At an SRO ceremony held at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield, the Board of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association (BTCA) presented the Berkshire Theatre Awards on the evening of Monday, November 14, 2022. This was the sixth time the awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theater in the greater Berkshire region. The 2022 awards really display the commitment of regional theaters to presenting new and diverse work. Women and minorities were well represented among the nominees and the winners in all categories. Nominees represented theaters in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut.
Critics J. Peter Bergman and Macey Levin once again hosted the ceremony as they have since the first year, which saw top honors for Outstanding Musical Production go to Barrington Stage Company for their production of “A Little Night Music.” Barrington Stage shared the Outstanding Play Production award with Bridge Street Theater, for productions of “Waiting for Godot” and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” respectively.
“A Little Night Music” was the big winner of the evening, taking the awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical for Julianne Boyd, Outstanding Set Design for Yoon Bae, Outstanding Costume Design for Sara Jean Tosetti, and Outstanding Lighting Design for David Lander. Emily Skinner and Jason Danieley took the awards for Outstanding Lead Actress and Actor in a Musical, and Sierra Boggess was recognized as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Countess Charlotte Malcolm. “It was really quite amazing,” J. Peter Bergman commented, “with so much excellent competition this year for one production to walk away with all of that.”
Bridge Street Theater’s production of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” also saw Roxane Fay receive Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Mary Cavan Tyrone. Her competition included attendees Brenda Pressley from New Jersey who was the female lead in “we are continuous” at Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Tara Franklin, nominated for her role in “Clarkston” at Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y.
Joe Calarco took home the award for Outstanding Direction of a Play for “Waiting for Godot” at Barrington Stage, while Mark H. Dold and Max Wolkowitz took home Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play honors for their roles as Vladimir and Lucky in that show.
Barrington Stage’s production of “All of Me” saw Leah Hocking win the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play, while Matt Otto was recognized for Outstanding Sound Design. Jarvis B. Manning, Jr. took home the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical trophy for his work in “Ain’t Misbehavin’” at Barrington Stage Company.
The Sharon Playhouse took home their Berkie, awarded to Justin Boccitto for Outstanding Choreography for “Guys and Dolls.” Boccitto was also nominated for outstanding Director of a Musical for the same production.
Corinna May was awarded Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play for her performance in Great Barrington Public Theater’s production of “Things I Know to Be True,” and shared the Outstanding Solo Performance award for her work in the Berkshire Theatre Group’s production of “Shirley Valentine” with MaConnia Chesser, for her performance in “An Iliad,” which originated at the Ancram Opera House in 2021 and then was presented at Shakespeare & Company this past June.
Gabe Belyeu, much nominated in years past, took home the award for Outstanding Production with Fewer than Six Performances for his evening of cabaret, “A Call to Places,” at the Mac-Haydn Theatre.
The Ancram Opera House production of “Invasion!” and the Barrington Stage Company production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” shared the award for Outstanding Ensemble Production.
The Sally and Robert Sugarman Award for the World Premiere of a New Play went to Brent Askari for “Andy Warhol in Iran” at Barrington Stage. The Larry Murray Award for Community Outreach and Support through Theater went to Daniel Elihu Kramer, outgoing Producing Artistic Director of the Chester Theater Company. The recipient of this award, named in honor of the late Larry Murray, BTCA founder, is selected by the Board of the BTCA.
2022 Berkshire Theatre Critics Association Awards
- Outstanding supporting actress in a play: (TIE)
- Leah Hocking, “All of Me,” Barrington Stage Company
- Corinna May, “Things I Know to Be True,” Great Barrington Public Theater
- Outstanding supporting actor in a play:
- Max Wolkowitz, “Waiting for Godot,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding set Design for a play or musical:
- Yoon Bae, “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Choreography:
- Justin Boccitto, “Guys and Dolls,” Sharon Playhouse
- Outstanding direction of a musical:
- Julianne Boyd, “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Costume Design for a play or musical:
- Sara Jean Tosetti, “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Solo Performance (TIE)
- Corinna May, “Shirley Valentine,” Berkshire Theatre Group
- MaConnia Chesser, “An Illiad,” Ancram Opera House
- Outstanding Supporting actress in a musical:
- Sierra Boggess, “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Lighting Design of a play or musical:
- David Lander, “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Supporting actor in a musical:
- Jarvis B. Manning, Jr., “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding direction of a play:
- Joe Calarco, “Waiting for Godot,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Sound design for a play or musical:
- Matt Otto, “All of Me,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Lead actress in a musical:
- Emily Skinner, “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a musical:
- Jason Danieley, “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Ensemble performance: (TIE)
- “Invasion!,” Ancram Opera House
- “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Production with fewer than six performances
- Gabe Belyeu, “A Call to Places,” Mac-Haydn Theatre
- Outstanding Lead actor in a play:
- Mark H. Dold, “Waiting for Godot,” Barrington Stage Company
- Sally and Robert Sugarman Award for the world premiere of a new play:
- Brent Askari, “Andy Warhol in Iran,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding Lead actress in a play:
- Roxanne Fay, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” Bridge Street Theatre
- Larry Murray Award for Community Outreach and Support Through Theater:
- Daniel Elihu Kramer, Chester Theatre Company
- Outstanding production of a musical:
- “A Little Night Music,” Barrington Stage Company
- Outstanding production of a play: (TIE)
- “Waiting for Godot,” Barrington Stage Company
- “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” Bridge Street Theatre
