Central Square Theater received 10 nominations for the annual Elliot Norton Awards for its plays “The Moderate” and “Silent Sky,” twice as many as any other Cambridge theater. Moonbox Productions won five nominations for “Crowns,” and the American Repertory Theater received a nomination for “Wonder” and an award for “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” the Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA) announced earlier this month.
The winners will be announced June 1 at the Huntington Theatre. The Norton awards were created to honor artists who have made outstanding contributions to professional theater in Boston and beyond. The BTCA announced nearly 150 nominations and awards across the region.
“The Moderate” depicts the life of a social media content moderator tasked with viewing material flagged as pornographic, racist, or violent. The play, praised for excellent performances as well as unique staging, was nominated for Outstanding New Script (Ken Urban) and Outstanding Ensemble. It also received nominations for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director (Jared Mezzocchi), Outstanding Lead (Nael Nacer), and Outstanding Featured Performance (Jules Talbot) in the midsize category.
“The Moderate” was also nominated for Outstanding Sound Design, Outstanding Scenic Design, and Outstanding Lighting in the midsize or small category. The theater’s “Silent Sky,” a fictionalized biography of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, was also nominated for Outstanding Lighting Design in the midsize or small category. Both “The Moderate” and “Silent Sky” were Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Productions presented by Central Square Theater.
Moonbox Productions received multiple nominations, including Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Musical, and Outstanding Music Direction, for “Crowns.” The musical, which celebrates the women who form the backbone of the traditional Black church, was also nominated in the midsize category for Outstanding Director (Regine Vital) and for Outstanding Costume Design for midsize or small theaters.
American Repertory Theater was nominated in the large theater category for Outstanding Lighting Design for “Wonder,” the story of a boy with a facial difference and the community that supports him. Sam Tutty, the lead in A.R.T.’s visiting musical, “Two Strangers,” also received the award for Outstanding Performance in a Visiting Musical. (Visiting awardees are announced at the same time as nominations in other categories.)
The Norton awards were created upon the 1983 retirement of beloved and influential Boston critic Elliot Norton. Norton, who died in 2003 at the age of 100, was known as the dean of American theater critics and won a special Tony Award in 1971 for “distinguished theatrical commentary.”
The BTCA currently consists of 11 volunteers who review for local and national outlets such as The Boston Globe, GBH, WBUR, Broadway World, Theater Mirror, Stage and Cinema, and other online, broadcast, and print outlets, including Cambridge Day (disclosure: the author of this story is a member of the BTCA). The BTCA considered more than 90 productions for the 43rd awards season.
Tickets for the June 1 Elliot Norton Awards ceremony (early bird pricing through May 18) are available here.
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