Final Nominees Announced for 2018 Footlights People’s Choice Awards

Footlights, the playbill-of-choice for countless performing arts organizations around Milwaukee, announced the top three final nominees in each of the 15 Footlights People’s Choice Awards categories Friday, May 4 at the Broadway Theatre Center.

Over 20,000 votes were recorded throughout the month of April when voting was open to the public on Footlights.com. Awards Host John McGivern did the honors of naming the finalists, while Awards Chair Ryan Albrechtson and United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) President and CEO Deanna Tillisch said a few words on behalf of each organization. The winners will be announced at the Footlights People’s Choice Awards, sponsored by UPAF, Monday, June 25 at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. To purchase tickets to the event: https://www.milwaukeerep.com/reserve/index.aspx?performanceNumber=41646

The final nominees in each category are:

Outstanding Sound Design

         Non-Professional:

• Derek Buckles, Next to Normal, All in Productions
• Tom Matasek, Spamalot, Falls Patio Players
• Heather Pulkowski, Into the Woods, Sunset Playhouse

           Professional:

• Zack Berinstein, Annie, Skylight Music Theatre
• David Cecsarini, Silent Sky, Next Act Theatre
• Charles Coes and Nathan Robers, Animal Farm, Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Outstanding Lighting Design

Non-Professional:

• Chris Meissner, Romeo and Juliet, SummerStage of Delafield
• Becca Rodenkirch, The Little Mermaid, Hartford Players
• James Sevens, Into the Woods, Sunset Playhouse

Professional:

• Jason Fassl, Sweeney Todd, Skylight Music Theatre
• Alan Piotrowicz, Metamorphosis, Theater Gigante
• Alex Ridgers, Deathtrap, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design

Non-Professional:

• Joanne Cunningham, Hello, Dolly!, Sunset Playhouse
• Darcy Devins, Barefoot in the Park, Waukesha Civic Theatre
• Jazmin Aurora Medina, Eurydice, UW-Waukesha

Professional:

• Sonya Berlovitz, The Tales of Hoffmann, Skylight Music Theatre and Milwaukee Opera Theatre
• Theresa Ham, The Wiz, First Stage Children’s Theater
• Kathy Smith, Carnival, In Tandem Theatre

Outstanding Set Design

Non-Professional:

• Nick Korneski, Into the Woods, Sunset Playhouse
• Scott Prox, 37 Postcards, Lake Country Playhouse
• Michael Talaska, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Waukesha Civic Theatre

Professional:

• Kevin Depinet, One House Over, Milwaukee Repertory Theater
• Aaron Dyszelski, Zombies from the Beyond, Skylight Music Theatre
• Lisa Schlenker, The Tales of Hoffmann, Skylight Music Theatre and Milwaukee Opera Theatre

Outstanding Youth Performer

Non-Professional:

• Ella Rose Kleefisch, Little Red Riding Hood, Into the Woods, Sunset Playhouse
• Jake Koch, Courier, 1776, Lake Country Playhouse
• Alyssa Proell, Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank, Falls Patio Players

Professional:

• Ivy Broder, Lucy, A Charlie Brown Christmas, First Stage Children’s Theatre
• Eloise Field, Annie, Annie, Skylight Music Theatre
• Reese Parish, Dorothy, The Wiz, First Stage Children’s Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Play

           Non-Professional:

• Rebecca Janny, Mrs. Van Daan, The Diary of Anne Frank, Falls Patio Players
• Cathy Marschall, Vernadette, The Dixie Swim Club, Sunset Playhouse
• Donna Lobacz, Mrs. Banks, Barefoot in the Park, Waukesha Civic Theatre

           Professional:

• Brittany Boeche, Toby Belch, Twelfth Night (Drunk), Bard & Bourbon
• Jordan Gwiazdowski, Sideshow Bob, Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, Luminous Theatre
• Rana Roman, Mrs. Cratchit, A Christmas Carol, Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical

Non-Professional:

• Adam Iverson, Scuttle, The Little Mermaid, Hartford Players
• Gwen Ter Haar, Claire, bare: A Pop Opera, Outskirts Theatre
• Eric Welch, Lumiere, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Sunset Playhouse

Professional:

• Marcee Doherty-Elst, Val Clarke, A Chorus Line, Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Theater RED
• Elyse Edelman, Baroness, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, First Stage Children’s Theatre
• Ben Tajnai, Beadle Bamford, Sweeney Todd, Skylight Music Theatre

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play

Non-Professional:

• Joan End, Aida, Over the River and Through the Woods, Sunset Playhouse
• Nicholas Callan Haubner, Lennie, Of Mice and Men, Seventh Row Center
• Ben Johnson, Paul Bratter, Barefoot in the Park, Waukesha Civic Theatre

            Professional:

• Marques Causey, Elegba, The Brothers Size, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
• Deborah Staples, Henrietta Leavitt, Silent Sky, Next Act Theatre
• Bill Watson, Sidney Bruhl, Deathtrap, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical

Non-Professional:

• Kat Geertsen, Jo March, Little Women, Lake Country Players
• Michael Haubner, Jesus, Jesus Christ Superstar, West Allis Players
• Melanie Helvick, Ariel, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Hartford Players

Professional:

• Carrie Hitchcock, Miss Hannigan, Annie, Skylight Music Theatre
• Nathan Marinan, Lottie, Scrooge in Rouge, In Tandem Theatre
• Andrew Varela, Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd, Skylight Music Theatre

Outstanding Choreography

Non-Professional:

• Melissa Bloch-Meier, Spamalot, Falls Patio Players
• Megan & Tricia Hohnl, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Hartford Players
• Karl Miller, Hello, Dolly!, Sunset Playhouse

Professional:

• Ryan Cappleman, Sweeney Todd, Skylight Music Theatre
• Stephen Mear, Guys and Dolls, Milwaukee Repertory Theater
• James Zager, A Chorus Line, Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Theater RED

Outstanding Music Direction

Non-Professional:

• Mark Mrozek, Into the Woods, Sunset Playhouse
• Yeng Thao, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Waukesha Civic Theatre
• Patrick Thompson, If/Then, Greendale Community Theatre

Professional:

• Kerry Bieneman, The Tales of Hoffmann, Skylight Music Theatre and Milwaukee Opera Theatre
• Ben Makino, Sweeney Todd, Skylight Music Theatre
• Jack Forbes Wilson, Souvenir, Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Outstanding Direction

Non-Professional:

• Nate C. Adams, Into the Woods, Sunset Playhouse
• Tim Backes, Next to Normal, All In Productions
• Graham Killeen, Spring Awakening, Rogue Stage Theater

Professional:

• Marti Gobel, The Brothers Size, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
• Matthew Ozawa, Sweeney Todd, Skylight Music Theatre
• Molly Rhode, Annie, Skylight Music Theatre

Outstanding Special Performance

            Non-Professional:

• Comicality 2018, Hartford Players
• Divas and Dolls: A Rising Star Cabaret, Sunset Playhouse
• Requiem for the Living, Chant Claire Chamber Choir

Professional:

• Head out on the Highway, Kids From Wisconsin
• Our Favorite Things: Julie Andrews, SideNote Cabaret Series at Sunset Playhouse
• The Depths, Quasimondo Physical Theatre

Outstanding Play

Non-Professional:

• Dancing with Hamlet, Windfall Theatre
• Over the River and Through the Woods, Sunset Playhouse
• The Diary of Anne Frank, Falls Patio Players

Professional:

• Silent Sky, Next Act Theatre
• The Brothers Size, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
• The Outgoing Tide, In Tandem Theatre

Outstanding Musical

            Non-Professional:

• Next to Normal, All in Productions
• Ordinary Days, Hartford Players
• Spring Awakening, Rogue Stage Theater

Professional:

• A Chorus Line, Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Theater RED
• Guys and Dolls, Milwaukee Repertory Theater
• Sweeney Todd, Skylight Music Theatre

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.