Star Ledger, Newark, NJ, Wednesday, November 1, 2000
by Peggy McGlone
Thanks went to airlines for giving free tickets, and to foundations for their generous contributions. Thanks also were offered to loyal staffers, Web site designers and concession-stand workers.
These and more public thank-yous were offered Monday night in New Brunswick, when New Jersey's professional theater community gathered for the 12th annual Applause Awards.
"The Applause Awards are really about dedication, and this is an opportunity to recognize that," said Angelo Del Rossi, executive producer of the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn.
The New Jersey Theatre Group, newly named the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, organized the event, which began with cocktails at New Brunswick's trendy Soho on George restaurant. Some 320 theater personnel, board members and honorees then paraded over to the nearby George Street Playhouse, where the 90-minute awards ceremony was held. The evening ended with coffee and dessert at Soho.
This year's honorees, selected for their contributions and dedication to the member theaters, ranged from volunteers to staffers to corporate angels. Among the volunteers honored were Piera Accumanno for her work with 12 Miles West Theatre Company in Montclair and Lina Moccia for her efforts for the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch.
"Lina has single-handedly painted our theater several times. She is a carpenter, mixes and pours cement, and like an ant, she carries more than her weight," said Gabor Barabas, New Jersey Repertory Company executive producer, in his introduction.
Many theaters saluted the contributions made by board members, including Two River Theatre Company in Red Bank, which thanked Len Pickell, president of the James Beard Foundation, for his efforts as "gala impresario." American State Company in Teaneck celebrated the contributions of James Coia and his employer, Bloomingdale's.
Both the Paper Mill and George Street Playhouse chose to honor veteran employees. Paper Mill's director of education, Susan Speidel, was honored for her work creating the Rising Star Awards, a sort of Tony Awards for high school musicals that has been replicated around the country. George Street applauded business manager Karen Price.
"I'm very passionate about theater," said Price, who accepted the award from George Street artistic director David Saint. "David recognizes that, as a numbers cruncher, I participate in the magic of the theater."
George Street Playhouse managing director Michael Stotts acknowledged the evening's missing company, the embattled Crossroads Theatre Company of New Brunswick, which canceled its 2000-2001 season and was not represented at the awards.
"It is our hope that (Crossroads) will be back on the boards next year, and that they will continue to build on their legacy as the premier African-American theater in this country," Stotts said.
The evening concluded with the presentation of the alliance's Star Award to former NJTA chairman and board member John McEwen, who earlier this year left Paper Mill Playhouse to take a job at New Jersey Network. The Theater Alliance Singers performed a medley of songs in his honor, highlighting McEwen's work on behalf of disabled audiences, as well as his fund- raising prowess.
Here are the theaters and their Applause Award recipients:
- 12 Miles West Theatre Company: Piera Accumanno
- Two River Theatre Company: Len Pickell
- TheatreFest: Fleet Bank
- Pushcart Players: Rabbi Norman Patz
- Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey: Leigh Pierson Conant and Richard Dalba
- New Jersey Repertory Company: Lina Moccia
- Passage Theatre Company: the Rev. Willie J. Smith and the Times of Trenton
- Paper Mill Playhouse: Susan Speidel
- The New Jersey Shakespeare Festival: Michelle Cameron and Len Muscarella of Interactive Media Associates
- McCarter Theatre: Holly Williams and Vincent Iorio of American Airlines
- George Street Playhouse: Karen Price
- The Growing Stage Theatre for Young Audiences: John Mintz
- The East Lynne Company: Frank Smith
- Centenary Stage Company: Susan Riding
- American Stage Company: John Coia and Bloomingdale's
