The Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards all announced their nominations last week, and several CalArtians were included on the short lists of the prestigious awards.
Three productions featuring CalArts’ alumni received 15 Tony Award nominations. The Broadway revival of Horton Foote’s play The Trip to Bountiful received four, including Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Condola Rashad (Theater BFA 08), who has been nominated two years in a row.
Christopher Durang’s comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, with Meredith Lynsey Schade (Theater MFA 06) as an associate producer and lighting design by Justin Townsend (Theater MFA 03), received six nominations including Best Play. Five nominations went to Douglas Carter Beane’s new play The Nance, including Best Sound Design of a Play for Leon Rothenberg (Theater MFA 02). The production also features understudy Matthew Goodrich (Theater MFA 12).
The 2013 Drama Desk nominations included Rashad for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for The Trip to Bountiful, which was itself nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Play. Townsend was nominated for Outstanding Lighting Design for David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love.
The Outer Critics Circle, an organization of writers covering New York theater for out-of-town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway, also nominated Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike for Outstanding New Broadway Play.
In addition to these nominations, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike was honored as Best Play by The New York Drama Critics’ Circle following its conference on May 3.
The Outer Critics Circle awards will be announced on May 13, the Drama Desk awards on May 19 and The Tony Awards will be given out on June 9.