In just two years, the NJ Stage Awards have developed quite a following throughout the Garden State arts community.  Designed to help shine a spotlight on arts organizations throughout the state, the complete list of winners for 2016 were announced in New Jersey Stage magazine.  New Jersey Stage has been taking a look at the winners this week.  This article takes a look at the Best Place To See A World/NJ Premiere in the theatre category.

“Crossroads Theatre Company received our gold award as the best place to see a World/NJ theatre Premiere,” said Gary Wien, publisher. “This was the second straight year the New Brunswick company received the most votes. Crossroads, the recipient of the 1999 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in the United States, is the nation's premiere African American theater. "

The silver award for second place went to Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, which joined Crossroads as a Tony Award winner for Outstanding Regional Theatre in the United States when the theatre received the honor in 2016.

Earning the bronze was Premiere Stages at Kean University in Union, which is actively involved in the production of new works from the Premiere Play Festival to staged readings.

Awards were chosen by the public via a month-long online vote to find the best places to experience art in New Jersey.  Categories included art, comedy, dance, film, music, theatre, and best town for an arts night out. Over 10,000 votes were cast.

“The public was allowed to vote once a day per IP address,” explained Wien.  “This allowed the smallest of arts organizations the same opportunity as the largest.  We saw venues push voting on their websites, social media pages, and at the venues themselves.”

The top 3 vote getters for each category were listed in New Jersey Stage magazine and on a permanent page of the NewJerseyStage.com website.  In addition, the website features a rotating graphic highlighting one winner at a time and linking back to their website (the graphics will run until the 2017 NJ Stage Award winners are announced).  Individual press releases for each genre will also point a spotlight on the top 3 winners in each category.

For the complete list of 2016 NJ Stage Award winners click here.