24TH ANNUAL NAACP THEATRE AWARDS ANNOUNCES NOMINATIONS

Beverly Hills, California (September 10, 2014) – The NAACP Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch’s Theatre Viewing Committee announced nominations in 32 competitive categories for the 24th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards.  This year’s show will be hosted by Kym Whitley, star of the humorous and poignant docu-series “Raising Whitley” on Oprah Winfrey’s The OWN Network.  The awards show will take place on Monday, November 17, 2014 at 6:00P.M. at the historical Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, California.

This year’s Equity Theatre nominations include an array of phenomenal productions including the August Wilson classic, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”, securing several nominations counting Phylicia Rashad in the category of “Best Director of a Play”. Tony Award nominee, Sheldon Epps, is nominated for “Best Director”, for  “12 Angry Men”, which is also receiving a nomination for “Best Playwright ” for the late Reginald Rose. Shirley Jo Finney rounds out the “Best Director” category for “The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry”. Leading the equity nominations with seven is “Breath and Imagination”, receiving a “Best Director of a Musical” nomination for Saundra McClain and “Best Lead Female” and “Best Lead Male” nominations for Karan Kendrick and Elijah Rock. Vanessa Bell Calloway, “Letters from Zora: In Her Own Words” and Demetrius Groose, “The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry” are also nominated in their respective best actor categories. Award winning musical favorite, “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” receives several nominations, including Jeffrey Polk for “Best Director of a Musical” and “Best Choreography”. Veteran actors David St. Louis, Robert Gossett, and Desean Terry pull in 3 of the 5 nominations for the musical, “Royale”. Another leader is “One Night with Janis Joplin”, which garners 4 nominations, including Sabrina Elayne Carten for “Best Supporting Female”.

In the category of Local Theatre nominations “Dream Girls” directed by “Best Director of a Musical” nominee Marco Gomez, takes the lead with 7 nominations including “Best Ensemble Cast” and “Best Producer”.  “Blood Knot” brings in a “Best Director” nomination for Louis Gossett, Jr. and a “Best Lead Male” nomination for Oscar Best. “One Night in Miami” receives four nominations including a “Best Director” to Carl Cofield and a “Best Ensemble Cast”. Local productions of the Broadway smash hits “Ragtime” and “Rent” bring in nominations as well.

The Theatre Viewing Committee considers all candidates who submit their production from January 2013 through December 2013 for possible nomination. All productions must have a five consecutive week production run in Southern California (San Diego to Bakersfield included) to be considered. Productions who meet all eligibility requirements before the deadline are considered eligible for a 2014 NAACP Theatre Award. For more information on the NAACP Theatre Awards, please visit www.naacptheatreawards.com or call Image Is Everything PR for full nominee list at (310) 977-2502.

About The NAACP Theatre Awards

The NAACP Theatre Awards is presented by the Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Branch. Ron Hasson is Branch President and Tia Boyd is the Executive Producer for the NAACP Theatre Awards Show. The prestigious star-studded gala is produced for the purpose of honoring thespians among the best in the field of entertainment. The branch also celebrates a three-day theatre festival, which provides a platform for thespians to express their craft and share their contributions with an audience of their peers, the community and other individuals who celebrate live theatre in Los Angeles.

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Best Choreography – Equity

The Royale – Ameenah Kaplan

Smoking Joe’s Café: The Songs of Lieber and Stoller – Jeffrey Polk

Sister Act – Anthony Van Laast

Best Choreography – Local

Dreamgirls – Rae Toledo

Rent – Alli Miller

Heart Song – Maria Bermudez

Best Costumes – Equity

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone – Karen Perry

One Night with Janis Joplin – Jeff Cone

Breath and Imagination – Dianne K. Graebner

Best Costumes – Local

Dreamgirls – Michael Mullen

I Wanna Be Loved – Barbara Morrison

Ragtime – Maria Cohen, Sheridan Cole Crawford & Jayne Hamil

Best Director – Equity

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone – Phylicia Rashad

12 Angry Men – Sheldon Epps

The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry – Shirley Jo Finney

Best Director – L ocal

Blood Knot – Louis Gossett,  Jr.

One Night In Miami – Carl Cofield

Steele Magnolias – Dino Shorte

Best Director of a Musical – Equity

One Night with Janis Joplin – Randy Johnson

Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller – Jeffrey Polk

Breath and Imagination – Saundra McClain

Best Producer – Local

I Wanna Be Loved – Mara & Ron New and Harold Garrison

One Night In Miami – John Perrin Flynn & Roxanne Hart

Dreamgirls – Marco Gomez, Dolf Ramos & Michael Abramson

Best Set Design – Equity

One Night with Janis Joplin – Justin Townsend

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone – John Iacovelli

The Road Weeps, The Wells Run Dry – Frederica Nascimento

Best Set Design – Local

One Night In Miami – Stephanie Kerley Schwartz

Rent – Anderson William

Steel Magnolias – Joel Daavid

Best Sound – Equity

Breath and Imagination – Dave Mickey

One Night with Janis Joplin – Carl Cassella

Sister Act – Ken Travis

Best Sound – Local

Dreamgirls – David Crawford

Museum of Living Art (MOLA) – Andrew Korda

Driving Miss Daisy – Jonathan Beard & Barry Schwam

Best Supporting Female – Equity

One Night with Janis Joplin – Sebrina Elayne Carter

The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry – Simone Missick

The Royale – Diarra Oni Kilpatrick

Best Director of a Musical – Local

Dreamgirls – Marco Gomez

Rent – Kristen Boule

Sick and Tired – Carla DuPree Clark

Best Ensemble Cast – Equity

12 Angry Men

The Brothers Size

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Best Ensemble Cast – Local

One Night In Miami

Steel Magnolias

Dreamgirls

Best Lead Female – Equity

Letters from Zora:In Her Own Words – Vanessa Bell Calloway

Breath and Imagination – Karan Kendricks

Best Lead Female  – Local

Cassiopeia – Angela Bullock

Shades – Toni Lewis

Sick and Tired – Keturah Baker

Best Lead Male – Equity

Breath and Imagination – Elijih Rock

The Royale – David St. Louis

The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry – Demetrius Groose

Best Lead Male – Local

Blood Knot – Oscar Best

I’m not Rappaport – Carl Crudup

Food, Sex and Consequences – Kim Estes

Best Lighting – Equity

12 Angry Men – Brian L. Gale

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone – Allen Lee Hughes

Breath and Imagination – Jared A. Sayeg

Best Supporting Female – Local

The Good Negro – Yetide Badaki

Pieces – Tiffany Snow

Heart Song – Juanita Jennings

Best Supporting Male – Equity

The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry – Darryl Alan Reed

The Royale – Robert Gossett

The Royale – Desean Terry

Best Supporting Male – Local

The Good Negro – Stephen Grove Malloy

The Good Negro – Phrederic Semaj

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot – Keedar Whittle

Best Lighting – Local

Steel Magnolias – David Carreno

Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me – Kim Smith

The Old Settler – Carol Doehring

Best Music Director – Equity

Breath and Imagination – Rahn Coleman

One Night With Janis Joplin – Len Rhodes

Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller – Abdul Hamid Royal

Best Music Director – Local

I Wanna Be Loved – John Stephens

Dreamgirls – Chris Raymond

Rent – Morgan Fitch

Best One Person Show – Equity

Best One Person Show – Local

Beautiful – Jozanne Marie

Take Me To The Poor House – Liz Femi

Runt – Michael Phillip Edwards

Best Playwright – Equity

Breath and Imagination – Daniel Beaty

12 Angry Men – Reginald Rose

Letters from Zora: In Her Own Words – Gabrielle Pina

Best Playwright – Local

One Night In Miami – Kemp Powers

I’m Not Rappaport – Herb Gardner

The Kipling Hotel: The 80’s – Don Reed

Best Producer – Equity

12 Angry Men – The Pasadena Playhouse

Breath and Imagination – Barbara Beckley

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone – Center Theatre Group

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Tia-Michelle Jackson