Ostrander Theatre Awards – Memphis Flyer

Here we are at the usual time, all dressed up and ready to celebrate theater with the coveted Ostrander Awards. Yet this year, we’ll be celebrating at home — together.

Elizabeth Perkins, Memphis Ostrander Theatre Awards program director, says that she hopes theater enthusiasts and nominees will get dressed up with her to celebrate the winners. Though, she says, a few things will change with the switch to a virtual format.

“We won’t be selling tickets but asking for donations to cover expenses,” says Perkins. “Any funds raised over expenses will be donated back to the participating theaters as they sit out the rest of this intermission.”

Courtesy of Playhouse on the Square

Playhouse on the Square’s Book of Will among nominees

While the shortened theater season offered a little more than half the usual performances for the judges to consider, the show must go on. No one understands that more than Ann Marie Hall, who will be awarded the Eugart Yerian award for lifetime achievement honoring her many years of artistic contribution to the Memphis theater community.

All nominees in every category were announced on YouTube in July. Book of Will (Playhouse on the Square), Detroit 67 (Hattiloo Theatre), Eclipsed (Hattiloo Theatre), and Indecent (Circuit Playhouse) made the cut for Best Production of a Drama.

The nominees for Best Production in the collegiate division are A Raisin in the Sun (Southwest Tennessee Community College), Hissifit (McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College), and Inherit the Wind (University of Memphis).

Did your favorites get nominated? Join in virtually on Sunday to find out and celebrate excellence in collegiate, community, and professional theater in the Memphis area.

Sunday, August 30, 7 p.m., memphisostranders.com, join the award ceremony on the Ostrander Awards Facebook page and YouTube channel, donation-based.

Broadway has its Tonys. Memphis has the Ostranders Awards. (Or “rewards,” as they are affectionately known within the local theater community.) And this year the competition for top honors is especially fierce.

Can lightning strike twice for triple-threat performer Courtney Oliver who won an Ossie for her performance as Hairspray‘s Tracy Turnblad in 2010? She was good the first time but even better in the revival. And what about Ken Zimmerman who was snubbed the last time he played Tracy’s mom Edna? Is this his year?

Was Mark Guirguis’ scenic design for Les Miserables really any more epic than the intimate ghost-and-lightning bug-infested space Chris Sterling created for Justin Asher’s original play Haint? And what about the Ostrander for Best Actor in a Drama? Will Tony Isbell take it for his performance as Mark Rothko in Red? Or will it go to Jerry Chipman for his star turn in Other Desert Cities? Or will Sam Weakly take the prize for his less flashy performance as a deceased mathematician in Proof?

Sister Myotis

It’s been an especially good year for theater in Memphis. That means this year’s Ostrander Awards, sponsored by Memphis magazine and ArtsMemphis, will be a nail-biter when they go down Sunday, August 24th, at the Orpheum Theatre. Those who haven’t attended the Ossies in a while may not even recognize the ever-expanding event in its perfectly matched new venue. The annual ceremony, named for beloved local actor Jim Ostrander, has grown from an intimate party for theater insiders into a gala evening for players and fans alike, featuring comedy courtesy of Sister Myotis and musical performances showcasing the very best of the 2013-14 theater season.

Tickets for the Ostrander Awards can be purchased here.