Carbonell Nominations Reflect Epic And Intimate Productions

Ragtime, Les Misérables and Big Fish, three epic productions stretching the resources of their companies, are among the musicals vying to collect the most gold in the 40^th Carbonell Awards recognizing excellence in South Florida theater that will be held this spring.

Conversely, the leading contenders for best play are intensely focused stories of passion including Glengarry Glen Ross, Buried Child, The History Boys and two world premiere by local playwrights, Michael McKeever’s Daniel’s Husband and Christopher Demos-Brown’s Stripped.

The nominations announced Wednesday for the coveted awards recognize an increasing level of achievement by both high-profile tentpole theaters specializing in mainstream work, such as Actors’ Playhouse, and younger small troupes attracted to intellectually challenging titles, such as Thinking Cap Theatre.

But it also spoke to a consistency of quality with most of the nominated theaters being tapped for more than one production. In fact, Palm Beach Dramaworks received nominations for work in every single one of its five full-scale mainstage productions during the eligibility period of 2015.