FACULTY HONOR: Five faculty members receive theater awards, nominations

By Office of Communications on May 18, 2016, 3:10 p.m.

Five faculty members in the Lewis Center for the Arts' Program in Theater have recently been nominated for or received major awards:

• Jane Cox, lecturer in theater and the Lewis Center for the Arts, received the Ruth Morley Design Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical for "The Color Purple," now running on Broadway. The Ruth Morley Design Award is given in memory of the Broadway and Academy Award-nominated costume designer who may be best known for her creation of the Annie Hall look for Woody Allen's iconic film, which started a worldwide fashion trend. The Drama Desk Awards, which will take place on June 5, honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway and are nominated by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers.
• John Doyle, visiting lecturer with the rank of professor in theater and the Lewis Center for the Arts, was nominated for both a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical and a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for "The Color Purple." The Tony Awards, which will take place on June 12, are given for Broadway productions and performances and are selected by a committee made up of select members of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
• Riccardo Hernandez, lecturer in theater and the Lewis Center for the Arts, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for a Play for "Red Speedo" at New York Theatre Workshop, which ran Feb. 17-April 3.
• Anita Yavich, lecturer in theater and the Lewis Center for the Arts, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Play for "The Legend of Georgia McBride," running at MCC Theater in New York through Oct. 11.
• Anne Washburn, lecturer in theater and the Lewis Center for the Arts, received the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, a prize of $75,000 given annually to five mid-career artists working in the fields of dance, film/video, music, theatre and the visual arts and recognizes experimenters who are making something that matters within and beyond their field.

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