The pandemic may have delayed the Artie Awards 30th anniversary but the annual event celebrating the theater arts community was anything but subdued when it returned Monday, Nov. 1, presented by Buffalo Toronto Public Media and hosted by D’Youville College at The Kavinoky Theatre.
Complete with a red carpet, performances, and jubilant winners, the Artie Awards were back.
To be eligible for an Artie, an artist must live and work in the Buffalo area, and a theater must produce work locally, primarily with local artists. In previous years, the event was held at Shea’s 710 Theatre, but due to the pandemic, the event needed to find a new home. D’Youville College stepped up and offered the Kavinoky Theatre, a fitting location for a celebration of local theater arts because D’Youville is adding its first Master of Fine Arts degree in Dramatic Arts starting next fall.
“This has been a tough 18 months for the theater community, but we’re back on stage and now we can also celebrate another great way to train the next generation of performers,” said Anthony Chase, founder of the Artie Awards and co-host of Theater Talk on WBFO. “Congratulations to all the winners and nominees tonight. It was wonderful to all be together again!”
The Artie Awards is also an opportunity to raise funds for the HIV/AIDS & Immunodeficiency Clinic at ECMC. Over the years, through contributions from theatre audiences and proceeds from red ribbon sales, the Arties have raised over $500,000 for AIDS-related charities.
2020 WINNERS
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
To Kill a Mockingbird, Kavinoky Theatre
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
Passing Strange, Ujima Theatre Company
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A PLAY
El Coqui Espectacular, Raíces Theatre Company
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A MUSICAL
Fun Home, MusicalFare Theatre
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Susan Drozd, Fun Home, MusicalFare Theatre
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Victoria Perez, Kiss of the Spider Woman, New Phoenix Theatre
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
Naila Ansari, Passing Strange, Ujima Theatre Company
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Ben Michael Moran, Nine, Second Generation Theatre
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
James Cichocki, Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, Buffalo United Artists
Dan Urtz, Hand to God, Road Less Traveled Productions
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Zoe Scruggs, Cookin’ at the Cookery, MusicalFare Theatre
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Josie DiVincenzo, What I Thought I Knew, Jewish Repertory Theatre
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Jacob Albarella, Miss Nelson is Missing, Theatre of Youth
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Ricky Needham, The Boys Upstairs, Buffalo United Artists
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Jenn Stafford, The Toxic Avenger, Second Generation Theatre
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Shantinna Moore, To Kill a Mockingbird, Kavinoky Theatre
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURED ROLE
Lorenzo Shawn Parnell, Hairspray, Kavinoky Theatre
OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN
Dyan Burlingame, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid, Road Less Traveled Productions
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Tom Makar, Sound Design/Score, The Tempest, Shakespeare in Delaware Park
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
Lindsay Salamone, The Toxic Avenger, Second Generation Theatre
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT
Neal Radice