27th Annual Norton Awards
To Be Presented May 11
At Sanders Theatre

The 27th anniversary Elliot Norton Awards, recognizing excellence in Greater Boston theater, will take place on Monday, May 11, at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre. Named for venerable theater critic Elliot Norton, the annual awards are presented by The Boston Theater Critics Association.

A special Norton Award will be presented to the late Paul Benedict “for his indelible presence in Boston theater and on the national stage.” Benedict was a member of David Wheeler’s Theatre Company of Boston in the 1960s and returned to the area regularly, appearing with the American Repertory Theatre and the Huntington Theatre Company, among others.

Accepting the award for Benedict will be his friend and colleague Al Pacino, who appeared with Benedict in such Theatre Company of Boston productions as “Richard III” and “Arturo Ui.”

Rick Lombardo, outgoing artistic director of the New Repertory Theatre, is this year’s recipient of the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence. New Rep’s artists have won 18 Norton Awards since Lombardo joined the company in 1996, and the theater’s budget has grown from $500,000 to more than $2 million. Lombardo also shepherded the theater’s move from Newton Highlands to the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. Lombardo is now Artistic Director of the San Jose Repertory Theatre.

StageSource will also present its annual Theatre Hero Award during the ceremonies. As well, the evening will include musical performances from the current national tour of “Spring Awakening” and from previous New Rep shows.

2009 Elliot Norton Award Nominees include:

OUTSTANDING VISITING PRODUCTION
"Aurelia’s Oratorio," American Repertory Theatre
"Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell," Institute of Contemporary Art
"Wishful Drinking," Huntington Theatre Company

OUTSTANDING DESIGN, SMALL/MIDSIZE COMPANY
David R. Gammons (set), "The Duchess of Malfi" (Actors’ Shakespeare Project)
Janie E. Howland (set), "Eurydice" (New Repertory Theatre) and "The History Boys" (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Susan Zeeman Rogers (set), "The Light in the Piazza" (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

OUTSTANDING DESIGN, LARGE COMPANY
James Noone (set), "The Corn Is Green" (Huntington Theatre Company)
Francis O’Connor (set and costumes), "Two Men of Florence" (Huntington Theatre Company)
Douglas W. Schmidt (set), "Rock ’n’ Roll" (Huntington Theatre Company, in association with American Conservatory Theater)

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
Elizabeth Aspenlieder, "Bad Dates" (Merrimack Repertory Theatre)
Nancy E. Carroll, "The Year of Magical Thinking" (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
Ken Howard, "According to Tip" (New Repertory Theatre)

OUTSTANDING NEW SCRIPT
Dick Flavin, "According to Tip" (New Repertory Theatre)
Ryan Landry (book and lyrics), Ryan Landry and Billy Hough (music), "Whizzin’" (Gold Dust Orphans)
Joyce Van Dyke, "The Oil Thief" (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR, SMALL/FRINGE COMPANY
Akiba Abaka, "In the Continuum" (Up You Mighty Race)
Judy Braha, "The Oil Thief" (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre)
Summer L. Williams, "Voyeurs de Venus" (Company One)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR, MIDSIZE COMPANY
Scott Edmiston, "The History Boys" and "The Light in the Piazza" (SpeakEasy Stage Company) and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
David R. Gammons, "Blackbird" (SpeakEasy Stage Company) and "The Duchess of Malfi" (Actors’ Shakespeare Project)
Carmel O’Reilly, "The Seafarer" (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR, LARGE COMPANY
Nicholas Martin, "She Loves Me" and "The Corn Is Green" (Huntington Theatre Company)
Carey Perloff, "Rock ’n’ Roll" (Huntington Theatre Company, in association with American Conservatory Theater)
Marcus Stern, "Endgame" (American Repertory Theatre)

OUTSTANDING ACTOR, SMALL/MIDSIZE COMPANY
Will Lyman, "Exits and Entrances" (New Repertory Theatre) and "The Oil Thief" (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre)
Richard Snee, "November" (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
Spiro Veloudos, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS, SMALL/MIDSIZE COMPANY
Marianna Bassham, "Blackbird" (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
Georgia Lyman, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (Lyric Stage Company of Boston) and "Look Back in Anger" (Orfeo Group)
Annette Miller, "Martha Mitchell Calling" (Nora Theatre Company)

OUTSTANDING ACTOR, LARGE COMPANY
Brooks Ashmanskas, "She Loves Me" (Huntington Theatre Company)
Larry Coen, "As You Like It" (Free Shakespeare, presented by Citi Performing Arts Center)
Fred Sullivan, Jr., "As You Like It" (Free Shakespeare, presented by Citi Performing Arts Center) and "Blithe Spirit" (Trinity Repertory Company)

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS, LARGE COMPANY
Kate Burton, "The Corn Is Green" (Huntington Theatre Company)
Karen MacDonald, "Endgame" and "The Seagull" (American Repertory Theatre)
Cigdem Onat, "The Cry of the Reed "(Huntington Theatre Company)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
"The History Boys" (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
"The Seafarer" (SpeakEasy Stage Company)
"Speech & Debate" (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION BY A FRINGE COMPANY
"In the Continuum," Up You Mighty Race
"Look Back in Anger," Orfeo Group
"Voyeurs de Venus," Company One

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION BY A SMALL COMPANY
"Awake and Sing!," Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre
"Faith Healer," Publick Theatre
"QED," Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT and Underground Railway Theater

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION BY A MIDSIZE COMPANY
"The History Boys," SpeakEasy Stage Company
"The Seafarer," SpeakEasy Stage Company
"Speech & Debate," Lyric Stage Company of Boston

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION BY A LARGE COMPANY
"The Corn Is Green," Huntington Theatre Company
"Endgame," American Repertory Theatre
"Rock ’n’ Roll," Huntington Theatre Company, in association with American Conservatory Theater

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL PRODUCTION
"The Light in the Piazza," SpeakEasy Stage Company
"She Loves Me," Huntington Theatre Company
"Show Boat," North Shore Music Theatre

NORTON PRIZE FOR SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE
Rick Lombardo

A dessert reception will be held in the lobby after the ceremony. Free parking will be available at the Broadway Garage, Felton Street, two blocks east of Sanders Theatre.

Tickets (priced at $15) are available at the Harvard Box Office, Holyoke Center, in Harvard Square, by calling 617-496-2222 or visiting www.boxoffice.harvard.edu. .

-- OnStage Boston