Pages on Stages, Mason Pilevsky
Best Direction of a Play
Knud Adams, English
English was a play that required nuance in order to be understood. With the actors switching in and out of accents and in and out of their ability to be themselves, directing this play involved much less staging and much more character and world building. Knud Adams did this brilliantly.
Sam Mendes, The Hills of California
If not for the bold, outrageous nature of Oh, Mary!, Sam Mendes might be my pick for best director. This show involved working with young actors and middle aged actors who were playing the same roles, as well as a role crafted entirely from hearsay until the very end. The need for clarity demanded a precision that Sam Mendes kept consistent, not only among actors but also through design elements.
Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!
An absolute challenge of a show, marvelously handled. I’m sure the give and take with playwright Cole Escola being onstage and therefore in the room at all times must have been challenge, but Sam Pinkleton’s art came in through the staging and took a humorous script into a hilarious performance.
Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the Villain
I give Danya Taymor a lot of credit for her work in this piece. Working with young actors and a seasoned design team must have required a delicate balance throughout the process.
Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Calculating the precision of where exactly Sarah Snook had to step and when to introduce each successive gimmick to keep the audience engaged despite the entire show only having one actor onstage is truly mind boggling on the part of Kip Williams, who is a very worthy contender for this award.
Pages on Stages Prediction: Sam Pinkleton
If It Was Up to Me: Sam Pinkleton
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Marsha Ginsberg, English
The set for English was kind of like a classroom and kind of like a light box suspended outside of space and time. While it did move a little and was a great metaphor for what the characters were going through, I think that this season it was outdone by some of the more realistic or more highly stylized pieces.
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
This was an absolutely remarkable set depicting the same house at two different times on two different sides of a turntable. The most meaningful part was when we got stuck between worlds with half of each set.
Marg Horwell and David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Minimalist, but bursting with flowers, it is the staging and the live camerawork more than the scenery that makes this show shine. Whoever did the math certainly deserves some kind of award, but I don’t think it’s for scenic design.
Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
A brilliant marriage of set pieces, automation, projections, and video, enable a story to be told through scenic design alone. To me, this is the clear winner of this category.
Scott Pask, Good Night, and Good Luck
This set had a lot of moving parts. Sometimes this was very engaging, but at other times I had a hard time knowing who was speaking or where to look.
Pages on Stages Prediction: Miriam Buether and 59
If It Was Up to Me: Miriam Buether and 59
Best Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, Good Night, and Good Luck
These period costumes are fabulous, and each is mindful of what the character would actually wear based on their personality.
Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray
One of the devices that the audience relies upon to know which character is being portrayed is costuming, and Marg Horwell designed many looks for one person that truly allow the audience to see her as many people.
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Rob Howell did an impressive job of comparing and contrasting who each character was as a child with who they became as an adult. He also portrayed the differences in where they each landed financially with astute attention to detail.
Holly Pierson, Oh, Mary!
Who doesn’t love giant hoop skirts that can hide a whole person? Evocative, provocative, and masterful.
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
I can’t imagine what Brigitte Reiffenstuel’s shift plot for this show looks at. Stranger Things has a very large cast to begin with, and each actor seems to have dozens of looks. This piece must have been incredibly labor intensive.
Pages on Stages Prediction: Holly Pierson
If It Was Up to Me: Holly Pierson
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Chivers, The Hills of California
Taking us in and out of both time and reality, Natasha Chivers’s work really shines in The Hills of California.
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
More of a supporting character to scenic, projections/video, and sound, but still a crucial part of the team that makes this show’s illusions truly spectacular. I predict that Jon Clark will win because the collaboration is so tight that it’s hard to tell what to attribute to whom.
Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, Good Night, and Good Luck
The lighting design of this piece was practical, but nothing special. David Bengali’s contributions in video were interesting but not mesmerizing.
Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, John Proctor is the Villain
I saw this one from the mezzanine, and the lighting of the last scene with the class project was very kitschy and distracting. For me, it took away from the power that the students were reclaiming. It didn’t seem well thought out.
Nick Schlieper, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Another moment where if Nick Schlieper wins, it is for mathematical precision. However, the lighting in this piece doesn’t do much to make the audience feel.
Pages on Stages Prediction: Jon Clark
If It Was Up to Me: Natasha Chivers
Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
The sound was a large part of what made Stranger Things genuinely scary and believable as opposed to fake like a Disney ride. It was certainly the most elaborate sound design on Broadway this year, and also the most collaborative.
Palmer Hefferan, John Proctor is the Villain
Sound in this show was subtle, yet present. It seemed to the outside eye like most of the cues were dictated in the script, and I’m not sure how much Palmer Hefferan contributed artistically.
Daniel Kluger, Good Night, and Good Luck
The sound on the little TVs was too loud and demanded that the audience decide what to focus on for ourselves. It was distracting at times, and not well executed in that there were times when I had to frantically search the stage for the speaker.
Nick Powell, The Hills of California
Nick Powell’s sound design had some truly haunting moments. I can still hear the echo of Joan’s voice in the moment at the end where she has to confront her younger self.
Clemence Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Clemence Williams did a good job here given what he was working with. It’s not an elaborate enough design, and a lot of the real work fell on the front of house mixer/production sound/A1 to make sure Sarah Snook’s levels were working.
Pages on Stages Prediction: Paul Arditti
If It Was Up to Me: Paul Arditti
Wednesday: Best of the Best!
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