2014 Ovation Awards: Complete List of Winners

Actresses arrive during the 25th Annual LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards held at
the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014, in San Gabriel, Calif.
Photo Credit: Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)

The 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Award winners were announced at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse on Sunday, November 2.

For the 2013-2014 voting season, there were a grand total of 195 nominations for 78 productions, presented by 49 companies. There were 318 total productions registered from 137 companies. Of those productions registered, 78 were Ovation Recommended, identified during their runs as scoring in the top quarter of all productions in the Overall Production categories.

And the winners were:

Best Season: Fountain Theatre

Outstanding Play (Large Theatre): "The Country House," Geffen Playhouse

Outstanding Play (Intimate Theatre): "The Recommendation," IAMA Theatre Company

Kate Burton and Katie Lowes to Host 2014 Ovation Awards

Kate Burton and Katie Lowes have been set to host the 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 2, at the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in San Gabriel, it was announced today. Red carpet arrivals begin at 5:30 and the ceremony starts at 7 p.m.

Kate Burton is a three-time Tony Award nominee and a three-time Emmy Award nominee. On the stage, her critically acclaimed work includes productions of "The Elephant Man," "An American Daughter," "The Cherry Orchard," "The Constant Wife," "Hedda Gabler," "Spring Awakening," "Doonesbury," "The Grand Manner," "The Water's Edge," and "The Beauty Queen of Leenane," among many others. In 2002, she portrayed two roles on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award for both -- nominations for Best Actress in a Play ("Hedda Gabler") and for Best Featured Actress in a Play ("The Elephant Man") made her one of only five actors in Tony history to be nominated for two acting awards in the same year. TV appearances include work on Law & Order, The Practice, The West Wing, Judging Amy, Medium, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Rescue Me, and Grimm, to name only a few.

Chris L. McKenna Reacts to Ovation Award Nomination

Chris L. McKenna (right) is nominated for best Lead Actor in a Play for his work in "Taste."

Nominees for the 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced earlier at Native Voices at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. They include director Tim Robbins ("A Midsummer Night's Dream") and actors Carole Weyers ("Henry V"), Eric Lange ("The Country House") and Chris L. McKenna ("Taste").

Best Lead Actor nominee Chris L. McKenna (Det. Mark Harding, The Young and the Restless) explained his role in "Taste" during our recent interview.

"I get killed and eaten on stage, and this really happened. My character is supposed to be a suicidal gay guy who wants to die and wants to die this way. It seemed like a challenge that it wouldn’t be a guy my size. But I really believed I could do this role and I thought the writing by Benjamin Brand was amazing."

"If I don't win I'm gonna kill you all," McKenna joked on Twitter after the nominations were revealed. "And eat all your dicks..."

Below is a complete list of nominees:

Ovation Awards Nominees Include Kirsten Vangsness, Blythe Danner, Leon Russom & Chris L. McKenna

Chris L. McKenna (right) is nominated for best Lead Actor in a Play for his work in "Taste."

Nominees for the 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced earlier this week at Native Voices at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. The nominations were revealed by past Ovation Award recipients Gigi Bermingham, Brighid Fleming, Parmer Fuller, Jennifer Haley, Brian Kite, Glynn Turman, and John Zalewski, along with LA STAGE Alliance Chief Executive Officer Terence McFarland.

Theatre @ Boston Court received the most nominations (19), followed by the Geffen Playhouse and La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts with 17 each, Center Theatre Group and 3-D Theatricals with 13 each, and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (12).

Said CEO Terence McFarland, “We’re always excited to see the breadth and diversity of the Ovation Awards nominee list. This year’s crop is reflective of the tremendous work happening on stages throughout the region. We’re thrilled to shine a light on some stalwarts of the community and bring broader attention to those burgeoning artists at the beginning of their careers. I look forward to celebrating all achievements in excellence in Los Angeles theatre on November 2.”

Below is a complete list of nominees:

BEST SEASON
3-D THEATRICALS
ACTORS CO-OP
FOUNTAIN THEATRE
LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
THE THEATRE @ BOSTON COURT