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Theater Critic Picks

Dallas-Fort Worth theater critics offer a standing ovation to 2017-18 stars

Fresh faces and local legends alike walked away with awards from the Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum, as this year's eight critics gathered to debate and vote for their onstage favorites from the newly closed previous season.

Newcomers included Zander Pryor for a remarkable performance in Stage West's Hir; Imprint Theatreworks and its strong inaugural season; and SMU graduate student Amelia Baransky, who earned two nods for her set design.

It was also a strong year for new works, with plays tackling issues both local and national and even a homegrown musical popping up on the list.

Not everyone's picks made it through the voting process, which needed either more than 50 percent of the votes or a unanimous decision if only two or three critics had seen the production. Look for personal favorites not included here to pop up in critics' end-of-year lists.

Without further ado, here are the awards:

Outstanding Direction:

Outstanding New Play or Musical:

  • Babel by Cry Havoc Theater Company Ensemble, Cry Havoc Theater Company
  • Bread by Regina Taylor, WaterTower Theatre
  • Cedar Springs or Big Scary Animals by Matt Lyle, Theatre Three
  • Cyrano by Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers, Amphibian Stage Productions
  • In the Tall Grass by Paul Kalburgi, Bishop Arts Theatre Center
  • Pompeii!! by Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico, and Max Hartman, Kitchen Dog Theater

Outstanding Performance by an Actor:

  • Tyrees Allen, Ruined, Echo Theatre and Denise Lee Onstage
  • Parker Gray, Hand to God, WaterTower Theatre
  • Max Hartman, Ironbound, Kitchen Dog Theater; Pompeii!!, Kitchen Dog Theater; Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., Second Thought Theatre
  • John-Michael Marrs, Cyrano, Amphibian Stage Productions
  • Mark Oristano, Glengarry Glen Ross, Imprint Theatreworks
  • Zander Pryor, Hir, Stage West
  • Chris Ramirez, Hair, Dallas Theater Center; Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue, WaterTower Theatre; Empathitrax, Second Thought Theatre
  • Jamal Gibran Sterling, The Royale, Kitchen Dog Theater

Outstanding Performance by an Actress:

  • Jessica Cavanagh, Self Injurious Behavior, Theatre Three
  • Stormi Demerson, Hillary and Clinton, Second Thought Theatre; Bread, WaterTower Theatre
  • Kate Hamill, Cyrano, Amphibian Stage Productions
  • Jenny Ledel, Pride & Prejudice, WaterTower Theatre; Empathitrax, Second Thought Theatre; Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., Second Thought Theatre
  • Shannon McGrann, Hand to God, WaterTower Theatre
  • Denise Lee, Ruined, Echo Theatre and Denise Lee Onstage; Bread, WaterTower Theatre
  • Elly Lindsay, John, Undermain Theatre

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast:

  • Cyrano, Amphibian Stage Productions
  • The Great Distance Home, WaterTower Theatre
  • Hair, Dallas Theater Center
  • Pompeii!!, Kitchen Dog Theater
  • The Revolutionists, Imprint Theatreworks
  • The Royale, Kitchen Dog Theater
  • Three Sisters, Undermain Theatre

Outstanding Touring Production:

  • The Color Purple, Dallas Summer Musicals
  • Cry Havoc!, Amphibian Stage Productions
  • Fun Home, AT&T Performing Arts Center
  • The King and I, AT&T Performing Arts Center
  • The Humans, AT&T Performing Arts Center
  • Waitress, Dallas Summer Musicals and Performing Arts Fort Worth

Outstanding Design or Creative Contribution:

  • John Arnone, scenic design, so go the ghosts of méxico, part 2, and Three Sisters, Undermain Theatre
  • Amelia Bransky, scenic design for Frankenstein, Dallas Theater Center and Empathitrax, Second Thought Theatre
  • Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico, and Max Hartman, music and lyrics, Pompeii!!, Kitchen Dog Theater
  • Design Team, Hair, Dallas Theater Center
  • Jeremy Dumont, choreography, A Chorus Line, Uptown Players
  • Ensemble, music and lyrics, Original Man, Ochre House
  • Kelsey Leigh Ervi and Ensemble, movement, The Great Distance Home, WaterTower Theatre
  • Sam Lao, music, and Brian McDonald, sound, Bread, WaterTower Theatre
  • Justin Locklear and Carla Parker, music and lyrics, Mousey, Ochre House
  • Bart McGeehon, set and projection design, Babel, Cry Havoc Theater Company
  • Korey Parker, properties design, A History of Everything, Cry Havoc Theater Company
  • Ryan Rumery, original music and sound design, Frankenstein, Dallas Theater Center
  • Jessie Wallace, costume design, The Revolutionists, Imprint Theatreworks
  • Ashley H. White, fight choreography and intimacy direction, Murder Ballad, Imprint Theatreworks

Special Citations:

  • Mara Richards Bim, the founder of Cry Havoc Theater Company, and her teen ensemble, for conducting thorough research and creating compelling verbatim drama, including this year's Babel, about gun violence.
  • Amphibian Stage Productions for its Comedy Series, curated by Baron Vaughn, for giving stand-up comics a place to workshop new material in a week-long residency.
  • Trinity Shakespeare Festival, for a decade of indelible performances, glorious sets and costumes, evocative sound and lighting, and penetrating directorial insight.

Participating Critics:

  • Lindsey Wilson, CultureMap
  • Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News
  • Janice L. Franklin, TheaterJones.com
  • Jan Farrington, TheaterJones.com
  • Martha Heimberg, TheaterJones.com and Dallas Weekly
  • Arnold Wayne Jones, Dallas Voice
  • Mark Lowry, TheaterJones.com
  • Jill Sweeney, TheaterJones.com

Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum is an organization of professional, paid critics that recognizes outstanding theatrical contributions in North Texas. Members see 45 or more productions per season (Sept. 1-Aug. 31) and are not practicing theater artists.

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