Theaters along the Biscayne Corridor and in Miami Beach did very well as finalists for the Carbonell Awards, the organization that recognizes excellence in South Florida theater.
Area Stage, Actors’ Playhouse, GableStage, Miami New Drama, Slow Burn Theatre Company, and Zoetic Stage were all recognized for their work during the 2023-2024 season. Miami New Drama received the most recognition for a single show, while Slow Burn received the most recognition of any company in the tri-county area.
The Carbonell Awards ceremony will be held Monday, Nov. 11, at Lauderhill Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $40 and on sale now at Showpass.com
NO NOMINEES, JUST 120 FINALISTS
Due to changes in scoring and language, there are no longer nominees and a winner for each of the Carbonell Award’s 20 categories. For many years, six panelists saw each eligible show and used a form to show which performances or design elements they felt were award worthy. If the show was recommended by the panel, a body of about a dozen judges saw all the recommended shows and then met at the end of the year to vote and determine the nominees in each category. The nominations were announced, and then about six weeks later, the judges voted on the nominees through a secret ballot to decide the winners.
But that changed a few years ago. Now, a panel of seven judges are assigned to each eligible show, and they evaluate every aspect of the show according to a rubric, assigning a numerical score to each performance and element. Those scores are tallied, with the highest and lowest score discarded. Each show element gets a final score. No final voting takes place, and no judge sees every show. Therefore, there are no nominees, only the top six scorers, now called finalists. The winners are the top scorers in each category and will be announced at the November ceremony.
ACTORS’ PLAYHOUSE
Actors’ Playhouse is known for producing big musicals, and they received three nods of recognition for “Legally Blond.” They were also recognized for one of their plays, “A Rock Sails By.” Laura Turnbull and Lela Elam, both multi-Carbonell Award winners, are finalists.
Elam, who doesn’t sing, always wanted to work at Actors’ Playhouse, but since the theater specializes in musicals, she knew the opportunities were slim. She credits artistic director David Arisco for giving her a chance.
“Dave always told me that he would get me in there when he had a part for me and he is a man of his word,” said Elam, who credits Arisco for casting her based on her talent. “Dave doesn't need the character breakdown to say ‘African-American’ actress to hire me. I've never worked for him in a role specifically designated for an African-American actress. I think every Black actor will understand how huge and amazing that is. It's amazing to me how much courage he has to do what he feels despite the fact that most others would never even think about it.”
AREA STAGE
Area Stage, a company now producing shows at Sunset Place, is a finalist in two categories, both for their immersive production of “Oliver!” at the Arsht Center. Area Stage will also receive one of the Carbonell’s special awards, the Bill von Maurer Award for Theatrical Excellence, which honors a theater company that exemplifies excellence for the totality of its programming: productions, educational outreach, developmental programs, and audiences served. Husband and wife team John and Maria Rodaz founded Area Stage 35 years ago, making it one of the longest-running theater companies in South Florida.
GABLESTAGE
(Magnus Stark)
Mark H. Dodd, James Zannelli, with Brandon Morris, who grew up in Miami, are each a Carbonell Awards finalist for “The Lehman Trilogy” at GableStage
GableStage in Coral Gables garnered nine nods of recognition, mainly for their production of “The Lehman Trilogy,” an epic three-and-a-half-hour play about the rise and fall of a family business. The production received six nods, including one for each of the three cast members.
“Sometimes, almost inexplicably, the most insanely ambitious and complex productions – the ones with so much riding on them, where almost everything can go wrong – turn out to be the most joyful and effortless,” said GableStage artistic director Bari Newport, who was recognized for her work directing the play. “This was very much the case with our production of “The Lehman Trilogy.”
Newport credits great teamwork and planning for making “The Lehman Trilogy” a success.
“We put in a remarkable number of hours storyboarding and problem solving well in advance of rehearsals beginning,” she said. “If one person on the team had said no to the pre-production work, the production would simply not have been possible. It was a real collaboration. In looking back at the experience of producing and directing this production, the facile collaboration amongst many is what I am most proud of. It fills me with pride that this work is being recognized.”
MIAMI NEW DRAMA
(Morgan Sophia)
Carbonell Awards finalists Mariaca Semprun and Christian McGaffney in “Las Aventuras de Juan Planchard” at Miami New Drama.
Miami New Drama was recognized by the Carbonell Awards with 14 finalists, and their show, “Las Aventuras de Juan Planchard,” garnered the most recognition with 12 nods. The show was a co-production with Tectonic Theater Project in New York.
“I am truly privileged to be part of the vibrant and growing South Florida theater community,” said Michel Hausmann, artistic director and company co-founder. “At Miami New Drama, we are deeply grateful for the nominations and honored to stand alongside such an extraordinary group of talented individuals.”
Hausman will not be able to attend the Carbonell ceremony in November because he will be in New York for the opening of “A Wonderful World,” a musical about Louis Armstrong that Miami New Drama commissioned and premiered in 2021.
SLOW BURN THEATRE COMPANY
(Larry Marano)
Jeni Hacker, seen here as The Witch in “Into the Woods” at Slow Burn Theatre Company, is a Carbonell Awards. She was also recognized for her work in “Wicked Child” at Zoetic Stage.
Slow Burn Theatre Company, the resident theater company at Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, topped the finalist list with 28 nods of recognition, 11 for “The SpongeBob Musical,” 10 for “The Little Mermaid,” 5 for “Into the Woods,” and 1 for “The Prom.” All but “The Prom” also received recognition in the Outstanding Musical category.
Patrick Fitzwater. artistic director and Slow Burn co-founder, also received four personal nods of recognition, three for directing the aforementioned musicals, and one for sound design.
"Receiving the three nominations for best direction of a musical, alongside Slow Burn Theatre's remarkable 28 nominations, fills me with immense pride and gratitude,” said Fitzwater. “As we begin our 15th anniversary season, this is a beautiful reminder of the dedication and talent of our entire team of designers and actors. It inspires us to continue to create meaningful art that brings joy to our audiences and communities.”
Jeni Hacker, who last year won her seventh Carbonell Award, the most for any performer in the organization’s nearly 50-year history, was recognized for her performance of The Witch in “Into the Woods,” as well as for her role in “Wicked Child” at Zoetic Stage.
“The awards on the shelf are wonderful, truly,” said Hacker. “But the rewards I get from collaborating in the room and on stage with friends, those are with me everywhere I go.”
(Morgan Sophia)
Karen Stephens is a Carbonell Award finalist for her titular role in “Clyde’s” at Zoetic Stage.
ZOETIC STAGE
Zoetic Stage, one of the resident theat
Micheal McKeever and Stuart Meltzer, two of the founders of Zoetic Stage, will produce and direct the Carbonell Awards ceremony in November.
Karen Stephens was recognized for her performance in “Clyde’s” and is a past Carbonell Award winner for the Zoetic Stage world premiere of “Fear Up Harsh,” now titled “American Soldier,” by Miami playwright Christopher Demos-Brown.
“I am always grateful to have my work recognized, as I'm sure we all are,” said Stephens. “It's validation for hard work and having the ability to make a role come alive in a three-dimensional way that is exciting for both the audience and the performer.”
“Clyde’s,” written by Lynn Nottage, premiered on Broadway in 2021 and, according to American Theatre magazine, was the most produced play of the 2022-2023 theater season. In the Zoetic production, Stephens played the titular role, a strict, no-nonsense woman with a reputation for hiring ex-cons for her truck stop diner.
“I am always hyped to play a role that is outside of the usual buttoned up professional roles, where I can take risks and open up my tool kit,” said Stephens. “Clyde's” was one of those times. Bringing the character of Clyde to life off the page was a wonderful opportunity to tap into a part of my own character that I rarely get to expose, and playing opposite friends was the icing on the cake.”
(Matt Pilsner)
A Pulitzer Prize winner for “Anna in the Tropics,” Miamibred playwright Nilo Cruz will receive the George AbbottAward at the November 11 Carbonell ceremony.
SPECIAL AWARDS
In addition to the Carbonell Awards 20 categories, special awards are bestowed each year to recognize meaningful, longtime contributions to the arts in South Florida.
Nilo Cruz, the Cuban-American playwright who grew up in Miami and won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2003 play “Anna in the Tropics,” which was commissioned by and premiered at the now defunct New Theatre in Coral Gables, will receive the Carbonell’s highest honor, the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts.
Director and actor John Pryor, a theater professor at Miami-Dade Community College and Florida Memorial College, will receive the Vinnette Carroll Award for significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in South Florida theater.
Carl Waisanen, who served as production stage manager for more than 120 shows at Actors' Playhouse in Coral Gables, will receive the Bill Hindman Award, which honors significant, long-term contributions to the region’s cultural life and onstage career achievement.