August, Shakespeare Theater Add Accolades With Tony Nominations

By Marcus Gilmer in Arts & Entertainment on May 14, 2008 3:48PM

The Chicago theater scene, already one of the most reputable in the country, continues to garner critical recognition. Apparently not content with settling for a Pulitzer Prize, Steppenwolf's hugely successful play, August: Osage County was nominated for seven Tony awards yesterday, including Best Play. Not to be outdone, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater was honored with this year's Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theater, the fourth Chicago-area theater to win the award (Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Victory Gardens).

Besides the nomination for Best Play, August also received nominations for: Best Direction in a Play (Anna Shapiro); two nods for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Amy Morton and Deanna Dunagan); Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (Rondi Reed); Best Scenic Design of a Play (Todd Rosenthal); and Best Lighting Design of a Play (Ann G. Wrightson).

The Chicago Shakespeare Theater has been producing plays for 22 years, the first being a performance of Henry V on the roof of a pub. It's now located at Navy Pier and continues to perform several Shakespeare plays every year in addition to several other productions, including many family-friendly events, as well as many acclaimed international performances. According to artistic director Barbara Gaines, "50,000 kids will see Shakespeare here this year, and every year. This coming year we'll have our one-millionth high school student here. We serve over 300,000 people for our Shakespeare plays, plus our other classical plays. Those are the numbers that I care about." Well, we also assume she'll care about the number of zeros on the $25,000 check the Theater will receive as part of their award.

This year's Tony Awards will be presented on June 15th and will be hosted by the greatest of thespians, Whoopi Goldberg.