- Guys & Dolls
Whatever else may have happened this year the 2009-10 theater season will forever be defined by Jackie Nichols and the opening of a brand new state-of-the-art Playhouse on the Square that has already transformed the corner of Union and Cooper and will certainly transform Midtown’s performing arts scene in the years to come. The theater opened on a sub-zero January night in the middle of a winter storm when every other playhouse in town was closed because of all the ice on the streets. But people kept calling about tickets. Excitement was high and seating could not be guaranteed. The first few shows in the new facility were a little shaky, it’s true, but by the time John Waters’ musical adaptation of Hairspray opened Memphis’ longest-running professional theater had finally gotten its sea legs. In a different season Theatre Memphis’ La Cage aux Folle, or Souvenir or even GCT’s underrepresented Guys & Dolls might be the celebrated show. But If my hunch is correct this is going to be a big year at the Ostrander Awards for both Hairspray, and for Playhouse on the Square with Circuit Playhouse and Theatre Memphis picking up a few choice awards along the way.
A New Playhouse from Chris Davis on Vimeo.
And speaking of Hairspray…
When I saw Hairspray I sat near a chatty theater judge that I’ve known for years. He complained to me that The Emerald Theatre Company—a small TheatreWorks-based group dedicated to producing works aimed at gay audiences— had petitioned to be judged. He said—and with due concern— that he didn’t know how a judging team already responsible for 40 shows could add any more companies to their viewing schedule. I told him I didn’t know how they could refuse a group that’s been around as long as Etc. Then again— and in spite of all protestations that will surely be made in comments to this post—in practice there has never been a completely satisfying policy regarding to who gets to play with the big kids and who rides the bench. The now-defunct Memphis Black Rep was up for awards after its first season while the similarly-focused Hattiloo has waited five years. 2009-10 was also the first season of consideration for Voices of the South, a different kind of professional company founded in the 1990’s and dedicated to creating and adapting new work. Who knows when (or if) the (also professional) Tennessee Shakespeare Company will be included in the process?
I don’t pretend to know how to reorganize the system to insure that the judging process is fair for everybody (including—and perhaps especially— the judges) but I do know that local theater is expanding. The alternative scene stabilized and grew after the founding of TheatreWorks. It stands to reason that the availability of the new Evergreen Theatre (the old Circuit Playhouse) will allow a whole new crop of companies to take root and flourish. And somehow, over time, The Ostranders must figure out how to make sure that everybody who wants to play by the rules gets a shot at all the fabulous prizes.
This year’s nominees do, for the most part, represent the best of what Memphis’ 2009-10 Theater season had to offer. There are, however, some glaring oversights and a handful of real head scratchers. So without much ado (literally… will that show be eligible next year, or did it exist in the limbo of “special summer offerings?) here are my predictions for this year’s Ostrander Awards.
