Everett’s Village Theatre won three Gregory Awards on Monday, while Edmonds Driftwood Players won the People’s Choice Award for theater of the year.
The Gregory Awards, announced at McCaw Hall in Seattle in Tony Awards-like fashion, recognizes achievements by actors, directors and designers who worked in Seattle-area productions.
Village Theatre was nominated in 11 categories, including theater of the year, outstanding musical and best director for the 2017-18 season.
Katy Tabb won outstanding choreography for “Disney’s Newsies,” which Village Theatre staged in November and December. The energetic musical tells the story of newsboys in turn-of-the-century New York who revolt against unfair wages.
Tabb, a Seattle native, was also choreographer for Village Theatre’s 2016 musicals, “Singin’ In The Rain” and “Billy Elliot.”
Shaunyce Omar, of Seattle, won outstanding supporting actress in a musical for her portrayal of Motormouth Maybelle in Village Theatre’s “Hairspray,” staged in July.
Set in early 1960s Baltimore and created by campy movie director John Waters, “Hairspray” follows plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad and her bid to win a dance competition and bring racial integration to a local TV program, “The Corny Collins Show.”
Omar’s Maybelle, an R&B record shop owner, received props for her pipes in The Daily Herald’s review of the production.
Omar was previously nominated for three Gregory Awards, including a 2017 nomination for outstanding supporting actress in a musical as Mabel in “The Pajama Game,” a 1950s show produced by 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.
Alex Jaeger won outstanding costume design for his 1960s-era costumes in “Hairspray.”
Jaeger, from Los Angeles, has designed costumes for dozens of productions around the country. He previously designed costumes for Village Theatre’s 2006 musical “Evita” and 2008 comedy “Barefoot in the Park.”
Edmonds Driftwood Players, a nonprofit community theater in its 60th season, won the People’s Choice Award for theater of the year.
The People’s Choice Awards allow the public to vote on performances or productions that weren’t nominated by The Gregory Awards’ judges.
Gabriel Ponce, who played Freddy in Driftwood’s production of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” staged in April and May, was also nominated for a People’s Choice Award for best performance in a musical.
A full list of nominees is at www.gregoryawards.org.
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