Orlando Theater Best of 2022: Scenic Design
Everything from Kissimmee’s Highway 192 to a historic landmark to an urban hoodoo shop gave inspiration to these theater makers: Here are the 2022 Orlando Sentinel honorees for scenic design as selected by theater critic Matthew J. Palm.
Although it’s impossible for one person to see every local production, as the Orlando Sentinel’s theater critic, each year I see a broad spectrum of dramas, comedies and musicals. The individuals selected by me for this 2022 theatrical honor roll, presented here alphabetically, elevated the theatrical arts. Go to OrlandoSentinel.com/arts to see the honorees in other fields, and check back on Dec. 20 to learn the Critic’s Pick in this category.
Tramaine Berryhill
The Mountaintop > Garden Theatre
Tramaine Berryhill’s motel room for January’s “The Mountaintop” was spot-on in its blandness, with the hotel’s now-iconic sign looming over it like some kind of portent of the critical role it would play in our nation’s history. Importantly, the set also let the show’s fantastical effects shine through. Berryhill was honored in 2021 for his set design for the Garden Theatre’s “A Raisin in the Sun.”
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Samantha DiGeorge
Say Goodnight, Gracie > Theater on the Edge
For June’s “Say Goodnight, Gracie,” Samantha DiGeorge has evoked the style of the times — in this case, the 1970s — with gorgeous precision and an impeccable eye for detail — from the riot of orange snowflakes on the stained wallpaper to the array of products and advertisements on view to the sickly greenish-gold color of the couch. DiGeorge has been honored in this category twice before for her work at Theater on the Edge.
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Wayne Lemasters
Misery > Osceola Arts
Waylon Lemasters made a huge contribution to the creepy atmosphere of October’s “Misery” with his exquisite rotating set of Annie Wilkes’ farmhouse. It maintained the chilling claustrophobia of imprisonment while offering dramatic glimpses of the characters moving about and even helped convey the passage of time. He was honored in this category in 2020 for his design of Osceola Arts’ “In the Heights.”
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Rachel Del Valle Lupo
La Medéa > Renaissance Theatre
Rachel Del Valle Lupo’s thrilling scenic design of February’s “La Medéa” mixed the practical with the fantastical. Colors, fabrics, candles blended to create a dreamy atmosphere rooted in the updated story’s urban hoodoo shop. Her eye for details also found ways to give an air of the macabre to simple childhood toys — a plastic dump truck here, a stuffed monkey there — portending the tragedy to come.
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Cliff Price
Oliver! > Theater at St. Luke’s
In the second motel setting on this honor roll, Cliff Price gave us the familiar vista of Central Florida’s shabbiest area of the tourist district for the July production of “Oliver!” from Theater at St. Luke’s in Orlando. His fully realized run-down lodging exterior hit home through its details — a twisted and neglected window blind — and silent mood of decay and despair. This is Price’s fifth appearance in this category; he was the Critic’s Pick in 2021 for his design of Orlando Repertory Theatre’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
Find me on Twitter @matt_on_arts, facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Want more theater and arts news and reviews? Go to orlandosentinel.com/arts. For more fun things, follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
