As I begin my second decade of reviewing, I thought it was time to give credit to excellence in the community. This is by no means an exhaustive list; it is instead a tip of the hat to the best of the best of all the shows that I enjoyed this season. I have included a few Ties and a few Honorable Mentions because sometimes it’s just too hard to compare apples and oranges and not fair to snub one for the other. Congratulations to everyone!

Best Drama (Contract)
Collected Stories - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Drama (Non-contract)
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill - Black Theatre Troupe

Best Comedy (Contract)
Talley’s Folly - Arizona Theatre Company

Best Comedy (Non-contract)
Twelfth Night - The Shakespeare Theatre

Best Musical (Contract)
Chicago - Phoenix Theatre

Best Musical (Non-contract)
Cabaret - Desert Stages

Best Ensemble (Contract)
Mornings at Seven - Phoenix Theatre

Best Ensemble (Non-contract)
A Clockwork Orange - Stray Cat Theatre

Best Actor-Drama (Contract) TIE
Jason Kuykendahl - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Actors Theatre of Phoenix
Christopher Williams- Lobby Hero - Actors Theatre

Best Actor-Drama (Non-Contract) TIE
Barry Finnegan - Gilgamesh - Nearly Naked Theatre
Eric Thompson - The Hasty Heart - Hale Centre Theatre

Best Actress-Drama (Contract)
Nathalie Messersmith - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Actors Theatre
Honorable Mention
Jessica Flowers - Collected Stories - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Actress-Drama (Non-contract)
Kerry McCue - Patty Red Pants - Stray Cat Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Drama (Contract)
David Barker - The Value of Names - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Supporting Actor-Drama (Non-Contract)
Cale Epps - The Tragedy of Julius Caesar - The Shakespeare Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Drama (Contract)
Angelica Frost - Lobby Hero - Actors Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Drama (Non-contract)
Cynthia Allen - Patty Red Pants - Stray Cat Theatre

Best Actor-Comedy (Contract)
Christopher Williams - Shmulnick’s Waltz - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Actor-Comedy (Non-contract)
Christian Miller - The House of Yes - Nearly Naked Theatre

Best Actress-Comedy (Contract) TIE
Julia Dion - The Underpants - Arizona Theatre Company
Maren Maclean Mascarelli - Taming of the Shrew - Southwest Shakespeare Company

Best Actress-Comedy (Non-contract)
Kerry McCue - Twelfth Night - The Shakespeare Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Comedy (Contract)
Michael Sherwin - As You Like It - Southwest Shakespeare Company

Best Supporting Actor-Comedy (Non-contract) TIE
Damon Dering - Twelfth Night - The Shakespeare Theatre
Wes Martin - Twelfth Night - The Shakespeare Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Comedy (Contract)
Katherine Stewart - Shmulnick’s Waltz - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Supporting Actress-Comedy (Non-contract)
Neda Tavassoli - Wonder of the World - Stray Cat Theatre
Honorable Mention
Andrea Pruseau - Beau Jest - Hale Centre Theatre

Best Actor-Musical (Contract)
Adam Enright - Honk! - Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre

Best Actor-Musical (Non-contract)
Michael J. Aurit - Cabaret - Desert Stages

Best Actress-Musical (Contract)
Nathalie Ellis - Chicago - Phoenix Theatre
Honorable Mention
Lee Ann Payne - Annie Get Your Gun - Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre

Best Actress-Musical (Non-contract)
Jessica Godber - Cabaret - Desert Stages

Best Supporting Actor-Musical (Contract)
Beau Heckman - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - Phoenix Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Musical (Non-contract)
Stephen Goodfriend - A New Brain - Theater Works

Best Supporting Actress-Musical (Contract) TIE
Elizabeth Loos - Honk! - Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre
Jillian Nyhan - Honk! - Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Musical (Non-contract)
Sherry Hildebrand - A New Brain - Theater Works

Best Director-Drama (Contract)
Matthew Wiener - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Actors Theatre

Best Director-Drama (Non-contract)
Ron May - A Clockwork Orange - Stray Cat Theatre

Best Director-Comedy (Contract)
John Jory - The Underpants - Arizona Theatre Company

Best Director-Comedy (Non-contract)
Jared Sakren - Lend Me a Tenor - Desert Foothills Theatre
Honorable Mention
Tim Shawver- Twelfth Night - The Shakespeare Theatre
Ben Tyler - Beau Jest - Hale Centre Theatre

Best Director-Musical (Contract)
Michael Barnard - Chicago - Phoenix Theatre

Best Director-Musical (Non-contract)
Gerry Cullity - Cabaret - Desert Stages

Best Choreography (Contract)
Michael Barnard - Chicago - Phoenix Theatre

Best Choreography (Non-contract)
Laurie Trygg - A New Brain - Theater Works

Best Set Design (Contract)
Christine Peters - Cats - Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre

Best Set Design (Non-contract)
T.J. Weltzien - Gilgamesh - Nearly Naked Theatre

Best Lighting Design (Contract)
Dennis Parichy - Talley’s Folly - Arizona Theatre Company
Honorable Mention
Troy Buckey - The Value of Names - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Lighting Design (Non-contract)
Eric Michael - Gilgamesh - Nearly Naked Theatre

Best Costume Design (Contract)
Maureen Smith - Honk! - Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre

Best Costume Design (Non-contract)
Diane Welles- Lend Me a Tenor - Desert Foothills Theatre
Honorable Mention
Sandy Dietlein and Cindy Smith - My Fair Lady - Hale Centre Theatre
Cyndee Smith - The Pirates of Penzance - Hale Centre Theatre

Hairspray - Gammage Auditorium
Urinetown - Gammage Auditorium
Say Goodnight Gracie - Theater League

The worst defeat is not trying hard and failing spectacularly, but mediocrity resulting in a minor, quickly forgotten production. These awards are for shows that were grand efforts that dared to dream big, but didn’t quite make it. This is a genuine celebration of those who had the audacity to reach for the stars and sadly came up just a bit short for various reasons. In alphabetical order, they are:

Assassins - Is What It Is Theatre
A company with good intentions but limited means did the best they could with flawed material.

Cardenio - Southwest Shakespeare Company
A company with impressive means and talent aplenty tackled material of questionable parentage.

Macbeth Remixed - Actors Renaissance Theatre
Great concept, not-so-great follow through.

Shakespeare’s R&J - Nearly Naked Theatre
The higher the art, the greater the fall.

Waiting for Godot - Is What It Is Theatre
That company with good intentions and limited means impressively mounted a play even academics squirm their way through.

I have a small dartboard on my bookshelf upon which I tack the tickets for the five worst shows of the season that I’ve reviewed. It is empty at the start, but fills as the season progresses. Sometimes a show proves worse than one that is up there, and that other is replaced. By the end of the season I have a complete collection. Here is the group (from worst to first) for 2003/2004:

Jesus Christ Superstar - Stagebrush Theatre
Buzzard Ball - Desert Foothills Theatre
Private Lives - Phoenix Theatre
Kiss and Tell - Hale Centre Theatre
On Striver’s Row - Black Theatre Troupe

Even tours have their woes. It isn’t fair to note local mistakes without mentioning national ones. Here is the group (from worst to first) for 2003/2004:

Starlight Express - Gammage Auditorium
Oklahoma! - Gammage Auditorium