Four Colorado Springs theater companies were represented when the Colorado Theatre Guild’s always celebratory, always controversial Henry Awards nominations were announced Sunday morning. But the nine overall nominations between them seems hardly representative of the swath of excellent work produced by those companies over the past year.
The 18th annual Henry Awards, to be presented July 29 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, celebrate achievements by Colorado Theatre Guild member companies over the past year. Theatreworks, the professional company operating as part of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, received three nominations — as did the scrappy Springs Ensemble Theatre, which now performs at the Fifty-Niner, a hidden speakeasy in historic Old Colorado City.
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, another professional company operating as part of Colorado College, received two nominations. The Funky Little Theater Company received one.
SET’s Steve Emily is among the nominees for lead actor in a play for his performance in “Annapurna,” though he just as easily could have been nominated for his powerful work in “The Seafarer” as well.
Fine Arts Center Artistic Director Christopher L. Sheley, a seemingly perennial Henry Award nominee for scenic design, was honored for his “Misery” set, but his company received only one other nod.
Colton Pratt is nominated for his work as a supporting actor in Theatreworks’ “The Little Prince,” which he followed with an excellent turn as Cassio in “Othello.”
Theatreworks had a consistently strong year across the board, with widely praised stagings of “Steel Magnolias,” “The Little Prince,” “Othello” and others. But both Theatreworks and the FAC face a harder path to nominations because the Colorado Theatre Guild splits almost all of its categories into two tiers based on member companies’ annual budgets. So Theatreworks and the FAC are going up against the likes of the DCPA Theatre Company, the Arvada Center and other big companies for attention. SET and Funky Little Theatre compete among the smaller-budgeted companies.
Still, Marisa Hebert’s True West Award-winning performance as M’Lynn in “Steel Magnolias” seems a particularly glaring omission.
This year, the lion’s share of nominations are again split between the Arvada Center with 27 and the DCPA Theatre Company with 26. To see a complete list of nominations, go to denvergazette.com.
COLORADO SPRINGS NOMINEES
Theatreworks
• Colton Pratt, supporting actor in a play, “The Little Prince”
• Kaley Corinaldi, supporting actress in a play, “The Little Prince”
• Birgitta DePree, supporting actress in a play, “The Taming of the Shrew”
Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Steve Emily, lead actor in a play, “Annapurna”
• David Hastings, supporting actor in a play, “The Seafarer”
• Kitty Robbins, scenic design, “Annapurna”
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
• Christopher L. Sheley, scenic design, “Misery”
• Hayley Ballard, younger performer, “Elf the Musical”
Funky Little Theater Company
• Isabella Maria Falber, supporting actress in a play, “We Will Rock You
