Sauk wins 17 BroadwayWorld awards
The Sauk, Hillsdale County’s Community Theatre, has won 17 awards in the BroadwayWorld 2021 Detroit Awards.
“It is such an honor,” said Sauk Executive Director Trinity Bird. “These awards are voted on by the public. To know that many people went out of their way to vote for us is really overwhelming.”
All productions in Michigan which had their first performance between Oct. 1, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2021 were eligible. Nominations were accepted from the public. Nominees were selected by BroadwayWorld and voting took place during December.
This year, for the first time, categories were added for streaming productions.
“We have worked so hard during these past two seasons to make theatre happen,” Bird said. “To know our community honored our work not only validates the theatre we created during the pandemic but motivates us going into our ambitious 2022 season.”
The Sauk’s August 2021 production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” won five awards. The Peter Pan prequel was the first Sauk production with live music in two years.
The April 2021 production of “Approaching Zanzibar” won four awards.
The March 2021 production of “The Giver,” the first in-person, on-site production at The Sauk in 13 months received one award.
Two streamed productions also won awards. The 2020 holiday production of “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus: A Radio Play” won four awards, and the online version of the 2020 “Sauk Shorts” won one award. The Sauk productions of “Love, Loss and What I Wore,” “Stuart Little” and “The Cemetery Club” also received nominations.
Two productions in the upcoming 2022 season received awards. “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding” and “The Secret Garden” won Most Anticipated Upcoming Productions.
The complete list of Sauk winners includes:
Best Editing of a Stream: Trinity Bird, “Sauk Shorts Online”
Best Performer in a Streaming Play: Andy Anderson, “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus: A Radio Play”
Best Supporting Performer in a Streaming Play: Tiffany Thatcher, “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus: A Radio Play”
Best Direction of a Steam: Trinity Bird, “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus: A Radio Play”
Best Streaming Play: “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus: A Radio Play”
Best Sound Design of a Play or Musical: Bruce Crews, “The Giver”
Best Set Design of a Play or Musical: Trinity Bird, “Approaching Zanzibar”
Best Supporting Performer in a Play: Jacob Gray, “Approaching Zanzibar”
Best Direction of a Play: Trinity Bird, “Approaching Zanzibar”
Best Play: “Approaching Zanzibar”
-Best Costume Design of a Play or Musical: Meaghan Bryant, “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Best Performer in a Musical: Isaiah Brown, “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Best Direction of a Musical: Trinity Bird and Kristi Gautsche, “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Best Musical: “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Best Production of the Year (In-Person): “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Most Anticipated Upcoming Production of a Play: “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding”
Most Anticipated Upcoming Production of a Musical: “The Secret Garden”
The BroadwayWorld Regional Awards are the largest theatre audience awards, with over 100 cities worldwide participating.
“To be recognized amongst all the great theaters in Michigan is really an honor,” Bird said. “We have a vibrant and vital theatre scene in this state. The Sauk is extremely proud to be a part of it.”
For more information about The Sauk, visit www.thesauk.org.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Entertainment
