 | | | From left: Caitlin Evenson, Carolyn Day, Ethan Bartley, Mayor Brandt Andersson, Fiona Warburton, Ginny Wehrmeister and Adrian Altaffer Photo provided | | | | | | Honored with three Shellie Awards, including one for Best Play, it was a big night for Lafayette's Town Hall Theatre recently. Contra Costa County's version of the Tony Awards, the Shellies honor outstanding achievement in the performing arts.
The extravagant affair held at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek featured thoroughly dolled up guests along with a sumptuous wine and dessert reception for the honorees. Presenting the Best Play Award, Lafayette Mayor Brandt Andersson quipped, "Lafayette may not have a town hall, but it does have a Town Hall Theatre."
Town Hall won awards for Best Play, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Lighting Design for its production of "The Rainmaker," a romantic comedy. Henry Perkins received the Shellie for Best Supporting Actor in the play and Michael Resnick snagged a Shellie for Lighting Design.
"It's very gratifying to see Town Hall recognized by other theater professionals for the high quality of its productions," said Betsy Streeter, who has served as president of the Town Hall board of directors for the past five years.
In winning the Best Play award, Town Hall beat out productions by six other Contra Costa theater companies, including Center REPertory Company's "Clybourne Park," Butterfield 8 Theatre Company's "The Maltese Falcon," and other entries from the San Ramon and Pittsburg community theaters.
Operating continuously for 75 years, Town Hall has won numerous Shellie awards in the past, including an award in 2014 for Best Play for "The Farnsworth Invention." Look for the new award trophies on display in the theater's lobby, possibly while attending their next production, "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches," the first part of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, which opens Feb. 7. C. Tyson
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA