We saw so much good theatre in 2023 that we couldn’t help but bring back our Critics’ Pick Awards to celebrate the incredible achievements of the Ontario Theatre Community. Our categories have changed slightly to reflect what we saw this year (less dance, less indie, more work outside of Toronto) but we will still be celebrating Performers of the Year, an Honorary Award, a Fan Favourite, and the Anonymous Award for Outstanding Stage Management when we announce our winners next month.
Who Qualifies?
Any production one of our Toronto writers saw between January 1st and December 31st was considered for nomination, unless it was a remount of something we’d already seen. If the remount has a new cast member, however, that cast member is eligible even if the production as a whole isn’t.
When Are the Winners Announced?
A full list of winners will be published on our website on February 5th. Stay tuned to our Facebook and @MyEntWorld on Instagram and Twitter for updates.
The Anonymous Award for Outstanding Stage Management
A good stage manager’s work is difficult to appreciate from the audience; we can’t see how tight a ship they run in rehearsal or how many fires they put out along the way. So a few years ago we decided to create this award and turn it over to the people who do see those things- other theatre artists. If you worked with an incredible stage manager in Ontario during the 2023 season, we want to hear about them. Send an email to editors@myentertainmentworld.ca with the subject line “SM Nomination: NOMINEE’s NAME” and describe in 100 words why you think they deserve to win (*Please only submit one nomination and respect the word limit). Make sure to include the production details and the nominee’s email address.
Fan Favourite
Email editors@myentertainmentworld.ca with the subject line “Fan Favourite: NOMINEE’S NAME” to vote for any of our nominees in any category to win our Fan Favourite award.
Nominee Interview Series
If you’re nominated this year (including ensemble and production categories), email editors@myentertainmentworld.ca to sign up for our annual Q&A series.
One Last Thing
Especially in technical categories, we are limited by program credits which are often incomplete, misleading or full of typos. If you find an error, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Without further ado, this year’s nominees are…
Outstanding New Work
Casey & Diana by Nick Green (Stratford Festival)
Chris, Mrs by Matthew Stodolak and Katie Kerr (Boldly Productions)
Fatal Charade by Jack Rennie & Andrew Cameron (El Kabong Theatre Projects)
The Master Plan by Michael Healey (Crow’s Theatre)
Our Little Secret: The 23&Me Musical by Noam Tomaschoff & Ryan Peters (It’s Been Introduced)
Wildwoman by Kat Sandler (Soulpepper Theatre Company)
Outstanding Performance (Leading)
Sean Arbuckle in Casey & Diana (Stratford Festival)
Julia Course in Blithe Spirit (Shaw Festival)
Paul Gross in King Lear (Stratford Festival)
Allister MacDonald in Angels in America (That Theatre Company)
Catherine McGregor in Jenny’s House of Joy (Foster Festival)
Adele Noronha in A Poem for Rabia (Tarragon Theatre/Nightwood Theatre/Undercurrent Creations)
Antonette Rudder in Wedding Band (Stratford Festival)
Amaka Umeh in Sizwe Banzi is Dead (Soulpepper Theatre Company)
Outstanding Performance (Supporting)
Benedict Campbell in A Few Good Men (Drayton Entertainment)
Will Carr in A Christmas Carol (Three Ships Collective/Soup Can Theatre)
Robert King in Life Without (Here for Now Theatre)
Augusta “Gus” Monet aka Coyote Ugly in Doctor Faustus (Apothecary Theatre/Dandelion Theatre)
Dan Mousseau in Wildwoman (Soulpepper Theatre Company)
Allison Plamondon in The Fox (Here for Now Theatre)
Adrianna Prosser in The Drowning Girls (Wren Theatre)
Andy Trithardt in Appropriate (Coal Mine Theatre)
Outstanding Performance (Musical)
AJ Bridel in Chris, Mrs (Boldly Productions)
Melissa MacKenzie in Once (Thousand Islands Playhouse)
Nick Palazzolo in The Gray (Hart House Theatre)
Colette Richardson in Ordinary Days (Shifting Ground Collective)
Lee Siegel in Rent (Stratford Festival)
Greg Solomon in Parade (Wavestage Theatre Co)
Mark Uhre in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Grand Theatre)
Outstanding Performance (Solo)
Graham Abbey in Wakey Wakey (County Theatre Company)
Karl Ang in Monster (Factory Theatre)
Damien Atkins in Here Lies Henry (Factory Theatre)
Nicholas Eddie in One Night Only (duhdumduhdum productions)
Gislina Patterson in i am your spaniel (We Quit Theatre)
Outstanding Performance (Ensemble)
The Amen Corner (Shaw Festival)
Angels in America (That Theatre Company)
Appropriate (Coal Mine Theatre)
Frankenstein(esque) (Silent Protagonist Theatre)
The Seagull (Soulpepper Theatre Company)
Outstanding Director
Chris Abraham for The Master Plan (Crow’s Theatre)
Daniel Brooks for The Seagull (Soulpepper)
Jillian Keiley for Richard II (Stratford Festival)
Jan Alexandra Smith for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Grand Theatre)
Sam White for Wedding Band (Stratford Festival)
Outstanding Design
Blithe Spirit (Shaw Festival)
James Lavoie (set/costumes), Kevin Lamotte (lighting), Troy Slocum (sound)
Fiddler on the Roof (Drayton Entertainment)
Douglas Paraschuk (set), Jenine Kroeplin (costumes), Kevin Fraser (lighting), Allan McMillan (sound)
The Hooves Belonged to the Deer (Tarragon Theatre)
Anahita Dehbonehie (set/costumes), Whittyn Jason (lighting), Chris Pereira (sound)
Prince Caspian (Shaw Festival)
Cory Sincennes (set/costumes), Jareth Li (lighting), Alessandro Juliani (sound)
The Shadow of a Doubt (Shaw Festival)
Gillian Gallow (set/costumes, Bonnie Beecher (lighting), Haui (live video)
Withrow Park (Tarragon Theatre)
Ken MacDonald (set), Joyce Padua (costumes), Kimberly Purtell (lighting), Jacob Lin (sound)
Outstanding Production
The Amen Corner (Shaw Festival)
Angels in America (That Theatre Company)
Appropriate (Coal Mine Theatre)
Casey & Diana (Stratford Festival)
The Master Plan (Crow’s Theatre)
The Seagull (Soulpepper Theatre Company)