Non-Equity Jeff noms

In my last post, I didn't make any promises about posting my thoughts on the Non-Equity Jeff nominations, but I do have some things to add beyond what made it into TOC's traditional "They Wuz Robbed" piece (which will also appear, in slightly different form, in this week's print issue.

It's just taken me a while to get to it, as I've had an action-packed weekend that, delightfully, included seeing four very good shows—three of them are listed at left; the fourth was an appearance at Schubas by one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Jeffrey Foucault.

But back to the Jeffs.

We'll begin with the justly deserved six nominations for Bailiwick's Jerry Springer—The Opera, which I didn't review but did catch late in its run. I'm a little surprised that Mike Tutaj didn't get an "Other" nomination for his video work on that show, but at least he's rightly recognized there for his stellar projections in both Raven's columbinus and TimeLine's Tesla's Letters (but weren't we going to make projection design a category of its own?). Bailiwick's A Man of No Importance, on the other hand, was a decent production of a mediocre musical that got multiple nominations, but the best element of the show—Ryan Lanning's supporting performance—was overlooked.

I also have to note here how proud I am of my college buddy and former roommate Jeremy Rill for his two acting noms for Springer (so I obviously couldn't review that show) and Circle's Can-Can.

columbinus, speaking of, makes a great case for the ensemble award. The terrific Jamie Abelson and Matthew Klingler are arguably the leads of that production, but it's really the contributions and interplay of all the actors on stage that made it succeed; the same is true for New Leaf's Dining Room, where every actor was terrific but I'd rather see them recognized as a whole than individually. I'm also happy to see Jessica Hutchinson's directing nom, but Nick Keenan's sound design made such a huge impact on that show's success that his absence in the nominations is a real head-scratcher.

The ensemble of BackStage's stellar revival of Waiting for Lefty is another spot-on choice, though here Rebekah Ward-Hays gets a well-deserved individual nod. But why didn't the equally deserving Brenda Barrie in her heartbreaking supporting role?

And Barrie brings us to the subject we used her to broach in TOC: In a just world, she would have a Lead Actress nomination for BackStage's devastating production of How I Learned to Drive (which also featured an excellent Nick Keenan sound design). But that show wasn't Jeff-recommended, and was thus ineligible.

Bohemian Theatre Ensemble got a number of Jeff nominations, but it turns out most of them were for the wrong show. Their revival of The Life got five nods, but their devastating production of Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World, which was extended at the Heartland Studio, remounted at the Theatre Building, and will return again this summer at Theater on the Lake, somehow didn't get a recommendation. (This, by the way, is one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of TOC's star-rating system: I'm always second-guessing myself. I gave both of these shows four stars, but in retrospect The Life would get three and Songs would have five.)

The House Theatre got three nominations for The Nutcracker, including New Adaptation, but I think that only illustrates the small-pond effect. The one Nutcracker nom that's undisputably deserved is Allison Daniel's for Puppet Design—the Rat King and Grand Old Bear were amazing elements of a so-so show. And before anyone accuses me of being a House hater: I really liked The Magnificents, and it wasn't Jeff-recommended.

In fact, this all leads back to the Jeff problem I mentioned last year at this time: the eligibility rules. A number of well-received shows didn't get nominated because they weren't eligible, either because they weren't recommended (Songs, The Magnificents, Dog & Pony's Ape, How I Learned to Drive) or because they weren't even eligible to be judged, like Strange Tree's Mr. Spacky. I understand why the Jeff committee's rules are the way they are, and I frankly don't know how to fix them—aside from giving more weight to less regimented accolades like the Orgies.

Any further thoughts on this year's nominations? Leave ’em in the comments.

Comments

[Ed]

I've always assumed the eligibility rules are in place primarily because there are only so many shows the entire committee would be able to see. As it is, I think these people are at the theatre six nights a week some weeks- a dream come true for some of us theatre junkies, but nevertheless a bit grueling. That said, Kris, I agree with you that that whole "Recommended" hurdle results in some real head-scratching come Nomination time. I could talk about shows I've been involved with that I thought should have at least been Recommended (given some of the shows that *were* Recommended, sheesh), but of course I'm not objective about those. I loved "The Life" but agree that there was certainly more Jeff-worthy work happening in "Songs for a New World." And "Mr. Spacky" was one of my favorite things I saw last year- from here on out I plan to catch everything Strange Tree does (though admittedly I was a touch disappointed by Crucible the Musible). It's sad that they'll have no chance of getting Jeff recognition until they meet the Jeff's production requirements for non-union companies.
I think part of the problem is that some members of the committee have a deep bias against certain types of shows- i.e., some of them love only musicals, some of them despise musicals- but the musical theatre-hounds sometimes wind up judging opening nights for straight and avant garde stuff, and the musical haters sometimes wind up at opening for "Songs for a New World." And the Jeff Committee members are asked to recuse themselves on opening nights based on people they might know in the project, but never based on their own personal bias and taste regarding the type of theatre. Also, their own mood and how things go opening night can have a lot to do with it. Some committee members (like some critics, alas) can let their opinions be influenced by stuff like trouble finding parking, whether the theatre is sufficiently warm/cool and how comfortable their seat is. This is a not a blanket assertion meant to describe all or even most committee members- but when your opening night has the wrong seven people attending due to their tastes and mood, you're screwed no matter how good you are. And because of the number of votes required for Recommendation, sometimes you're screwed even if the wrong *two or three* judges are sent to your opening. On the other hand, how else *is* a Jeff judge supposed to evaluate a production than based on their own tastes and bias? What I consider the 'objective' evaluation of something is usually just *my* opinion in disguise.
Regarding the actual nominations- one disappointment of mine was that "Hound of the Baskervilles" didn't get an acting or ensemble noms. It wasn't just the adaptation that was solid.
I agree absolutely with the nominations regarding "Hope Springs Infernal"- script issues aside (it didn't feel bad per se so much as insufficiently developed), there was some riveting moments of spectacle that the light and sound were big part of in that. I maybe would have considered Joey Steakley in that for the supporting category.
Is Chemically Imbalanced Comedy Jeff Eligible? I thought Sarah Graber was great in that.

[Mark Jeffries]

CIC invites the Jeff people--I believe a couple of their shows have been recommended, but have never made the second round.

Of the eligible companies, I get the feeling that Factory and WNEP *don't* invite the Jeff people anymore, considering comments made by the former Factory artistic director in their programs (and on his WGN radio show) and the former WNEP artistic director (and husband of the current WNEP artistic director) in his blog. Anyone else?

[Ed]

By the way, for those of you wondering, justly, what the hell I'm talking about re: Chemically Imbalanced, I should have specified their production of 'The Book of Liz.'

And even more by the way, speaking of being a theatre junky, I just realized after tonight I'll have seen nine shows in two weeks- Nine,
Neverwhere,
Our Town,
Enchanted April,
Carter's Way,
Dead Man's Cell Phone,
Puddinhead Wilson,
Love, Lust, and Marriage,
and See What I Wanna See down at Illinois Theatre Center.

Now that's sad. Hell, maybe I should apply to be on the Jeff Committee.