Twenty nine Jeff Awards were spread among 20 productions and 13 theatres at the 37th annual awards ceremony held Nov. 7 at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place.
Congo Square Theatre Company’s production of “Seven Guitars” received the Jeff for Production-Play and Marriott Theatre’s “Beauty and the Beast” won for Production-Musical.
“Sweeney Todd,” produced by Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago, received four awards, followed by three Jeffs each for “Beauty and the Beast” by Marriott Theatre and “Seven Guitars” by Congo Square Theatre Company.
“Seven Guitars” received top honors for Ensemble and Derrick Sanders for Director-Play.
Best New Work awards: Bruce Norris for “The Pain and the Itch” and Adam Rapp for “Red Light Winter,” both produced by Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
New Adaptation awards: Rebecca Gilman for “Dollhouse,” produced by Goodman Theatre, and Andrew White for “1984,” produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Marc Robin received the most individual honors: Director-Musical for “Beauty and the Beast,” Director-Revue for “Swing!” and shared the Jeff Award for Choreography with Mark Stuart Eckstein and Beverly Durand for “Swing!” All produced for Marriott Theatre.
Rebecca Finnegan also was a multiple recipient: Actress in a Principal Role-Musical in “Sweeney Todd” and Actress in a Revue in “Closer Than Ever,” both produced by Porchlight Music Theatre.
Other top acting honors: Jefferson Mays, Actor in a Principal Role-Play, “I Am My Own Wife,” Goodman Theatre; Michael Aaron Lindner, Actor in a Principal Role-Musical, “Sweeney Todd,” Porchlight; Barbara Robertson, Actress in a Principal Role-Play, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Court Theatre, and “Mississippi” Charles Bevel, Actor in a Revue, “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues,” Northlight Theatre.
Supporting actors: Tom Aulino, Actor-Play “Take Me Out,” About Face Theatre; Jayne Houdyshell, Actress-Play, “The Pain and the Itch,” Steppenwolf, and Peter Pohlhammer, Actor-Musical, “Sweeney Todd,” Porchlight and Renee Matthews, Actress -Musical, “The Full Monty,” Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place.
Dennis Zacek, an original founder and artistic director of Victory Gardens Theater, received a special award for Outstanding Achievement in Chicago Equity Theatre.
