Evita Cleans Up At Non-Equity Jeffs

By Julienne Bilker in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 9, 2009 7:40PM

New York might still be buzzing about Sunday night’s Tony Awards - or at least about Bret Michaels' busted nose - but Chicago had more important business to attend to last night: The non-Equity Jeff Awards.

The Joseph Jefferson Awards, Chicago’s equivalent of the Tonys, are presented in two separate annual ceremonies, one for theaters that operate under Equity (union) contracts and one for those that do not. While we’ll have to wait until the fall for the former, the latter is almost more exciting, as it celebrates the amazing Chicago storefront theatre scene we love to brag about to our friends on the east coast.

Several of our favorite productions from the 2008-2009 season took home top awards. Theo Ubique Theatre’s production of Evita led the pack with six awards, including Best Production of a Musical and Best Director of a Musical for Fred Anzevino. We were especially excited for the honors earned by Eclipse’s Blue Surge (Actress in a Principal Role, Play for Laura Coover and Actor in a Supporting Role, Play for Nathaniel Swift) and The House Theatre’s Rose and the Rime (Original Incidental Music for Kevin O’Donnell and Sound Design for Joshua Horvath, who tied with Victoria DeIorio for Lifeline Theatre’s The Mark of Zorro).

We’re still kicking ourselves for missing The Hypocrites’ production of Our Town, which is currently enjoying an Off-Broadway run - there are also (unconfirmed) rumors that it might move to Broadway. Though only nominated for two awards, this critically acclaimed show took home both (Best Production of a Play, and Best Director of a Play for David Cromer).

You can check out a full list of winners here. Congrats to everyone!