(PHILADELPHIA, NJ) -- On November 13th, after a nearly three year hiatus, the Barrymore Awards, run by Theatre Philadelphia, returned to honor the 2022-2023 theatre season, the first full season back for many theatres after the pandemic. In a ceremony held at Fringe Arts, Theatre Philadelphia gave out 24 Barrymore Awards to productions from 10 theatres across the region. Recipients were given a brand new Barrymore designed by Nyred Jackson. The Barrymore Awards recognize professional theatre in the Greater Philadelphia region, honoring local artists and theatre companies while increasing public awareness of the richness and diversity of the city's thriving theatre community.
“Theatre Philadelphia expresses much gratitude to the members of the Philadelphia Theatre Community who have extended us grace, support, and congratulations during the multiple transitions and circumstances surrounding the remounting of the Barrymore Awards,” said Theatre Philadelphia Executive Director Sabriaya Shipley. “ We look forward to how we can continue to celebrate theatre in all its intersections with community in mind and center. We are especially excited about the programming that we aim to create that not only documents moments of celebration like this but, even more importantly, the diverse stories of artists, teaching artists, students of the arts, and audience members who work, support, and carry on the vitality of storytelling.”
This year 66 productions were Barrymore recommended by 66 nominators and 30 judges. This year’s nominations honored 43 productions.
At the ceremony, Delaware Theatre Company received seven Barrymore Awards for its take on the musical classic Man of La Mancha. The musical, which had its cast play instruments in the production, received Barrymores for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical, Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical, Outstanding Director of Musical for the company’s Artistic Director Matt Silva, Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical for Victor Rodriguez Jr, Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Musical for Justin Yoder, Outstanding Music Direction for Ryan Touhey, and Outstanding Lighting Design for Alyssandra Docherty.
The Wilma Theater received four Barrymore Awards. Sarah Gliko and Brandon J. Pierce each were honored for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play for their roles in Eternal Life Pt.1. The Wilma’s production of Kiss received Barrymores for Outstanding Scenic Design for Jian Jung and Outstanding Media Design for Alan Price.
Lantern Theatre Company followed with three Barrymore Awards including Outstanding Overall Production of a Play for its riveting production of The Royale, a play about the life of boxing legend Jack Johnson. Phillip Brown, who played Johnson in the play, received the Barrymore for Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play. The play’s director Zuhairah McGill received the Barrymore for Outstanding Choreography and Movement in a Play.
Arden Theatre Company received three Barrymores. The Arden’s production of Clyde’s received two Barrymores – one for Malika Oyetimein for Outstanding Director of a Play and for Outstanding Ensemble in a Play. The company’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee earned Steve Pacek the Barrymore for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical.
Theatre Exile also received three Barrymore Awards. Two were for its production of the World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames’ (Fat Ham) Abandon. The play was recognized for Outstanding Original Production and Melanye Finister was honored for Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play. The theatre also received the Victory Award for Theatre Education for their education programs that include their Paper Wings program, their camps, and their workshop series.
Quintessence Theatre Group received two Barrymore Awards. One for Hanna Gaffney for Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of the magical nanny in Mary Poppins and one for actor/choreographer Devin Sinclair for Outstanding Choreography in a Musical for his choreography in Mary Poppins. People’s Light received two Barrymore’s for the celebrated World Premiere of Alice in Wonderland: A Musical Panto. Rebecca Kanach garnered the award for Outstanding Costume Design and Alex Bechtel for Outstanding Original Music.
Anthony Martinez-Briggs earned the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Artist. He received $15,000. The other finalists Ang Bey, Newton Buchanan, Tanaquil Marquez, and Pax Ressler received $2000 each.
Simpatico Theatre was the recipient of the The Philadelphia Award for Social Insight for A Shadow That Broke The Light which provided audiences with insight into the personal stories of those affected by the epidemic of drug overdoses and drug use in the country. As part of the award, the company received $25,000.
To participate in the Barrymore Awards a theatre needs to be a 501(c)(3) or fiscally-sponsored organization. Organizations have to have their organizational residency and performance venue within a 35-mile radius of City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All productions for Barrymore consideration must be submitted at least eight weeks before the first performance. There is a fee of $130 per production that needs to be paid at least four weeks before the first performance. Theatres must provide at least one complimentary ticket (a 2nd ticket as a courtesy is encouraged) to each of eight randomly-selected Barrymore Nominators for initial Barrymore consideration. Theatres must provide at least one complimentary ticket to each of the Barrymore Judges for all productions elevated to Barrymore Recommended status.
Each production submitted for consideration must have a minimum of 12 performances, or must have at least four shows on at least three unique days that begin at least five days after the last Nominator performance, to be considered. Theatres need to meet or exceed the following minimum pay scale: $150 per week for all actors who appear on stage; $500 per production for all credited composers, choreographers, and scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers; and $750 per production per director.
The adjudication system is tiered. Eight randomly assigned nominators are sent to each production. An online ballot is submitted by each of these voters where they indicate if the show should move to the second tier for any available category. If a show receives five “Yes” votes in any single category it moves to Tier 2. In the second tier, Judges are assigned based on which categories gained enough votes from the Nominators. This year, there were four panels of Judges based on these categories: Play + New Works, Musical, Design, and Outdoor.
Nominees and recipients are determined in a series of steps involving the pool of Judges. After the quarterly meetings throughout the season, the notes from the meetings are aggregated for discussion in a meeting to discuss each category and determine the list of nominees. The nominee list is finalized, and then a blind online vote is used to determine the recipients (this ballot contains a weighted scoring system). The Judges are then called for a final meeting to confirm the list of recipients, to be announced at the Barrymore Awards ceremony.
The Barrymore Oversight Committee handles decisions, rule adjustments, and feedback for the Barrymore Awards. This committee is a volunteer group made up of community artists, administrators, and educators from varied disciplines.
The 2022-2023 Barrymore Recipients are:
Outstanding Overall Production of a Play - The Royale - Lantern Theater Company
Outstanding Ensemble in a Play - Clyde’s - Arden Theatre Company
Outstanding Direction of a Play - Malika Oyetimein - Clyde’s, Arden Theatre Company
Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play - Melanye Finister - Abandon, Theatre Exile and Phillip Brown - The Royale, Lantern Theater Company
Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play - Sarah Gliko – Eternal Life Pt. 1, Wilma Theater and Brandon Pierce - Eternal Life Pt. 1, Wilma Theater
Outstanding Original Production - Abandon, Theatre Exile
Outstanding Choreography/Movement in a Play - Zuhairah McGill - The Royale, Lantern Theater Company
Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical - Man of La Mancha - Delaware Theatre Company
Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical - Man of La Mancha - Delaware Theatre Company
Outstanding Direction of a Musical - Matt Silva - Man of La Mancha, Delaware Theatre Company
Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical - Hanna Gaffney - Mary Poppins, Quintessence Theatre Group and Victor Rodriguez - Man of La Mancha, Delaware Theatre Company
Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Musical - Justin Yoder - Man of La Mancha, Delaware Theatre Company and Steve Pacek - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Arden Theatre Company
Outstanding Choreography/Movement in a Musical - Devon Sinclair - Mary Poppins, Quintessence Theatre Group
Outstanding Musical Direction - Ryan Touhey - Man of La Mancha, Delaware Theatre Company
Outstanding Lighting Design - Alyssandra Docherty - Man of La Mancha, Delaware Theatre Company
Outstanding Scenic Design - Jian Jung - Kiss, Wilma Theater
Outstanding Costume Design - Rebecca Kanach - Alice in Wonderland: A Musical Panto, People’s Light
Outstanding Sound Design - Larry Fowler & Adiah Hicks - a hit dog will holler, Azuka Theatre
Outstanding Media Design - Alan Price - Kiss, Wilma Theatre
Outstanding Original Music - Alex Bechtel - Alice in Wonderland: A Musical Panto, People’s Light
Outstanding Outdoor Production - Dreamgirls - Theatre in the X
F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Artist - Anthony Martinez-Briggs
Victory Award for Theatre Education - Theatre Exile
The Philadelphia Award for Social Insight - A Shadow That Broke The Light - Simpatico Theater
Theatre Philadelphia is an organization dedicated to bringing together and celebrating Philadelphia’s diverse and growing theater community. The organization is committed to leading efforts that grow audiences and promote the public’s participation in this community’s work. For more than 25 years, Theatre Philadelphia has been the administering organization of the Barrymore Awards, our region's most prestigious theatre awards. Over the past few years they have added a major regional theater event known as Philly Theatre Week, which has boosted community and audience interaction. With these initiatives, Theatre Philadelphia adds professional development and a hub for job listings, marketing efforts surrounding theater in Philly, and speaker series events to connect theatres with tools to reach new audiences. Theatre Philadelphia envisions a region that celebrates a growing theatre community – supporting local theatre artists, fostering the creation of extraordinary work, forging stronger connections between art and audiences – recognizing that a diverse, robust, and thriving theatre community plays a pivotal role in making Philadelphia a world-class city.
