Klingenmeier presents this year’s Mitty Awards

Recognizing the best in local theater productions

Time once again for the Most Impressive Theatre awards – the Mittys. It’s our 14th edition. This year, I am going about things in a different way. Due to having seen fewer shows than in past years, for 2024 I have divided the Mittys into just two broad categories – Plays and Musicals.

As in past years, I am giving accolades to performances and production factors in shows that I have attended and reviewed. I was limited this past year to seeing just 19 shows. The A Seat on the Aisle blog however covered 58 presentations through the efforts of the fine team of ASOTA reviewers.

Here are 2024’s Mitty Award winners:

Most Impressive Set Design for a Play – for a small stage: For Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre’s Driving Miss Daisy, Ryan Koharchik’s “tidy setting of three distinct areas fit exactly right in the Studio Theatre’s black box space.”

Most Impressive Set Design for a Play – for a large stage: At Westfield Playhouse, Main Street Production’s Lost in Yonkers “is played on a remarkable set designed by Ian Marshall-Fisher” – totally functional and aptly depicting an era long past.

Most Impressive Set Design for a Musical: Michael Layton‘s fine set for Beef & Board Dinner Theatre’s The King and I made excellent use of the compact stage and was readily adaptive for the scenes outside of the palace.

Most Impressive Costume Design for a Play: Main Street Production’s Lost in Yonkers costumes by Linda Finley Grow “add to the feel of the early war years.”

Most Impressive Costume Design for a Musical: Costume coordinator Kathy Henry makes good use of her resources for B&B’s The King and I.

Most Impressive Young Performers in a Play: From MSP’s Lost in Yonkers two awards – (from the review) “Drake Lockwood and Finley Eyers are impressive as the boys – Jay and Arty Kurnitz, respectively. Each has their own moment in the spotlight and they both do very well with that. Especially noteworthy are the times when they share the stage alone – moving the action along with confident stage presences.”

Most Impressive Young Performer in a Musical: The team of kids in B&B’s A Christmas Story is full of terrific performers, “especially young (11-year-old) Teddy Wiegard who takes on the lead character (Ralphie) with a very professional proficiency.”

Most Impressive Ensemble in a Musical: Any time you get four rock and roll heroes on stage together, you just might have something special. B&B’s Million Dollar Quartet featured Brian Michael Henry as Jerry Lee Lewis, Cody Craven as Carl Perkins, Jesse Plourde as Elvis Presley, and Sam C. Jones as Johnny Cash, and they raised the roof and brought the house down with their rousing performances.

Most Impressive Male Performer in a Supporting Role in a Play: Two winners in this category:

In MSP’s Lost in Yonkers, “veteran actor Thom Johnson is at his best and delivers one of his most complete characters as Uncle Louie.”

And I was certainly impressed by JB Scoble’s turn(s) in The Village Theatre’s Sylvia – “Scoble nearly steals the show – okay, not nearly – most definitely steals it with his three stage personae. His guy in the park, Tom, is a New Yorker full of apt bookish advice … His turn as … high society friend Phyllis is riotously funny. And his genderless therapist Leslie is truly something you don’t want to miss.”

Most Impressive Male Performer in a Supporting Role in a Musical: “Brett Mutter is wildly memorable and original as The Head Waiter, spilling over with character” in Actors Theatre of Indiana’s She Loves Me.

Most Impressive Female Performer in a Supporting Role in a Play: Indiana Repertory Theatre presented The Folks at Home, and “Claire Wilcher completes the cast with two appearances – first as the couples’ bizarre maid Alice, and next, in a superior comic appearance which generates the most laughs, as Brandon’s pregnant sister Brittany.”

Most Impressive Female Performer in a Supporting Role in a Musical: Appearing in B&B’s The King and I, was Nathalie Cruz as Lady Thiang, whose enchanting solo work in “Something Wonderful” is a pleasure to experience.

Most Impressive Actor in a Lead Role in a Play: John Welsh is a standout as even-tempered family head – Grandpa, in MSP’s You Can’t Take It With You.

Most Impressive Actor in a Lead Role in a Musical: Portraying Johnny Cash in ATI’s Ring of Fire, Kent M. Lewis brings an uncanny vocal quality to his role – so much like Cash in timber, tone and expression, if you closed your eyes to listen to his interpretations, you would swear it was the man in black.

Most Impressive Actress in a Lead Role in a Play: Here we have a triple tie. All three performances were remarkable.

Two came from one show – MSP’s Lost in Yonkers. “The cast is led by Lisa Warner Lowe as Grandma Kurnitz and Becca Bartley as her child-like daughter, Bella. Both actresses give stirring performances and their scenes together crackle with emotion. Ms. Lowe transforms physically in her characterization – becoming an embattled old woman with much grief in her past. Ms. Bartley is stunning as the overly-excitable Bella, turning in a faultless and wonderfully poignant performance.”

Also, in Civic’s Driving Miss Daisy, “Ellen Kingston is perfect as the sometimes sweet, sometimes cantankerous Daisy, moving slowly but still filled with Southern grace.”

Most Impressive Actress in a Lead Role in a Musical: B&B’s production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical featured this year’s winner. “B&B debuter Devon Perry stars as Ms. King and is an absolute stunner as the gifted songwriter. Bringing her experience as King from a previous production, Ms. Perry fills the role with impressive talents in acting, singing and playing piano. The resulting portrayal is of a sweet, mega-talented, and empathy-worthy young woman, conquering an art-form dominated by males with an unassuming grace.”

Most Impressive Duo in Lead Roles in a Musical: These performers really impressed me in ATI’s She Loves Me: “Sophie Jones and Jacob Butler are perfectly matched as Amalia Balash and Georg Nowack. Both are gifted young performers who have top level acting and vocal skills which blossom further in their joined efforts.”

Most Impressive Direction of a Play: For MSP’s Lost in Yonkers – “Director Jen Otterman brings forth a fine understanding of the script’s workings, having played the part of Grandma Kurnitz in her stage career. The themes of family, life’s obstacles, and coping all come through with sharp clarity.”

Most Impressive Direction of a Musical: ATI’s She Loves Me director Richard J. Roberts skillfully put together this hit show. It was impressive in every way: the cast, the story-telling, the music, the set and costumes – all things clicked.

Most Impressive Choreography in a Musical: Sally Scharbrough and Deb Wims combined talents for the lively choreography in B&B’s Legally Blonde – The Musical.

Most Impressive Musical Direction: This award is a recognition for the body of work by Kristi Templett and Terry Woods and for the entire year of remarkable musical leadership they provide at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre show after show after show.

Most Impressive Production of a Play: MSP’s Lost In Yonkers: “This is a terrific community theatre show. It tells an emotional story, with dashes of comedy, and the practitioners here are totally committed to the endeavor. The performances by the two leading ladies are remarkable.”

Most Impressive Production of a Musical: ATI’s She Loves Me: “ATI’s marvelously directed and precisely performed production, is endlessly entertaining – a soaring couplet of music and comedy (Mrs. K and I agreed, we haven’t laughed so much in quite a while). The cast shines in every scene as the story ranges from humorous to thoughtful to touching.”

At times I find it necessary to make special awards outside of the usual categories:

Most Impressive Depiction of an Onstage Tornado: For B&B’s The Wizard of Oz – “I wondered how some of the technical aspects of the production would be done. After all, it’s not often that a tornado needs to be portrayed on stage – and the B&B crew and cast has designed and accomplished a stunning combination of sounds, lights and various projectioned visuals for the task – and definitely do it justice.”

Read more great play reviews from A Seat on the Aisle at asota.wordpress.com.