Ten years ago, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble was battling for its artistic survival after the College of DuPage, for financial reasons, ended its relationship with the McAninch Arts Center’s longtime resident theater company. Theater lovers rallied around the company, which resumed MAC performances in 2016 after a two-year hiatus. And on Tuesday, BTE earned five equity Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, the most in its nearly 40-year history.
Bryan Burke earned a nomination for his performance as a man making amends while confronting his mortality in “The Outgoing Tide.” Christopher Kriz received nominations for sound design and original music for the same production. Additionally, Jessica Kuehnau received a mid-size theater set design nomination for BTE’s “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” which also earned Aly Greaves Amidei a costume design nomination.
TV stars Laurie Metcalf and Jason Alexander received lead performer in a play nominations for “Little Bear Ridge Road” and “Judgment Day,” respectively. Marriott Theatre led all suburban ensembles with 17 nominations, including best large musical nods for “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” which also received a nomination for ensemble. “Beautiful” also received nominations for director Jessica Fisch, principal performer Kaitlyn Davis and supporting performers Andrew Mueller and Erica Stephan.
“The Music Man” received nominations for director and .