Darren Criss, Lena Hall, and More Earn Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Nominations

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) has announced its nominations and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles, Orange County, and Ventura County theater for the year 2016. The 48th annual LADCC awards ceremony will take place on Monday, March 20 at the Colony Theatre at Burbank Town Center. Wenzel Jones, a co-host on IMRU, the LGBTQI Radio News Magazine on KPFK 90.7, will host the ceremony.

Celebration Theatre's The Boy From Oz leads the pack with nine nominations, following by the Antaeus Theatre Company production of Cloud 9 with eight nominations, and Pasadena Playhouse's Fly and East West Players' La Cage auz Folles, each with five nominations.

One or more plaques will be presented in each of 17 categories. Tony winner Lena Hall and Darren Criss, both of whom performed in the Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, earned nominations for their reprised performances at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder composers Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman are also nominated in a category with fellow Tony winner Jason Robert Brown, who is recognized for his Tony-winning score to The Bridges of Madison County.

The following seven special awards will be presented as well: The Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater will be awarded to Antaeus Theatre Company; the Polly Warfield Award for an excellent season in a small to mid-size theater will be awarded to Rogue Machine Theatre; the Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an outstanding new play goes to Aliza Goldstein for A Singular They, originally produced by the Blank Theatre; the Kinetic Lighting Award for outstanding achievement in theatrical design goes to lighting designer Jared A. Sayeg; the Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theater goes to Cabrillo Music Theatre; the Milton Katselas Award for career or special achievement in direction goes to Maria Gobetti; and the Gordon Davidson Award, a new honor for distinguished contribution to the Los Angeles theatrical community, will be presented to I Love 99. The award is established in honor of the late Gordon Davidson, founding artistic director of the Center Theatre Group.

Read below for the complete list of nominees:

Production
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder – Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre
Cloud 9 – Antaeus Theatre Company
Disgraced – Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum
Fly – The Pasadena Playhouse
The Boy From Oz – Celebration Theatre
Urinetown the Musical – Coeurage Theatre Company

McCulloh Award for Revival (plays written between 1920 and 1991)
Cloud 9 – Antaeus Theatre Company
Endgame – Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum
West Side Story – Musical Theatre West, Carpenter Performing Arts Center

Lead Performance
Hugo Armstrong – All the Way, South Coast Repertory
Andrew Bongiorno – The Boy From Oz, Celebration Theatre
Ginna Carter – The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Pacific Resident Theatre
Kate Morgan Chadwick – Bed, Echo Theater Company
Darren Criss – Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hollywood Pantages Theatre
Hari Dhillon – Disgraced, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum
Rebecca Gray – One of the Nice Ones, Echo Theater Company
Connor Kelly-Eiding – Dry Land, Echo Theater Company
Matt Orduña – Bars and Measures, The Theatre @ Boston Court
Gedde Watanabe – La Cage aux Folles, East West Players
Jacqueline Wright – Blueberry Toast, Echo Theater Company.

Featured Performance
JD Cullum – Cloud 9, Antaeus Theatre Company
Bo Foxworth – Cloud 9, Antaeus Theatre Company
Lena Hall – Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hollywood Pantages Theatre
Steve Hofvendahl – The Engine of Our Ruin, Victory Theatre
Bess Motta – The Boy From Oz, Celebration Theatre
Jessica Pennington – The Boy From Oz, Celebration Theatre
Victoria Ortiz – The Super Variety Match Bonus Round!, Rogue Machine Theatre

Ensemble Performance
Ameryka – Critical Mass Performance Group, Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles
Casa Valentina – Pasadena Playhouse
Cloud 9 – Antaeus Theatre Company
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum
The Boy from Oz – Celebration Theatre

Solo Performance
Deborah Puette – Captain of the Bible Quiz Team, Rogue Machine Theatre.

Direction
Tim Dang – La Cage aux Folles, East West Players
Kari Hayter – Urinetown the Musical, Coeurage Theatre Company
Ricardo Khan – Fly, Pasadena Playhouse
Michael A. Shepperd – The Boy from Oz, Celebration Theatre
Casey Stangl – Cloud 9, Antaeus Theatre Company
Darko Tresnjak – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

Writing
Ayad Akhtar – Disgraced, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum
Idris Goodwin – Bars and Measures, The Theatre @ Boston Court
Erik Patterson – One of the Nice Ones, Echo Theater Company
Jason Wells – The Engine of Our Ruin, Victory Theatre

Musical Score
Noah Agruss – Bars and Measures, The Theatre @ Boston Court
Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre
Jason Robert Brown – The Bridges of Madison County, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

Music Direction
Bryan Blaskie – The Boy from Oz, Celebration Theatre
Paul Litteral – Louis & Keely: ‘Live’ at the Sahara, Geffen Playhouse
Marc Macalintal – La Cage aux Folles, East West Players
Gregory Nabours – Urinetown the Musical, Coeurage Theatre Company

Choreography
Hope Clarke – Fly, Pasadena Playhouse
Reggie Lee – La Cage aux Folles, East West Players
Janet Roston – The Boy from Oz, Celebration Theatre
Leslie Stevens – The Full Monty, 3-D Theatricals

Set Design
Tom Buderwitz – Casa Valentina, Pasadena Playhouse
Alexander Dodge – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre
David Gallo – Empire the Musical, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
Michael Navarro – My Mañana Comes, Fountain Theatre

Lighting Design
Brandon Baruch – Urinetown the Musical, Coeurage Theatre Company
Ken Billington – Dreamgirls, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
Rui Rita and Jake DeGroot – Fly, Pasadena Playhouse
Tim Swiss – Dream Boy, Celebration Theatre

Costume Design
Kate Bergh – Casa Valentina, Pasadena Playhouse
Amy Clark and Mark Koss – The Little Mermaid, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
A. Jeffrey Schoenberg – Cloud 9, Antaeus Theatre Company
Anthony Tran – La Cage aux Folles, East West Players

Sound Design
John Farmanesh-Bocca and Adam Phalen – Tempest Redux, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and New American Theatre
John Gromada – Fly, Pasadena Playhouse
Rebecca Kessin – Dream Boy, Celebration Theatre
Eric Snodgrass – The Boy from Oz, Celebration Theatre

Specialty: Fight Choreography
Jen Albert – Punch and Judy, School of Night, Ruby Theater at the Complex

Specialty: Wigs, Hair and Makeup
Rick Geyer – Casa Valentina, Pasadena Playhouse
Jessica Mills – Cloud 9, Antaeus Theatre Company