The longest season

Pulsar awards move to August, add three months of productions

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Those highfalutin entertainment award shows like to front-end the year with all their red carpet razzle-dazzle, but where does that leave award-season junkies the rest of the year? To accommodate your craving, City Pulse pushed back the Pulsar Awards, its annual theater recognition presentation, from mid-May to mid-August to align with the end of the community theater season. This made for an extra three months of consideration.

This years awards ceremony has been taken under the wing of the Renegade Theatre Festival in Old Town. The Pulsar judges — City Pulse theater reviewers Erin Buitendorp, Dana Casadei, Mary Cusack, Kathy and Tom Helma, Shawn Parker, Paul Wozniak and Ute Von Der Heyden — turned in their final ballots last week. The results have been tabulated and we have the nominees, listed below. In order to qualify, a show must have been performed by one of the Lansing area’s community, professional or college theater groups (American Shakespeare Collective, Lansing Community College, Michigan State University, MSU Opera Theatre, Over the Ledge Theatre Co., Peppermint Creek Theatre Co., Riverwalk Theatre, Starlight Dinner Theatre and Williamston Theatre); it needed to open between May 1, 2012, and July 31, 2013; and it must have been seen and scored by at least three Pulsar judges. (Pulsars do not cover children’s theater, high school theater, gala presentations, student showcases or workshop shows.)

This year’s batch of nominees includes 55 productions. The first show of the 2012-‘13 Pulsar season was Riverwalk Theatre’s “Copenhagen” and the last to qualify was Williamston Theatre’s “Tuna Does Vegas.” There are five nominees in most categories, but in some there are fewer, which may be due to a lack of qualified candidates.

KEY: 
ASC, American Shakespeare Collective, Lansing
LCC, Lansing Community College, Lansing
MSU, Michigan State University, East Lansing
MSUOT, MSU Opera Theatre, East Lansing
OTL, Over the Ledge Theatre Co., Grand Ledge
PC, Peppermint Creek Theatre Co., Lansing
RWT, Riverwalk Theatre, Lansing
SDT, Starlight Dinner Theatre, Lansing
WT, Williamston Theatre, Williamston


BEST PLAY
“The 39 Steps,” OTL
“Anton in Show Business,” MSU
“Apartment 3A,” OTL
“Copenhagen,” RWT
“Shirley Valentine,” WT


BEST MUSICAL
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
“Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson,” PC
“Funny Girl,” MSU
“Next to Normal,” PC
“Spring Awakening,” RWT


BEST DIRECTOR (PLAY)
Blake Bowen, “Good People,” PC
Rick Dethlefsen, “The 39 Steps,” OTL
Joseph Dickson, “Apartment 3A,” OTL
Lynn Lammers, “Shirley Valentine,” WT
Mary Job, “Copenhagen,” RWT


BEST DIRECTOR (MUSICAL)
Chad Badgero, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” PC
Chad Badgero, “Next to Normal,” PC
Rick Dethlefsen, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
Devanand Janki, “Funny Girl,” MSU
Kelly Stuible, “Spring Awakening,” RWT


BEST LEAD ACTOR (PLAY)
Blake Bowen, “Apartment 3A,” OTL
Timothy Busfield, “Vigil,” LCC
Rick Dethlefsen, “Copenhagen,” RWT
Jeff Magnuson, “Copenhagen,” RWT
John Manfredi, “End Days,” WT


BEST LEAD ACTOR (MUSICAL)
Matthew Eldred, “Next to Normal,” PC
Michael Kolaczkowski, “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson,” PC
Graham Lundeen, “Spring Awakening, RWT
Rick Merpi, “Follies,” RWT
Juan Salazar, “In the Heights,” PC


BEST LEAD ACTRESS (PLAY)

Kat Cooper, “Advice and Consent,” RWT
Carmen Decker, “Vigil,” LCC
Julia Glander, “Shirley Valentine,” WT
Lydia Hiller, “End Days,” WT
Abby Murphy, “Apartment 3A,” OTL


BEST LEAD ACTRESS (MUSICAL)
Niki La Belle, “In the Heights,” PC
Brittany Nichol, “Spring Awakening,” RWT
Sandy Sykes, “Next to Normal,” PC
Amanda Whitehead, “Ragtime,” LCC
Zachera Wollenberg, “Funny Girl,” MSU


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (PLAY)
Mark Colson, “Othello,” ASC
Eric Eilersen, “End Days,” WT
Josh Martin, “The 39 Steps, “ OTL
Jeff Kennedy, “The 39 Steps,” OTL
Mike Stewart, “Apartment 3A,” OTL


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (MUSICAL)
Matthew Bill, “In the Heights,” PC
Matt Eldred, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” PC
Zev Steinberg, “Funny Girl,” MSU
Adam Woolsey, “Next to Normal,” PC
Sineh Wurie, “Ragtime,” LCC


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (PLAY)
Teri Brown, “Good People,” PC
LeAnn Dethlefsen, “Copenhagen,” RWT
Alysia Kolascz, “Ebenezer,” WT
Emily Sutton-Smith, “End Days,” WT


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (MUSICAL)
Mary Maurer, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” PC
Emily McKay, “Next to Normal,” PC
Janine Novenske Smith, “Follies,” RWT
Jacqueline Wheeler, “Funny Girl,” MSU


BEST FEATURED ACTOR (PLAY)
Michael Hays, “August: Osage County,” RWT
Paul Hopper, “Othello,” ASC
James Houska, “Advice and Consent,” RWT
Steve Ledyard, “Apartment 3A,” OTL


BEST FEATURED ACTOR (MUSICAL)

Kenneth Beachler, “Funny Girl,” MSU
Andrew Gourney, “Next to Normal,” PC
Alec Nagy, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” PC
Rick Merpi, “Ragtime,” LCC
Diego Ramirez-Love, “In the Heights,” PC


BEST FEATURED ACTRESS (PLAY)
Margaret Daly, “Othello,” ASC
Amelia Rogocka, “Slasher,” LCC
Michelle Savala, “Slasher,” LCC
Samantha Seybert, “Good People,” PC
Deborah Tomlinson, “Good People,” PC


BEST FEATURED ACTRESS (MUSICAL)
Paige Conway, “Funny Girl,” MSU
Mandy Fuller, “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson,” PC
AnnaMaria Horn, “In the Heights,” PC
Lisa Pappas, “My Favorite Year,” RWT


BEST ENSEMBLE (PLAY)
“boom,” WT
“Drama at Inish,” OTL


BEST ENSEMBLE (MUSICAL)
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
“Adrift in Macao,” MSU


BEST COSTUMES
Lark Burger, “Copenhagen,” RWT
Patti Campbell, “Follies,” RWT
LeAnn Dethlefsen, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
Lane Fragmeli, “Funny Girl,” MSU
Jodi Ozimek, “Shirley Valentine,” WT


BEST LIGHTING
Ted Daniel, “Copenhagen,” RWT
Joeseph Dickson, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
Alex Gay, “The Understudy,” WT
Genesis Garza, “Shirley Valentine,” WT
Daniel Walker, “boom,” WT


BEST MAKEUP
John Delaney, “Compulsion,” PC
Jordan Jensen, “Follies,” RWT
Susie Perazza, “Sleuth,” RWT
Cheryl Smith, “Ragtime,” LCC
Claire Young & Lane Fragmeli, “Funny Girl,” MSU


BEST PROPERTIES
Bruce Bennett, “Shirley Valentine,” WT
Bruce Bennett, “boom,” WT
Ray Kurtis & Melody Teodoro-Kurtis, “Sleuth,” RWT
Ray Kurtis, “Yankee Tavern,” RWT
Michelle Raymond, “Ragtime,” LCC


BEST SET DESIGN
Leroy Cupp, “Yankee Tavern,” RWT
John Delaney & Patrick Monroe, “August: Osage County,” RWT
LeAnn Dethlefsen, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
Mary Job, Mark Mandenberg & Joni Starr, “Copenhagen,” RWT
Daniel C. Walker, “Shirley Valentine,” WT


BEST SOUND
Rick Dethlefsen, “The 39 Steps,” OTL
Joseph Dickson, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
Julia Garlotte, “The Understudy,” WT
John Lepard, “Shirley Valentine,” WT
Nathan Tykocki, “Copenhagen,” RWT


BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION
Seth Burk & Royce Phillips, “Adrift in Macao,” MSU
James Geer, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
Ryan Mackenzie Lewis, “Funny Girl,” MSU
John Dale Smith, “Follies,” RWT
John Dale Smith, “Ragtime,” LCC


BEST CHOREOGRAPHER
Devanand Janki, “Funny Girl,” MSU
Amanda Kennedy, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” OTL
Missy Lilje, “Ragtime,” LCC
Karyn Perry, “In the Heights,” PC
Kelly Stuible, “Spring Awakening,” RWT

PULSAR AWARDS
8 p.m.
Aug. 17
226 E. Grand River Ave., Lansing (former Chrome Cat)
FREE

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