The 2011-2012 Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Award Winners

The Independent Theater Bloggers Association (of which I am a member) has announced its 4th annual award winners. The award is named after founding member and  original awards director Patrick Lee, one of the best theater writers and bloggers in New York,  who passed away unexpectedly two years ago. His loss is still felt among the community, and it was decided last year to rename the award we give in his honor.
The winners for the 2011-2012 season are:

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL 
Once

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Peter and the Starcatcher

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVAL
Follies

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY REVIVAL
Death of a Salesman

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Now. Here. This.

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Sons of the Prophet

OUTSTANDING OFF-OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, by The Mad Ones, at The New Ohio
She Kills Monsters at the Flea

OUTSTANDING SOLO SHOW/PERFORMANCES (Across Broadway, off- Broadway and Off-Off Broadway)

Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway
Denis O’Hare, An Iliad (New York Theatre Workshop)
Stephen Spinella, An Iliad (New York Theatre Workshop)
Zoe Caldwell, Elective Affinities (Soho Rep)
Juan Villa, Empanada for a Dream  (Ballybeg at Barrow Group)
Daniel Kitson, It’s Always Right Now Until It’s Later
Lorinda Lositza, Triumphant Baby

UNIQUE OFF-OFF BROADWAY EXPERIENCE
The Tenant by Woodshed Collective

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Peter and the Starcatcher

CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATRE
The Flea

CITATIONS FOR EXCELLENCE BY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS (Across Off-Off Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Broadway
Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Philip Boynkin, The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess
Danny Burstein, Follies
James Corden, One Man Two Guvnors
Santino Fontana, Sons of a Prophet
Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
Jan Maxwell, Follies
Lindsay Mendez, Godspell
Terri White in Follies

The 3rd Annual ITBA Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Award Winners Announced

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The Independent Theater Bloggers Association is proud to announce the 2011 recipients of the 3rd Annual Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Awards. Patrick, one of our founding members and awards director, passed away suddenly last June and was one of the most beloved members of the blogosphere. The ITBA has chosen to rechristen the award in his memory.

Much gratitude to Hunter Bell, Susan Blackwell, Heidi Blickenstaff and Jeff Bowen for announcing the winners. Their new show Now. Here. This. is going to premiere at the Vineyard in June, as part of the Development Lab series.

And the winners are:

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Jerusalem

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVAL
Anything Goes

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY REVIVAL
The Normal Heart

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
The Kid

OUTSTANDING OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL)
Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches

OUTSTANDING SOLO SHOW/PERFORMANCE (ALL VENUES)
Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made

CITATIONS FOR OUTSTANDING OFF-OFF BROADWAY SHOW
Feeder: A Love Story
Invasion!
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Belarus Free Theater’s Discover Love
Black Watch
Rewrite

UNIQUE OFF-OFF BROADWAY EXPERIENCE
Sleep No More

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
The Scottsboro Boys

CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATRE
La Mama

CITATIONS FOR EXCELLENCE BY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS
Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday
Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Reed Birney, A Small Fire
Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Bobby Cannavale, The Motherfucker with the Hat
Colman Domingo, The Scottsboro Boys
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
Hamish Linklater, School for Lies
Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart
Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem
Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made
Benjamin Walker, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Patrick Lee (1959-2010)

Ever since I started blogging, I have been experiencing so many firsts. My first press invite or my first interview. There have been first trips to various theatres, seeing various folks perform and it’s been such a joy. However, today with the sobering intensity of a sucker punch, I experienced another first, one that I wasn’t exactly prepared for: the death of a fellow theatre blogger.

I first met Patrick Lee a little over a year ago when Ken Davenport had what would be the first meeting of the Independent Theater Bloggers Association. Over the course of the year, as I volunteered to help out I got to spend some time with Patrick as we worked to bring structure to the fledgling group. It was to my great shock and sadness to learn of his death of a heart attack, at 51 years old.

Every so often we would all meet up in Ken’s offices for meetings discussion our progress and whatnot. But as is the case with so many of the bloggers, I found myself chatting him up before and after the meetings. There would be times when we would end up talking for a half hour on the sidewalk on 49th Street, catching up on what we have seen. Discussing some of the great flops that interest me (namely 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), he told me that he used to travel into the city constantly with his father to see theatre when he was a kid, and as a result saw so many shows (such as 1600) that most of the general public would have missed.

I don’t know if there is anyone who went to the theatre as often as Patrick did. Last August, we would jest over the amount of Fringe shows he was running off to see. You could catch his reviews, interviews and features for Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway theatre on Theatermania, his own blog Just Shows to Go You and Show Showdown. He was a member of the Outer Critics Circle and a juror for the GLAAD Media Awards. Just recently, we announced the 2010 winners of the ITBA awards, with Patrick taking charge of an admittedly thankless task and handling everything with aplomb.

The last time I saw Patrick was, of course, at the theatre. We were heading in to see the Encores! revival of Anyone Can Whistle and were able to chat amiably for a couple of minutes. I do wish I had a chance to know him better, but will be grateful for the conversations we had, online and in person. He will be greatly missed among the theatre blog community.

He is survived by his mother, sisters and other family members.