The list of nominees for the annual Ovation Awards is once again overflowing with local talent.
Burnaby and New Westminster talents are well-represented in the nominees' list for the eighth annual awards, which recognize the best musical theatre produced in the Lower Mainland in 2011.
Nominees were announced on Sunday, Jan. 15, and the awards are now open for public voting until Jan. 26.
Leading the way is Light in the Piazza, produced by Patrick Street Productions, with eight nominations. Patrick Street Productions was first founded in Burnaby by the husband-and-wife team of Peter Jorgensen and Katey Wright, and it's now based in new Westminster.
It's up for Outstanding Professional Production and Outstanding Director for Jorgensen, as well as Outstanding Music Director (Sean Bayntun and Kerry O'Donovan), Outstanding Set Design (New Westminster's Lance Cardinal) and Outstanding Lighting Design (Alan Brodie).
It's also up for three acting awards. Wright is up for Outstanding Lead Performance - Female, while Samantha Hill is up for Outstanding Supporting Performance - Female and Adrian Marchuk is up for Outstanding Supporting Performance - Male.
Also up for multiple awards is the perennial powerhouse Royal City Musical Theatre, with The Will Rogers Follies earning a nomination for Outstanding Community Production - Large Theatre. James Bryson is also up for Outstanding Music Director, with New Westminster's Chris Sinosich up for Outstanding Costume Design and Robert Sondergaard up for Outstanding Lighting Design.
Matt Palmer, who starred as Will Rogers, is up for Outstanding Lead Performance - Male.
Burnaby's Footlight Theatre has also received nominations. Its production of The Wizard of Oz is vying against the Will Rogers Follies in the Outstanding Community Production - Large Theatre category, and Marshall McMahen is up for Outstanding Set Design.
New Westminster's Dragon Diva Operatic Theatre is nominated in the Outstanding Community Production - Small Theatre category for its production of H.M.S. Pinafore.
Metro Theatre's 42nd Street, nominated in the Outstanding Community Production - Large Theatre category, also has a strong local tie - it was directed by Alison Schamberger, a retired drama teacher from Burnaby North Secondary School.
Local talent also abounds in the performers' categories.
Up for Outstanding Supporting Performance - Female is New Westminster's Colleen Winton, for her performance in Gateway Theatre's The Sound of Music. Nominated in the same category is Lauren Bowler - co-owner of The Great Wall Tea Company at River Market in New Westminster - for her work in the Arts Club Theatre Company's Blood Brothers.
Local performers are also vying for the Outstanding Gypsy award.
In the female category, Burnaby's Meghan Anderssen is nominated for her work in Elegies, Hairspray and Falsettos, while New Westminster's Linzi Voth is nominated for her work in Anything Goes and The Will Rogers Follies.
In the male category, New Westminster's Sayer Roberts is nominated for his work in Cinderella and The Sound of Music, while Burnaby's Dimitrios Stephanoy is up for his performances in Bye Bye Birdie and The Will Rogers Follies. Burnaby's Colin Sheen is nominated for his work in Hairspray and Next to Normal.
Several plays nominated in various Outstanding Production categories also featured local performers.
Up for Outstanding Professional Production are Arts Club Theatre's Next To Normal, which featured Sheen, and Vancouver Opera's West Side Story, which included a performance by New Westminster's David Adams.
In the Outstanding Community Production - Large Theatre category, Gateway Theatre's The Sound of Music featured the New Westminster mother-son team of Winton and Roberts. Nominated in the same category is Theatre Under the Stars' Anything Goes, which included Burnaby performers Aaron Lau, Angela King and Dave Campbell.
In the Outstanding Community Production - Small Theatre category, Awkward Stage Productions' Smile: The Musical featured the talents of young Burnaby performers Brittany Gee-Moore, Julia Di Spirito and Ashley Siddals.
Two productions up in the Outstanding New Work category also featured local performers - Gateway Theatre's Forbidden Phoenix, which featured 11-year-old Karis Ducharme of Burnaby, and Fugue Theatre's Supernatural Noir, which starred New Westminster's Melanie Adams.
You can find a full list of nominees and vote for your favourites at www.applausemusicals.com - follow the link for Ovation Awards.
The Ovation Awards will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Vancouver Academy of Music. Tickets range from $25 to $40. You can buy tickets online through Brown Paper Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com.
