Live Design congratulates all the honorees and nominees
The 46th Annual Henry Hewes Design Awards will be presented to nine designers at a luncheon ceremony this fall. Eighty-one theater artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 46 productions presented during the 2009-2010 New York theater season.
The nine honored designers are:
Kevin Adams: lighting design, American Idiot (Broadway)
Donayle Werle: scenic design, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Public Theatre)
Martin Pakledinaz: costume design, Lend Me A Tenor (Broadway)
Notable Effects/Production Design
The Orphans' Home Cycle (Signature)
Jeff Cowie and David M. Barber: scenery
David C. Woolard: costumes
Rui Rita: lighting
Jan Hartley: projections
John Gromada: sound
The Henry Hewes Awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off Off Broadway, recognizing not only the traditional categories of scenic design, costume design and lighting design, but also notable effects, encompassing sound, music, video, puppetry, and other creative elements. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions.The Hewes Awards Committee considered more than 200 productions when making its nominations.
Veteran designers John Lee Beatty, Santo Loquasto, and David Zinn led all nominees with three nominations each. Ten other designers received two nominations for their work during the 2009-2010 season. Signature Theatre Company's production of The Orphans' Home Cycle received four distinct nominations to lead all other contenders. Broadway productions of American Idiot, Memphis, and Sondheim on Sondheim received three nominations each, as did the Public Theater's Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Second Stage Theatre's The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, and Classic Stage Company's The Forest. Another 12 productions on, Off and Off Off Broadway each received two nominations.
The HHDA Committee named honorees in four categories: scenic design, costume design, lighting design, and notable effects. As of the 2010 awards, the Committee has bestowed 272 honors on 170 artists representing 187 productions.
Originally known as the Maharam Awards at their inception in 1965, the Hewes Awards were later known as the American Theatre Wing Design Awards in honor of the Wing’s generous sponsorship. They were renamed in 1999 for noted critic Henry Hewes, who created the awards and served as a board member of the American Theatre Wing until his death in 2006 at age 89.
The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee includes theater critics Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair; Dan Bacalzo; David Barbour; David Cote; Glenda Frank; Mario Fratti; and Joan Ungaro.
Related stories:
Kevin Adams On Lighting American Idiot