, David Hart; and Best Lighting Design, Preston Bircher.

Miami’s Zoetic Stage, which perform at the Adrienne Arsht Center, won for Christopher Demos Brown’s Fear Up Harsh. Demos Brown received accoloades for Best New Work and Karen Stephens took home a Carbonell for Best Actress.

Zoetic’s Good People won, too, with Todd Allen Durkin getting honored as Best Supporting Actor, Play, and the production received the first award announced of the evening, the Best Ensemble award.

In the musical categories, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theater won awards for two of its productions: In the Heights took the award for Best Musical, while Nick Duckart won Best Actor, Musical, and Emmanuel Schvartzman, who was nominated for two awards, won Best Musical Direction. The other Actors’ Playhouse show honored was Ruthless!; Amy Miller Brennan won Best Actress, Musical, and Gabriel Zenone won Best Supporting Actor, Musical.

The new theater on the professional scene, The Wick in Boca Raton, saw its Sound of Music get a nod as Lourelene Snedeker won Best Supporting Actress, Musical.

In its first year of eligibility, Slow Burn Theater Company was nominated for 10 Carbonell Awards, all for its musical Next to Normal. The company’s only award went to a teary Patrick Fitzwater for Best Director, Musical.

The Maltz Jupiter Theater received one award, Denis Jones for Best Choreography for Thoroughly Modern Millie. Two Palm Beach Dramaworks productions were cited: Brian O’Keefe won Best Costume Design for The Lion in Winter, while Angie Radosh took home the won Best Supporting Actress, Play, for her performance in Exit the King.

And showing just how much talent there is in South Florida, the Carbonell ceremony production was top notch with its own entertainment value. Kudos to producer McKeever and director Stuart Meltzer.  How about someone underwriting a television broadcast of the awards?This show was ripe for a local PBS special!

The 38th Annual Carbonell Awards (winners denoted in italics)

Best New Work/Play or Musical
Fear Up Harsh, Christopher Demos Brown, Zoetic Stage
Gloucester Blue, Israel Horovitz, Theater at Arts Garage

Best Production of a Play
A Raisin in the Sun, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Cock, GableStage
Fear Up Harsh, Zoetic Stage
The Lion in Winter, Palm Beach Dramaworks
The Timekeepers, Island City Stage

Best Director/Play
Joseph Adler, Cock, GableStage
Lou Tyrrell, Lungs, Theater at Arts Garage
Michael Leeds, The Timekeepers, Island City Stage
Seret Scott, A Raisin in the Sun, Palm Beach Dramaworks
William Hayes, The Lion in Winter, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Actor/Play
Cliff Burgess, Lungs, Theater at Arts Garage
Colin McPhillamy, Exit the King, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Ethan Henry, A Raisin in the Sun, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Michael McKeever, The Timekeepers, Island City Stage
Nicholas Richberg, Cock, GableStage

Best Actress/Play
Betsy Graver, Lungs, Theater at Arts Garage
Karen Stephens, Fear Up Harsh, Zoetic Stage
Laura Turnbull, Good People, GableStage
Pat Bowie, A Raisin in the Sun, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Tod Randolph, The Lion in Winter, Palm Beach Dramaworks

Best Supporting Actor/Play
Avi Hoffman, My Name is Asher Lev, GableStage
Colin McPhillamy, Dial M for Murder, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Marckenson Charles, A Raisin in the Sun, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Stephen G. Anthony, Fear Up Harsh, Zoetic Stage
Todd Allen Durkin, All New People, Zoetic Stage

Best Supporting Actress/Play
Angie Radosh, Exit the King, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Jessica Brooke Sanford, Fear Up Harsh, Zoetic Stage
Karen Stephens, Doubt, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Lindsey Forgey, The Savannah Disputation, Zoetic Stage
Patti Gardner, Sons of the Prophet, GableStage

Best Production of a Musical
In the Heights, Actors’ Playhouse
The Longing and the Short of It, Theater at Arts Garage
Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company
Ruthless!, Actors’ Playhouse
The Sound of Music, The Wick
Thoroughly Modern Millie, Maltz Jupiter Theater

Best Director/Musical
David Arisco, In the Heights, Actors’ Playhouse
Mark S. Hoebee, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Mark Martino, Annie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Max Friedman, The Longing and the Short of It, Theater at Arts Garage
Patrick Fitzwater, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company

Best Actor/Musical
Christopher Carl, Annie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Matthew William Chizever, Damn Yankees, Broward Stage Door Theater
Matthew Korinko, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company
Nick Duckart, In the Heights, Actors’ Playhouse
Oscar Cheda, They’re Playing Our Song, Boca Raton Theater Guild

Best Actress/Musical
Amy Miller Brennan, Ruthless!, Actors’ Playhouse
Laurie Veldheer, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Margot Moreland, They’re Playing Our Song, Boca Raton Theater Guild
Patti Gardner, Chicago, Boca Raton Theater Guild
Vicki Lewis, Annie, Maltz Jupiter Theater

Best Supporting Actor/Musical
Bruno Vida, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company
Burke Moses, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Clay Cartland, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company
Gabriel Zenone, Ruthless!, Actors’ Playhouse
Ken Clement, Chicago, Boca Raton Theater Guild

Best Supporting Actress/Musical
Anne Chamberlain, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company
Elizabeth Dimon, The Longing and the Short of It, Theater at Arts Garage
Julia Dale, Ruthless!, Actors’ Playhouse
Lourelene Snedeker, The Sound of Music, The Wick
Missy McArdle, White Christmas, The Wick

Musical Direction/Musical
Eric Alsford, Ruthless!, Actors’ Playhouse
Helen Gregory, Annie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Emmanuel "Manny" Schvartzman, In the Heights, Actors’ Playhouse
Emmanuel "Manny" Schvartzman, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company
Paul Reekie, The Longing and the Short of It, Theater at Arts Garage

Choreography/Musical
Denis Jones, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Marc Robin, Singing in the Rain, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Mark Martino, Annie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Ron Hutchins, Chicago, Boca Raton Theater Guild
Stephanie Klemons, In the Heights, Actors’ Playhouse

Best Scenic Design/Play or Musical
Michael Amico, Dial M for Murder, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Michael Amico, The Lion in Winter, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Michael McClain, The Timekeepers, Island City Stage
Paul Tate dePoo III, Annie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Sean McClelland, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company

Best Lighting Design/Play or Musical
Donald Edmund Thomas, Annie, Maltz Jupiter Theater
John Hall, Of Mice and Men, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Lance Blank, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company
Paul Miller, Dial M for Murder, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Preston Bircher, The Timekeepers, Island City Stage

Best Costume Design/Play or Musical
Brian O’Keefe, The Lion in Winter, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Chastity Collins and Nicole Stodard, The Rover, Thinking Cap Theater
Ellis Tillman, The Fox on the Fairway, Actors’ Playhouse
Ellis Tillman, Ruthless!, Actors’ Playhouse
Robin McGee, Dial M for Murder, Maltz Jupiter Theater

Best Sound Design/Play or Musical
Danny Butler, An Iliad, Outré Theater Company
David Hart, The Timekeepers, Island City Stage
Marty Mets, Dial M for Murder, Maltz Jupiter Theater
Matt Corey, Exit the King, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Rich Szczublewski, Next to Normal, Slow Burn Theater Company

Best Ensemble Production/Play or Musical)
All New People, Zoetic Stage
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Plaza Theater
The Longing and the Short of It, Theater at Arts Garage
Making God Laugh, Actors’ Playhouse
Savage in Limbo, Alliance Theater Lab