2018-19 Henry Award nominations again full of celebration and surprises

The DCPA Theatre Company’s ‘Oklahoma!’ is the Henry Awards’ most honored production of 2018-19 with 11 nominations. Photo by Adams VisCom.

Colorado Springs’ good old reliable Nathan Halvorson makes history; winners to be announced July 22 at Lone Tree

The Colorado Theatre Guild’s annual Henry Awards are a celebration of the entire Colorado theatre community. But the man of the hour at next month’s party no doubt will be Nathan Halvorson of Colorado Springs. The versatile everyman of the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College made Henry Awards history this morning by having a hand in six 2018-19 nominations. Winners will be announced at a gala event July 22 at the Lone Tree Arts Center.

Nathan Halvorson as Mrs. Trunchbull in the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College’s Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda the Musical.’ Photo by Jeff Kearney.

Halvorson directed one production that was nominated for Outstanding Musical (Hands on a Hardbody) and another nominated for Outstanding Play (Church & State). He is also individually nominated for directing both of those shows; for choreographing Hands on a Hardbody; and for his portrayal of the mean Mrs. Trunchbull in Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical. And if there were a category for such things, Halvorson probably would have gotten yet another nod for simply riding to the rescue. When the star of Barnum (which closed yesterday) broke his leg in a preview performance, Halvorson, the show’s choreographer, stepped in to dance the role of the famous ringleader at every performance while actor Gil Barry played the title role from a wheelchair.

“Nathan is extraordinarily committed and passionate for everything about the theatre, and that manifests itself whether he is directing or choreographing or acting or educating the next generation of theatre artists,” said Fine Arts Center Theatre Company Producing Artistic Director Scott RC Levy.

The Henry Awards, which consider achievements among the Colorado Theatre Guild’s statewide member companies, have been a topsy-turvy, roller-coaster affair throughout their controversial 14-year existence. One example: The DCPA Theatre Company, which received just one Henry Award last year, joins the Fine Arts Center this year in leading all Colorado theatre companies with 26 nominations each. But while 29 member companies received at least one nomination today, the Henrys are a nothing if not a feast-or-famine affair: Seven companies account for a full 63 percent of the 180 overall nominations.

The DCPA Theatre Company’s Oklahoma!, daringly set in an all African-American town, leads all musicals with 11 nominations, followed by Vintage Theatre’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with eight. While the Colorado Theatre Guild expanded its pool of nominees in each category from five to seven several years ago, a whopping nine shows are nominated for Outstanding Musical this year because of ties in the voting. All nine nominees will be invited to perform at the July 22 awards presentation.

The most honored play of the season is a distinction that will be shared by three productions: The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company’s Anna in the Tropics, Thunder River Theatre Company’s Equus and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s You Can’t Take It With You with eight nominations each. But in a quintessential Henrys quirk, You Can’t Take it With You did not land a nomination for Outstanding Play.

Photo gallery: The nine Outstanding Musical nominees

Seven companies are nominated each year for Outstanding Season at the sole discretion of the Colorado Theatre Guild’s Board of Directors. This year’s nominees are the Arvada Center, Aurora Fox, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, DCPA Theatre Company, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College, Thunder River Theatre Company and Vintage Theatre. The Fine Arts Center’s 26 nominations are widely spread between Anna in the Tropics (8), Church & State (7), Matilda The Musical (6) and Hands on a Hardbody (3). That the company has four productions nominated either for Outstanding Musical or Play makes it a virtual lock for this year’s Outstanding Season award.

Notable among the nominations this year is the Henrys’ continuing love for the Thunder River Theatre Company, located 170 miles southwest of Denver in Carbondale on the road to Aspen. Thunder River, founded in 1995 and now led by Corey Simpson, had not received a nomination before 2017. But counting its 11 honors this year, Thunder River now has 28 nominations in the past three years. It was also a breakthrough year for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the nation’s second-oldest of its kind. Timothy Orr’s company landed nine nominations, which is nearly double the company’s previous best of five. Cherry Creek Theatre, which operates out of the Mizel Center’s boutique Pluss Theatre, received four nominations, nearly matching the company’s five total nominations in its history. First-time Henry Award nominees include the Butte Theatre in Cripple Creek and the StageDoor Theatre in Conifer.

Among actors, Brandon Bill was singled out as a “killer” leading actor, both for Vintage Theatre’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Stagedoor Theatre’s Murder for Two. Creede Repertory Theatre’s Dustin Bronson was doubly feted as a lead actor in Barefoot in the Park and as a supporting actor in Miss Holmes, a play that puts a gender spin on Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective.

Denver First Lady Mary Louise Lee in ‘Caroline or Change.’

Denver First Lady Mary Louise Lee, who next will star in the Vintage Theatre’s Crowns opening June 28, is nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for her work in the Aurora Fox’s musical opus Caroline, Or Change. Emily Van Fleet, perhaps the most accomplished actor never to have been nominated for a Henry Award, finally broke through this year for her portrayal of Doralee (the Dolly Parton role) in Creede Repertory Theatre’s 9 to 5: The Musical. Some will say she deserved equal consideration for her work starring in the Arvada Center’s Educating Rita.

The Aurora Fox’s 15 nominations might be seen as a vote of confidence from the Guild in Helen R. Murray’s first season as Executive Producer – a controversial slate that was almost completely unknown to most theatregoers going in. But while only three companies earned more nominations, the Fox’s nods all went to two productions with seven nominations each: Tony Kushner’s Caroline, Or Change and Jason Robert Brown’s song cycle Songs for a New World.

There often are nominee clusters in the four design categories because the Guild splits scenic, lighting, sound and costume nominees into two tiers determined by member companies’ annual overall operating budgets. Seven member companies reported budgets above this year’s $1 million threshold (down from $1.2 million the past several years) and therefore made up Tier I: The Arvada Center, Creede Repertory Theatre, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Springs TheatreWorks, DCPA Theatre Company, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company and Theatre Aspen. The rest were placed into Tier II. In an effort to make the tiers more balanced going forward, the Guild has further lowered the budgetary dividing line to $500,000 for the new judging season that began June 1.

This year’s list of multiple individual nominees is led, of course, by Halvorson, followed by his Colorado Springs co-worker Christopher L. Sheley, who was honored three times for designing the sets for Shakespeare in Love, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical and Church & State. This season’s two-time nominees include Aurora Fox Sound Designer Curt Behm and Scenic Designer Brandon Case; DCPA Theatre Company Costume Designer Jeff Cone and Lighting Designer Diane Ferry Williams; and Arvada Center choreographer Kitty Skillman Hilsabeck, who already is a four-time winner. Thunder River’s Sean Jeffries, who earned a record five individual nominations in 2017, is back with nods for sound and lighting, both for Equus. Mark Martino is nominated both for directing and choreographing Ragtime for Theatre Aspen.

Among those working for multiple companies, Sound Designer Jason Ducat is doubly nominated for the Arvada Center’s The Diary of Anne Frank and Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s You Can’t Take It With You. Scenic Designer Michael R. Duran is nominated for Parker Arts/Inspire Theater Company’s NEWSIES and Breckenridge Backstage Theatre’s Lend Me a Tenor. Brian Miller, who won last year for lighting, is nominated this year both for designing the set for Bas Bleu Theatre’s The Waverly Gallery and lighting OpenStage Theatre & Company’s Frankenstein. Lighting Designer Jacob Welch is nominated both for NEWSIES and Local Theater Company Paper Cut in Boulder.

Photo gallery: The seven Outstanding Play nominees

Isaac Stackonis and Brittany Dye in Thunder River Theatre Company’s ‘Equus.’

Every year, the Henry Award nominations also spawn an unofficial list of eye-raising omissions. Among those sure to be disappointed this season are all those involved with Phamaly Theater Company’s Into the Woods, which easily ranked among the handicapped company’s greatest achievements. Other widely praised but slighted productions include the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Vintage Theatre’s Every Brilliant Thing, Benchmark Theatre’s Wakey Wakey and 1984, and The Catamounts’ United Flight 232. Buntport Theater’s Coyote. Badger. Rattlesnake. did not land among the honorees for Outstanding New Play. Miners Alley Playhouse, the darling of the 2018 Henry Awards largely on the strength of its groundbreaking production of Fun Home, received just one nomination this year despite solid stagings of Lungs, Lost in Yonkers and Our Town.

Noticeably missing from the nominee slate again this year is Curious Theatre Company, a former Henry Awards darling that pulled out of further consideration in 2016, citing “a profound lack of diversity” among the winners. This year, the Lake Dillon Theatre Company also withdrew, citing its own discomfort with the awards process. “However, instead of offering complimentary tickets to Henry Award judges, the Lake Dillon Theatre Company has pledged to donate those tickets to local not-for-profits use for their stakeholders and beneficiaries,” said Artistic Director Christopher Alleman.

The Henry Award nominations are determined through a judging process involving more than 100 judges statewide. This year, local theatre journalists and bloggers were eliminated from the pool in favor of a peer judging process made up primarily of fellow theatre artists, academics and educators, as well as general theatre-lovers who apply to become judges. For the just-completed season, the Colorado Theatre Guild pledged to increase the number of judges scoring each show from five to nine, and board member T. David Rutherford said the Guild succeeded in getting 206 member productions qualified.

The Colorado Theatre Guild is promising other format changes for next year, notably the addition of two new youth award categories for both leading and supporting roles. That is sure to create its own controversy given that last year produced the youngest Henry Award winner in history: Twelve-year-old Sophia Dotson, who was named Outstanding Actress in a Musical for Miners Alley Playhouse’s Fun Home, without the need for age distinctions. This year a strong contender for Outstanding Actress in a Play will be 16-year-old Darrow Klein for the Arvada Center’s The Diary of Anne Frank.

The Colorado Theatre Guild is a statewide advocacy organization that presents the Henry Awards as its annual fundraising event. They are named for longtime local theatre producer Henry Lowenstein. The July 22 awards show again will be directed by Betty Hart and Robert Michael Sanders. A highlight each year is the presentation of the Guild’s annual Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s honoree will be announced later this month.

John Moore was named one of the 12 most influential theater critics in the U.S. by American Theatre Magazine in 2011. He has since taken a groundbreaking position as the Denver Center’s Senior Arts Journalist. He was a Henry Award judge from 2005-18.

DCPA Theatre Company veterans Leslie O’Carroll and Sam Gregory, pictured with Lindsay Ryan, are both nominaetd for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s ‘You Can’t Take It With You.’ Photo by Jennifer M. Koskinen.

Nominations by company:

  • DCPA Theatre Company: 26
  • Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College: 26
  • Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities: 17
  • Aurora Fox Arts Center: 15
  • Thunder River Theatre Company (Carbondale): 11
  • Vintage Theatre (Aurora): 10
  • Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Boulder): 9
  • Theatre Aspen: 7
  • Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company: 7
  • Parker Arts & Inspire Theater Company: 6
  • Creede Repertory Theatre: 6
  • Breckenridge Backstage Theatre: 5
  • The Catamounts (Boulder): 4
  • Cherry Creek Theatre: 4
  • Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre (Grand Lake): 3
  • Local Theater Company (Boulder): 3
  • BDT Stage (Boulder): 3
  • Littleton Town Hall Arts Center: 2
  • The Butte Theater: 2
  • OpenStage Theatre & Company (Fort Collins): 2
  • Bas Bleu Theatre (Fort Collins): 2
  • Thingamajig Theatre Company (Pagosa Springs): 1
  • Colorado Springs TheatreWorks: 1
  • Stagedoor Theatre (Conifer): 1
  • Miners Alley Playhouse (Golden): 1
  • Lone Tree Arts Center: 1
  • Benchmark Theatre (Lakewood): 1
  • 5280 Artist Co-op (Aurora): 1

Outstanding Season for a Theatre Company

  • Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • DCPA Theatre Company
  • Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Thunder River Theatre Company
  • Vintage Theatre

Outstanding Production of a Play

  • The Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Directed by Christy Montour-Larson
  • Miss Holmes, Creede Repertory Theatre, Directed by Jessica Jackson
  • Anna Karenina, DCPA Theatre Company, Directed by Chris Coleman
  • Church & State, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College, Directed by Nathan Halvorson
  • Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College, Directed by Rebecca Martinez
  • Paper Cut, Local Theater Company, Directed by Pesha Rudnick
  • Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company, Directed by Corey Simpson

Outstanding Production of a Musical

  • ELF – The Musical, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Directed by Gavin Mayer, Musical Direction by Christopher Babbage
  • Songs for a New World, Aurora Fox Arts Center, Directed by Helen R. Murray, Musical Direction by David Nehls
  • Caroline, or Change, Aurora Fox Arts Center, Directed by Kenny Moten, Musical Direction by Trent Hines
  • Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company, Directed by Chris Coleman, Musical Direction by Darius Frowner
  • Xanadu, DCPA Cabaret, Directed by Joel Ferrell, Musical Direction by David Nehls
  • Hands on a Hardbody, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College, Directed by Nathan Halvorson, Musical Direction by Stephanie McGuffin
  • Roald Dahl’s Matilda, The Musical, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College, Directed by Mêlisa Annis, Musical Direction by Jay Hahn and Sharon Skidgel
  • Disney’s NEWSIES: The Musical, Parker Arts and Inspire Theater Company, Directed by Liane Adamo, Musical Direction by Tanner Kelly
  • A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Vintage Theatre, Directed by Bernie Cardell, Musical Direction by Lee Ann Scherlong

Outstanding Direction of a Play

  • Pam Clifton, Lend Me a Tenor, Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
  • Nathan Halvorson, Church & State, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Carolyn Howarth, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Rebecca Martinez, Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Christy Montour-Larson, The Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Rose Riordan, Sweat, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Corey Simpson, Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

  • Bernie Cardell, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Vintage Theatre
  • Chris Coleman, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Joel Ferrell, Xanadu, DCPA Cabaret
  • Nathan Halvorson, Hands on a Hardbody, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Mark Martino, Ragtime, Theatre Aspen
  • Kenny Moten, Caroline, or Change, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Kelly Van Oosbree, A Little Night Music, Cherry Creek Theatre

Outstanding Musical Direction

  • Eric Alsford, Ragtime, Theatre Aspen
  • Annie Durham, Forever Plaid, The Butte Theater
  • Darius Frowner, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Trent Hines, Caroline, or Change, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Tanner Kelly, Disney’s NEWSIES: The Musical, Parker Arts and Inspire Theater Company
  • David Nehls, Songs for a New World, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Lee Ann Scherlong, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Vintage Theatre

Outstanding Actor in a Play

  • Dustin Bronson, Barefoot in the Park, Creede Repertory Theatre
  • Brian Landis Folkins, Church & State, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Felipe Gorostiza, Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Sam Gregory, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Geoffrey Kent, Sin Street Social Club, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Owen O’Farrell, Of Mice and Men, Thunder River Theatre Company
  • Isaac Stackonis, Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company

Outstanding Actress in a Play

  • Gretchen Egolf, The Constant Wife, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Sally Hybl, Church & State, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Wendy Ishii, The Waverly Gallery, Bas Bleu Theatre
  • Darrow Klein, The Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Kate MacCluggage, Anna Karenina, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Leslie O’Carroll, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Maria Peyramaure, Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Elise Santora, Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College

Double-nominee Brandon Bill in ‘A Gentelman’s Guide to Love and Murder.’

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

  • Leonard E. Barrett Jr., Songs for a New World, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Brandon Bill, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Vintage Theatre
  • Brandon Bill, Murder for Two, Stagedoor Theatre
  • Nathan Halvorson, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Wayne Kennedy, A Christmas Story, BDT Stage
  • Scott RC Levy, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Antoine L. Smith, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

  • Iris Beaumier, Ragtime, Theatre Aspen
  • Mary Louise Lee, Caroline, or Change, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Kathleen Macari, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Thingamajig Theatre Company
  • Sheryl Renee, Sister Act, Town Hall Arts Center
  • Leiney Rigg, Songs for a New World, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Carmen Shedd, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Emily Van Fleet, 9 to 5: The Musical, Creede Repertory Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play

  • Casey Andree, Pride and Prejudice, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
  • Jordan Bellow, Sweat, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Bobby Bennett, The Boys in the Band, Vintage Theatre
  • Dustin Bronson, Miss Holmes, Creede Repertory Theatre
  • Kyle Cameron, Anna Karenina, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Kevin Hart, Lend Me a Tenor, Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
  • Rodney Lizcano, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
  • Alex Perez, Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play

  • Eva Balistrieri, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
  • Christy Brandt, Barefoot in the Park, Creede Repertory Theatre
  • Brittany Dye, Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company
  • Tara Kelso, The Wolves, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
  • Chloe McLeod, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Deborah Persoff, Lost in Yonkers, Miners Alley Playhouse
  • Al-nisa Petty, A Raisin in the Sun, Colorado Springs TheatreWorks
  • Karen Slack, Men on Boats, The Catamounts

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical

  • Chase Conlin, A Chorus Line, Parker Arts and Inspire Theater Company
  • Ian Coulter-Buford, Trav’lin – The 1930s Harlem Musical, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Brian Maurice Kinnard, The Full Monty, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
  • Rennie Anthony Magee, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Chris Mauro, The Full Monty, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
  • Jeremy Rill, A Little Night Music, Cherry Creek Theatre
  • Aaron Vega, Xanadu, DCPA Cabaret

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical

  • Bre Jackson, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Katie Jackson, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Vintage Theatre
  • Anne Jenness, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Vintage Theatre
  • Maggie Lamb, Sister Act, Town Hall Arts Center
  • Alicia King Meyers, A Christmas Story, BDT Stage
  • Rebecca Myers, Always … Patsy Cline, The Butte Theater
  • Megan Van De Hey, A Little Night Music, Cherry Creek Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble Performance

  • The Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • The Wolves, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
  • Pride and Prejudice, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
  • Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Church & State, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company

Outstanding Choreography

  • Nathan Halvorson, Hands on a Hardbody, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Kitty Skillman Hilsabeck, Mamma Mia, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Kitty Skillman Hilsabeck, ELF – The Musical, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Tobi Johnson Compton, Disney’s NEWSIES: The Musical, Parker Arts and Inspire Theater Company
  • Dominique Kelley, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Mark Martino, Ragtime, Theatre Aspen
  • Melissa Zaremba, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College

Geoffrey Kent is nominated for his performance in the Arvada Center’s ‘Sin Street Social Club,’ a new play written by his wife, Jessica Austgen. Matthew Gale Photography

Outstanding New Play or Musical

  • 1 Night, 6 Plays, Written and Directed by Kristen Adele Calhoun, Kenya Fashaw, Gabriela Goldstein, Bobby Lefebre and Suzi Q Smith, Produced by 5280 Artist Co-op
  • Sin Street Social Club, by Jessica Austgen, Directed by Lynne Collins, Produced by Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • What You Will, by Jeffrey Neuman, Directed by Warren Sherrill, Produced by Benchmark Theatre
  • Rausch, Created and Directed by Amanda Berg Wilson and Patrick Mueller, Produced by The Catamounts and Control Group Productions
  • Last Night and the Night Before, by Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton, Produced by DCPA Theatre Company
  • The Whistleblower, by Itamar Moses, Directed by Oliver Butler, Produced by DCPA Theatre Company
  • Paper Cut, by Andrew Rosendorf, Directed by Pesha Rudnick, Produced by Local Theater Company

Outstanding Costume Design, larger budget

  • Kevin Brainerd, Ragtime, Theatre Aspen
  • Sara Ryung Clement, The Constant Wife, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Jeff Cone, Anna Karenina, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Jeff Cone, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Meghan Anderson Doyle, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Courtney Flores, Anna in the Tropics, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Clare Henkel, The Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities

Outstanding Costume Design, smaller budget

  • Erika Duan, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
  • Kelly Gregson, A Little Night Music, Cherry Creek Theatre
  • Julie LeBlanc, Lend Me a Tenor, Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
  • Madeline Miles and Colin Tugwell, Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company
  • Linda Morken, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, BDT Stage
  • Jesus Perez, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
  • Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Vintage Theatre

Outstanding Lighting Design, larger budget

  • Paul Black, Ragtime, Theatre Aspen
  • Katie Gruenhagen, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Shannon McKinney, Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Vietgone, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Jon Olson, Educating Rita, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Diane Ferry Williams, Anna Karenina, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Diane Ferry Williams, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company

Outstanding Lighting Design, smaller budget

  • Kristof Janezic, Men on Boats, The Catamounts
  • Sean Jeffries, Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company
  • Sean Mallery, Songs for a New World, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Brett Maughan, Caroline, or Change, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Brian Miller, Frankenstein, OpenStage Theatre & Company
  • Jacob Welch, Disney’s NEWSIES: The Musical, Parker Arts and Inspire Theatre Company
  • Jacob Welch, Paper Cut, Local Theater Company

Outstanding Scenic Design, larger budget

  • Caitlin Ayer, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Brian Mallgrave, The Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Matthew Schlief, Miss Holmes, Creede Repertory Theatre
  • Christopher L. Sheley, Shakespeare in Love, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Christopher L. Sheley, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Christopher L. Sheley, Church & State, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Matthew Smucker, Last Night and the Night Before, DCPA Theatre Company

Outstanding Scenic Design, smaller budget

  • Brandon Case, Caroline, or Change, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Brandon Case, Songs for a New World, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Michael R. Duran, Disney’s NEWSIES: The Musical, Parker Arts & Inspire Theater Company
  • Michael R. Duran, Lend Me a Tenor, Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
  • Michael Grittner, The Boys in the Band, Vintage Theatre
  • Brian Miller, The Waverly Gallery, Bas Bleu Theatre
  • Tom Ward, Yankee Tavern, Thunder River Theatre Company

Outstanding Sound Design, larger budget

  • Philip G. Allen, Oklahoma!, DCPA Theatre Company
  • Jason Ducat, The Diary of Anne Frank, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • Jason Ducat, You Can’t Take It With You, Colorado Shakespeare Festival
  • Robert Jackson, Church & State, Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
  • Becca Pearce, Educating Rita, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
  • André Pluess, Vietgone, DCPA Theatre Company
  • David Thomas, Ragtime, Theatre Aspen

Outstanding Sound Design, smaller budget

  • Peter Anthony, Frankenstein, OpenStage Theatre & Company
  • Curt Behm, Caroline, or Change, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Curt Behm, Songs for a New World, Aurora Fox Arts Center
  • Brian Freeland, Men on Boats, The Catamounts
  • Chris Gavin, Lend Me a Tenor, Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
  • Sean Jeffries, Equus, Thunder River Theatre Company
  • Allen Noftall, Beehive: The ‘60s Musical, Lone Tree Arts Center

2018 Henry Awards: Ticket information

  • Monday, July 22
  • 6 p.m. drinks; 7 p.m. awards
  • At the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., just west of Interstate 25 and Lincoln Avenue
  • Tickets: $35 for CTG members, $40 non-members, go on sale at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 18. Tickets will cost $45 if bought at the door.
  • Call 720-509-1000 or go to lonetreeartscenter.org