By Gina Lupi/NJACT Media Relations
The Kelsey Theater at Mercer County College was honored with 17 New Jersey Association of Community Theaters( NJACT) Perry Awards nominations for theatrical productions mounted at the theater during the 2009 season . Nominations in 34 competitive categories for the NJACT 36th Annual “Perry “Awards were announced by the NJACT board of directors at Chatham Playhouse in Chatham, N.J. Nominees were determined by NJACT from reviews of over 200 shows submitted by 75 theater companies for Perry Award consideration. In total over 25 theater companies were honored with nominations. Maurer Productions Onstage a community theater troupe based out of the Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County College, received 4 nominations including Outstanding Production of a Musical for their production of Man Of La Mancha at the NJACT Nominations Ceremony,
Other nominees for Outstanding Production of a Musical include Cranford Dramatic Club’s Urinetown, Mystic Vision Players’ The Wiz, Smiling Rhino’s The Producers, Strand Theatre Ensemble’s Little Women, Livingston Community Players’ Seussical, and Chatham Community Players’ A Christmas Carol
Maurer Productions’ Man Of La Mancha also received nominations for Outstanding Scenic Design, Outstanding Choreography, and Outstanding Direction of a Musical. Man Of La Mancha was directed by John Maurer and produced by John Maurer, Dan Maurer and Diana Gilman Maurer, the same team who won the coveted 2008 Perry Award for Outstanding Production of a Play for Driving Miss Daisy.
Other nominations for theatre companies working out of the Kelsey Theatre include nominations for Chang/Ferrara’s Production of The Rocky Horror Show in the categories of Outstanding Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Ensemble Actress, Scenic Design and Direction of a Musical; Kelsey Theater Company and Pinworth Productions’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in the categories of Outstanding Scenic Design, Sound Design, Properties, Stage Management and Featured Actress in a Play; Pennington Players production of The Fantasticks in the category of Ensemble Actress in a Musical and The Playful Theater Company’s production of The King and I in the category of Featured Actor in a Musical.
Marking 36 years of excellence in New Jersey Community Theater, The Perry Awards Gala will be held on Sunday, September 20th, 4:30p.m. at The Somerset Doubletree Hotel, 200 Atrium Drive, Somerset, N.J. www.doubletreesomerset.com. The evening will include performances by the casts of the seven nominated shows for Outstanding Production of a Musical.
Community theatrical productions opening in any of the NJACT participating theatres during the current season may be considered for Perry nominations. The 2008/2009 eligibility season began July 1, 2008 and ended June 30, 2009.
All nominated parties will receive formal invitations to the Perry Awards Gala. In addition, reservation forms for the gala can be downloaded on the NJACT website http://www.njact.org/events/perryawardsgala/perryreservationform.pdf
The NJACT “Perry “ Awards are bestowed annually on community theatre contributors for distinguished achievement. The Perry Awards are named in honor of William Perry Morgan a gifted director, actor, composer, and musician who was once a driving force in New Jersey Community Theater. During his time in New Jersey, Perry and several of his close colleagues came to the realization that there was a need to recognize the many great accomplishments of their fellow thespians, who gave so freely of their talents to enrich the lives of theater patrons in New Jersey.
The NJACT website: njact.org is the official source for all Perry Award related news, information as well as exclusive multimedia and interactive features.
