This is my second year of celebrating excellence in the Valley of the Sun's theatre community. Once again, 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 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)
Sight Unseen - Actors Theatre

Best Drama (Non-contract)
Hurlyburly - Nearly Naked Theatre

Best Comedy (Contract)
Nickel and Dimed - Actors Theatre

Best Comedy (Non-contract)
[sic] - Stray Cat Theatre

Best Musical (Contract)
Miss Saigon - Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre

Best Musical (Non-contract) TIE
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - Desert Foothills Theatre
Company - Tempe Little Theatre

Best Ensemble (Contract)
You Can't Take it With You - Phoenix Theatre

Best Ensemble (Non-contract)
Necessary Targets - arizona women's theatre company

Best Actor-Drama (Contract) TIE
Nicholas Glaeser - Sight Unseen - Actors Theatre
Robert Jason Jackson - Permanent Collection - Arizona Theatre Company

Best Actor-Drama (Non-Contract) TIE
Dion Johnson - The Elephant Man - THEATRESCAPE
Mike Traylor- Topdog/Underdog - iTheatre Collaborative

Best Actress-Drama (Contract)
Jacqueline Gaston - Lost In Yonkers - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Actress-Drama (Non-contract) TIE
Christina Stewart - Romeo and Juliet - Desert Rose Theatre
Katherine Stewart - The Lark - Desert Rose Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Drama (Contract)
Ben Tyler - Sight Unseen - Actors Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Drama (Non-Contract)
Samuel E. Wilkes - The Normal Heart - Stray Cat Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Drama (Contract) TIE
Deborah Fialkow - Macbeth - Arizona Theatre Company
Maren Maclean - Macbeth - Arizona Theatre Company
Christen Simon - Macbeth - Arizona Theatre Company

Best Supporting Actress-Drama (Non-contract)
Kerry McCue - Hurlyburly - Nearly Naked Theatre

Best Actor-Comedy (Contract)
Cale Epps - Lost In Yonkers - Arizona Jewish Theatre Company

Best Actor-Comedy (Non-contract) TIE
Wes Martin - A Midsummer Night's Dream - The Shakespeare Theatre
Ken Milder - The Foreigner - Scottsdale Community Players

Best Actress-Comedy (Contract)
Cathy Dresbach - Nickel and Dimed - Actors Theatre

Best Actress-Comedy (Non-contract)
Katrina Reyes - Breaking Legs - Desert Foothills Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Comedy (Contract)
Michael Bailey - Twelfth Night - Southwest Shakespere Company

Best Supporting Actor-Comedy (Non-contract)
Rob Evans - A Midsummer Night's Dream - The Shakespeare Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Comedy (Contract)
Maria Amarocho - Nickel and Dimed - Actors Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Comedy (Non-contract)
Andrea Prusseau - Barefoot in the Park - Hale Centre Theatre

Best Actor-Musical (Contract)
Seth Kinney - Miss Saigon - Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre

Best Actor-Musical (Non-contract)
Dominic Kidwell - Sweet Charity - Desert Stages Theatre

Best Actress-Musical (Contract) TIE
Elizabeth Loos - Gypsy - Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
Danielle Plisz - Gypsy - Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre

Best Actress-Musical (Non-contract)
Jessica Godber - Sweet Charity - Desert Stages Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Musical (Contract)
Patrick Du Laney - Gypsy - Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre

Best Supporting Actor-Musical (Non-contract)
Jere Van Patten - The Little Shop of Horrors - MCC/PT Fundraiser

Best Supporting Actress-Musical (Contract)
April Monte - A Chorus Line - Phoenix Theatre

Best Supporting Actress-Musical (Non-contract)
Kathi Osborne - Company - Tempe Little Theatre

Best Director-Drama (Contract)
Matthew Wiener - Sight Unseen - Actors Theatre

Best Director-Drama (Non-contract) TIE
Charles St. Claire - Topdog/Underdog - iTheatre Collaborative
April Smith - Hurlyburly - Nearly Naked Theatre

Best Director-Comedy (Contract) TIE
Graham Whitehead - You Can't Take it With You - Phoenix Theatre
Kirk Jackson - Nickel and Dimed - Actors Theatre

Best Director-Comedy (Non-contract)
Jared Sakren - Breaking Legs - Desert Foothills Theatre

Best Director-Musical (Contract)
David Ira Goldstein - Pirates of Penzance - Arizona Theatre Company

Best Director-Musical (Non-contract)
Philip Fazio - The Last Five Years - Ovation Theatre Troupe

Best Choreography (Contract)
Michael Barnard - A Chorus Line - Phoenix Theatre

Best Choreography (Non-contract) TIE
Hillary Hirsch - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - Desert Foothills Theatre
Brent Thomas Mills and Maryann Gregg - Oklahoma! - Hale Centre Theatre

Best Set Design (Contract) TIE
Robin Sanford Roberts - Permanent Collection - Arizona Theatre Company
T.J. Weltzien - You Can't Take it With You - Phoenix Theatre

Best Set Design (Non-contract)
Alicia Marie Turvin - Hurlyburly - Nearly Naked Theatre

Best Lighting Design (Contract) TIE
Peter Maradudin - Anna in the Tropics - Arizona Theatre Company
Michael J. Eddy - You Can't Take it With You - Phoenix Theatre

Best Lighting Design (Non-contract)
Bob Nelson - Chapter Two - Tempe Little Theatre

Best Costume Design (Contract)
Lois K. Myers - Twelfth Night - Southwest Shakespeare Company

Best Costume Design (Non-contract)
Sandy Dietlein - Barefoot in the Park - Hale Centre Theatre

The Lion King - Gammage Auditorium
Jesus Christ Superstar - Gammage Auditorium
Tea at Five - 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:

102 - Is What It Is Theatre
An original script flawed by the penchant for pushing as many hot buttons as possible.

Anna in the Tropics - Arizona Theatre Company
Is it possible to anticipate a piece too much?

E2 - Nearly Naked Theatre
The greatest example of the need of staged readings and workshopping: A potentially interesting script in desperate need of revisions.

Henry V - Southwest Shakespeare Company
So much potential, so clumsy a handling of theme.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Nearly Naked Theatre
The 20s? No really, the 20s?

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 almost tolerable) for 2004/2005:

1) Company - Theater Works TIED WITH
1) Heaven Can Wait - Hale Centre Theatre
3) For Better or Worse - Arizona Theatre Company
4) Romeo and Juliet - The Shakespeare Theatre
5) Much Ado About Nothing - Actors Renaissance Theatre

Even tours have their woes. It isn’t fair to note local mistakes without mentioning national ones. Here is the inexcusable offering of 2004/2005:

The Graduate - Gammage Auditorium