Vancouver has become a two-company town for large theatre since the demise of the Vancouver Playhouse Company, with the Arts Club and Bard on the Beach sharing the prizes for big stages at Monday night’s Jessie awards.
Best production went to Bard’s retro-Canadian spin on Shakespeare’s comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, while the Arts Club divided the four acting prizes between three of its shows.
Andrew McNee won best actor for his role as the timid best friend to a swinging bachelor in Boeing-Boeing, the Arts Club production of the 1960 french farce. Named best supporting actress for the same play was Nicola Lipman, as said bachelor’s long-suffering maid. Boeing-Boeing also took the prize for set designer Amir Ofek’s period work.
Gina Chiarelli was named best actress for her breathtakingly dynamic portrayal of fading opera singer Maria Callas in the Arts Club’s Master Class, and Robert Moloney took best supporting actor for his two roles in the company’s then-and-now, real-estate-and-racism drama Clybourne Park.
As well, original script went to Yvette Nolan for the Arts Club’s The Unplugging.
The rest of the large-theatre prizes went to Bard, with Wives also winning for costume design (Drew Facey), direction (Johanna Wright), and musical direction (Benjamin Elliott). Bard’s Macbeth took a Jessie for Gerald King’s lighting design.
A lively mix of players were honoured in the small-theatre category, with Pi Theatre’s Terminus — Irish writer Mark O’Rowe’s mix of gritty urban pub life and dark fantasy — taking best production, best actor (John Emmet Tracy) and lighting design (Alan Brodie).
The francophone Théâtre la Seizième won best direction (Craig Holzschuh) and supporting actress (France Perras) for the tragedy Porc-épic.
Best actress, small theatre, went to Erla Faye Forsyth for Pacific Theatre’s How To Write a New Book for the Bible. Best supporting actor, small theatre went to Brett Harris in ITSAZOO Productions’ Mojo.
The Virtual Stage company took two prizes for its racy futuristic tale Broken Sex Doll: best costume design (Drew Facey, again) and best sound design or original composition (Anton Lipovetsky).
The Critics’ Choice Innovation award went to Theatre Replacement and Neworld Theatre for Winners and Losers.
Set design, small theatre, went to Pam Johnson for Touchstone Theatre’s Shelter from The Storm.
The awards for young audience theatre were a sweep. Where the Wild Things Are, from Presentation House with Manitoba Theatre for Young Audiences, won best production; performance (Raes Calvert and Linda Carson); set, props and costume design (Linda Leon); and direction (Kim Selody).
gschaefer@theprovince.com
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