The Huntington and Reagle Music Theatre win big at Elliot Norton Awards

When the lights go out at the start of a show and the curtains peel back from the theater’s stage, it’s the scenic design that often catches the eye first. A prime example of this was the ultra-realistic, 18th-century abode in this year’s production of Ronán Noone’s “Thirst,” designed by Janie E. Howland, winner of this year’s Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence. Her work immersed viewers into a new world and kept them there throughout the production. Howland, a longtime fixture in Boston theater, has developed sets for SpeakEasy Stage Company’s “English,” Lyric Stage Company’s “Little Foxes” and “Little Shop of Horrors,” and her work has been viewed throughout New England, New York and London.

Howland was among the recipients at the 41st Annual Elliot Norton Awards ceremony Monday night, where nearly 150 theater productions, cast and crew were nominated in 37 categories. This season, theater makers offered an exciting mix of offerings, from original work that grappled with technology and caretaking to emotive narratives that either challenged the status quo or examined personal, transformative journeys. Classic tales from the canon were revisited with originality and curiosity.

The wealth of awards was spread generously across theaters of various sizes. Huntington Theatre Company won multiple awards, including Outstanding Play for “John Proctor is the Villain” and Outstanding Ensemble for the same show; the Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage won Outstanding Musical for their co-production of “The Band’s Visit,” Central Square Theater and Bedlam nabbed Outstanding Play (midsize theater)  for “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” and Outstanding Play for a small theater went to Theater UnCorked for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

The spirited rendition of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston’s “Oklahoma!” and Arlekin Players Theatre’s “The Gaaga” were also big winners of the night. Reagle’s “Oklahoma!” won three awards:  actor Jack Mullen’s win in the Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical category; Dan Rodriguez took home the prize for Outstanding Musical Direction; and the Outstanding Choreography award went to Rachel Bertone. For “The Gaaga,” Irina Kruzhilina won Outstanding Scenic Design (midsize or small theater), and Sasha Denisova and Igor Golyak won for Outstanding Director (small theater).

The Boston Theater Critics Association, which administers the awards, also gave special citations to Lyric Stage Company of Boston in honor of its 50th anniversary, Company One Theatre in honor of its 25th anniversary, and veteran film and theater actress Annette Miller, known for the 2021 movie “Don’t Look Up” and the most recent production of Shakespeare & Company’s “Golda’s Balcony.” The 2024 Elliot Norton Arts Education Award was presented to Hyde Square Task Force for its work developing Boston’s Latin Quarter and its community-based Afro-Latin arts enrichment programming.

Several original narratives came to life on the city’s stages this season and were nominated for Outstanding New Script, including P. Carl’s “Becoming a Man” about the author’s transition to becoming a man, and Lisa Loomer’s musical “Real Women Have Curves” about a young woman eager to find her way in the world at American Repertory Theater. Also, Francisco Mendoza’s “Machine Learning” at Central Square focused on the intersection of health and technology, and Hortense Gerardo’s “Middleton Heights,” a dark comedy about a Filipino family learning to fit in a fictional Midwestern town in Ohio, premiered at The Umbrella Stage. The fifth nominee in this category for Outstanding New Script, Phaedra Michelle Scott, was the winner for her play “DIASPORA!” about a young black millennial writing her family history, which was staged at the now-shuttered New Repertory Theatre.

James Ricardo Milord won the award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play (midsize) for his role in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s “King Hedley II.” In 2022’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” Milford was an excellent lead and he was superb as a supporting actor in “K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” Other notable wins include Paul Daigneault for his direction of the affecting  “The Band’s Visit,” co-produced by The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company; House of Martino for Outstanding Costume Design for Gold Dust Orphan’s “The Rocky Menorah Christmas Show”; and Jason Sherwood for Outstanding Scenic Design of “Evita” at American Repertory Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company.

The Elliot Norton Awards are presented by the Boston Theater Critics Association. Voting members for this year’s awards are Jacquinn Sinclair, Don Aucoin, Jared Bowen, Terry Byrne, Christopher Ehlers and Joyce Kulhawik.

Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence
Janie E. Howland

Outstanding Visiting Production
“Moby Dick,” a production by Plexus Polaire, presented by ArtsEmerson

Outstanding Visiting Musical
“Girl from the North Country,” presented by Broadway In Boston

Outstanding Visiting Performance in a Musical
Heidi Blickenstaff, “Jagged Little Pill,” presented by Broadway In Boston

Outstanding Visiting Solo Performance 
“Alex Edelman: Just For Us,” presented by Emerson Colonial Theatre

Outstanding Play, Large in memory of Robert Brustein
“John Proctor is the Villain,” The Huntington

Outstanding Play, Midsize
“Angels in America,” Central Square Theater and Bedlam

Outstanding Play, Small 
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Theater UnCorked

Outstanding Musical
“The Band’s Visit,” The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Large 
Marshall W. Mabry IV, “Fat Ham,” The Huntington, in association with Alliance Theatre and The Front Porch ArtsCollective

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Midsize
James Ricardo Milord, “King Hedley II,” Actors’ Shakespeare Project

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Small
Sehnaz Dirik, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” Theater UnCorked

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Large 
Lau’rie Roach, “Fat Ham,” The Huntington, in association with Alliance Theatre and The Front Porch Arts Collective

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Midsize in memory of Sarah DeLima
Kari Buckley, “Angels in America,” Central Square Theater and Bedlam

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Small in memory of Jaime Carillo
Valyn Lyric Turner, “A Raisin in the Sun,” New Repertory Theatre

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical in memory of Henry Lussier
Jennifer Apple, “The Band’s Visit,” The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical
Jack Mullen, “Oklahoma!,” Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston

Outstanding Musical Direction
Dan Rodriguez, “Oklahoma!,” Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston

Outstanding Choreography in memory of Chita Rivera
Rachel Bertone, “Oklahoma!,” Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston

Outstanding Director, Large 
Paul Daigneault, “The Band’s Visit,” The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company

Outstanding Director, Midsize in memory of Spiro Veloudos
Courtney O’Connor, “Assassins,” Lyric Stage Boston

Outstanding Director, Small
Sasha Denisova & Igor Golyak, “The Gaaga,” Arlekin Players Theatre

Outstanding Scenic Design, Large
Jason Sherwood, “Evita,” American Repertory Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Scenic Design, Midsize or Small
Irina Kruzhilina,“The Gaaga,” Arlekin Players Theatre

Outstanding Lighting Design, Large
Stacey Derosier, “The Half-God of Rainfall,” American Repertory Theater and New York Theater Workshop

Outstanding Lighting Design, Midsize or Small
John R. Malinowski, “Angels in America,” Central Square Theater and Bedlam

Outstanding Sound Design, Large
David Remedios and Mackenzie Adamick, “Macbeth,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

Outstanding Sound Design, Midsize or Small in memory of Dewey Dellay
David Remedios, “We Had a Girl Before You,” Greater Boston Stage Company

Outstanding Costume Design, Large
Alejo Vietti, “Evita,” American Repertory Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Costume Design, Midsize or Small
House of Martino, “The Rocky Menorah Christmas Show,” Gold Dust Orphans

Outstanding Solo Performance
Jay Eddy, “Driving in Circles,” Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

Outstanding New Script in memory of Christopher Durang
Phaedra Michelle Scott, “DIASPORA!,” New Repertory Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble
“John Proctor is the Villain,” The Huntington