The First Ever Theater Blogger Awards Were Given to Top Shows on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 30, 2009 -- The Independent Theater Bloggers Association (www.TheaterBloggers.com) is thrilled to announce the winners of the first annual ITBA Awards for Excellence in Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway theater.

The ITBA (Independent Theater Bloggers Association) was formed in 2009 by a group of the most passionate theater bloggers on the World Wide Web (partial list below). The members of the Association blog about all aspects and all varieties of both commercial and non-profit theater, from big Broadway musicals performed in Times Square, to the most unique forms of entertainment performed off-off Broadway on the Lower East Side, as well as productions all over the country and all over the world. Together they see thousands of productions, and without being paid or prodded, they write about them.

Ken Davenport (http://www.theproducersperspective.com), founder of the ITBA, said, "The Association was formed out of a desire to provide structure to the quickly growing theatrical blogosphere, as well as to give the new media voices a chance to recognize excellence in three of the very distinct theatrical markets that make up the New York City theatrical landscape: Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway."

In true "new media" style, there will be no live awards ceremony for the ITBA Awards. Instead, there will be a virtual awards ceremony, with video acceptance speeches for the winners posted electronically in the coming weeks on ITBA's website, www.TheaterBloggers.com.

This year's winners of the ITBA Awards are as follows:

BROADWAY:

BEST BROADWAY PLAY

Reasons To Be Pretty

Written by Neil Labute, Directed by Terry Kinney

Produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Ted Snowdon, Doug Nevin/Erica Lynn Schwartz, Ronald Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions, Kathleen Seidel, Kelpie Arts, Jam Theatricals, Rachel Helson/Heather Provost, and Scott M. Delman

BEST BROADWAY MUSICAL

Billy Elliot

Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Lee Hall, Book by Lee Hall

Directed by Stephen Daldry

Produced by Universal Pictures, Working Title, The Old Vic Company, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn, and Sally Greene

BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

Hair

Music by Galt MacDermot. Lyrics by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Book by Rado & Ragni

Directed by Diane Paulus

Produced by The Joseph Papp Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Kathleen K. Johnson, Nederlander Productions, Fran Kirmser Productions/Jed Bernstein, Marc Frankel, Broadway Across America, Barbara Manocherian/Wencarlar Productions, JK Productions/Terry Schnuck, Andy Sandberg, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company/Norton Herrick and Jujamcyn Theatres

BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A PLAY

The Norman Conquests

Written by Alan Ayckbourn

Directed by Matthew Warchus

Produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Thomas Viertel, Dede Harris, Tulchin/Bartner/Lauren Doll, Jamie deRoy, Eric Falkenstein, Harriet Newman Leve, Probo Productions, Douglas G. Smith, Michael Filerman/Jennifer Manocherian, and Richard Winkler

OFF-BROADWAY:

BEST OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

Fela!

Book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones

Directed by Bill T. Jones

Music and Lyrics by Fela Anikulapo Kuti

Add'l Music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean

Add'l Lyrics by Jim Lewis

Produced by Ruth and Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay

BEST OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

Ruined

Written by Lynn Nottage

Directed by Kate Whoriskey

Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and Goodman Theatre

BEST OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL)

Our Town

Written by Thornton Wilder

Directed by David Cromer

Produced by Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, Ted Snowdon, Eagle Productions, Dena Hammerstein/Pam Pariseau, The Weinstein Company, Burnt Umber Productions

BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY PLAY

Universal Robots

Written by Mac Rogers

Directed by Rosemary Andress

Produced by Manhattan Theater Source

BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE

Suspicious Package

Written by Gyda Arber & Aaron Baker

Directed by Gyda Arber

Produced by The Fifth Wall as part of The Antidepressant Festival

CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATER

Flux Theatre Ensemble

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Members of the ITBA include:

Bill Brown

creatingtheater.com

Linda Buchwald

Pataphysical Science

pataphysicalscience.blogspot.com

Donald Butchko

Me2ism?

me2ism.blogspot.com

Chris Caggiano

Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals

ccaggiano.typepad.com

Zack Calhoon

Visible Soul

zackcalhoon.blogspot.com

Jodi Schoenbrun Carter

off-stage-right.com

Corine Cohen

Corine's Corner

corinescorner.com

Kevin Daly

Theatre Aficionado at Large

theatreaficionado.com

Ken Davenport

The Producer's Perspective

theproducersperspective.com

Ryan J. Davis

Ryan J. Davis Blogs

ryanjdavis.blogspot.com

Jeremy Dobrish

Jeremy's Green Room

JeremysGreenRoom.com

Donell James Foreman

The DJF

thedjf.blogspot.com

Michael Gilboe

Broadway Bullet

broadwaybullet.com

Diana Glazer

Lezbehonest

lezbehonest.tumblr.com

Byrne Harrison

stagebuzz.com

Leonard Jacobs

The Clyde Fitch Report

clydefitch.com

Patrick Lee

Just Shows to Go You

justshowstogoyou.com

James Marino

Broadway Stars

broadwaystars.com

Tulis McCall

Usher Nonsense

ushernonsense.com

Jesse North

Stage Rush

stagerush.blogspot.com

Aaron Riccio

That Sounds Cool

thatsoundscool.blogspot.com

Sarah Roberts

Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment

sarahbsadventures.blogspot.com

Michael Roderick

One Producer in the City

oneproducerinthecity.typepad.com

Adam Rothenberg

Adaumbelle's Quest

adaumbellesquest.com

David Spencer

Aisle Say

aislesay.com

Ethan Stanislawski

Tynan's Anger

tynansanger.com

Gil Varod

Broadway Abridged

broadwayabridged.com

Kim Weild

kimweild.com

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