Press Release

Blockbuster Showcase for 38th Annual Jeff Awards

October 12, 2006 - Chicago, IL. Not just an awards ceremony, but a showcase of the finest in Chicago theatre talent, this year's Jeff Awards ceremony on November 6 promises to be a unique theatrical event. “A blockbuster evening,� says ceremony director Michael Weber, “with performances from all of the nominated productions for Play, Musical, and Revue, introduced by Masters of Ceremony Ora Jones and Ed Kross.� Present plans include scenes or numbers from the following productions:

Bus Stop (Writers’ Theatre), The Clean House (Goodman Theatre), Dealer's Choice (Shattered Globe Theatre), Fences (Court Theatre), A Flea in Her Ear (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Pride and Prejudice (Northlight Theatre), Grand Hotel, The Musical and Plaid Tidings (Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place), Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein (About Face Theatre and the Museum of Contemporary Art), Man of La Mancha (Court Theatre), Oliver! (Marriott Theatre), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Spelling Bee Chicago), Urinetown (Blue Dog Entertainment LLC), Iraqtile Dysfunction and War! Now In Its 4th Smash Year! (The Second City), and A Marvelous Party: The Noel Coward Celebration (Northlight Theatre and Geva Theatre Center).

The Jeff Awards ceremony will be held at the DePaul Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 Balbo Drive. Pre-show light buffet and cash bar across the street at Hilton Chicago’s Normandie Lounge, 720 S. Michigan Ave. runs from 5:30pm-7:30 pm and the awards ceremony begins at 8:00 pm. Doors open at 7:30 pm for the ceremony. The evening is black tie optional and the public is invited to attend. Discount parking is available at most street-level parking lots starting at 4:00pm.

Tickets for both ceremony and pre-show buffet are $65 ($50 for members of Actors’ Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and the Dramatists Guild of America). Ceremony-only tickets are $35. Tickets may be purchased at the door for an additional $10 per ticket ($75, $60 and $45 respectively). For more information, contact Bruce K. Siewerth, Equity Wing Chair, email: jeff–equity@sbcglobal.net.

The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee earlier announced 155 nominations in 28 categories for Chicago's Equity theatrical productions which opened between August 1, 2005 and July 31, 2006. The Jeff Committee sent judges to the opening nights of 123 Equity productions offered by 51 producing organizations, and recommended 92 of these productions for further judging by the entire Committee, which made them eligible for Jeff Awards. The complete list of nominees is available at www.jeffawards.org.

The mission of The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee, founded in 1968, is to honor excellence in theatrical productions in the Chicago theatre community. Originally chartered to recognize Equity productions, the Citations (non-Equity) Wing was established in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union Chicago theatre. The Jeff Committee, composed of theatre professionals and experienced theatergoers, evaluates approximately 250 theatrical productions and holds two awards ceremonies each year. The Citations Awards will be presented next year on June 11.

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Special note to news media: Your complimentary ticket to the annual Jeff Awards Ceremony will be held at the News Media Table at the DePaul Merle Reskin Theatre only if you make a reservation in advance. If you have not reserved a seat, please contact Jeffrey Marks-Media Chair at 312.606.0400 or media@jeffawards.org. Names of award recipients will be released immediately following the presentation ceremony November 6. Copies of the news release with all award recipients will be available at the News Media table after the presentation ceremony ends. It also will be e-mailed to our regular distribution list as an MS Word attachment and in text format in the body of the e-mail by the morning of November 7. Special requests to fax a copy or to e-mail it in text format may be made to Jeff Marks at media@jeffawards.org. Photos from the event will be available on our website. A Media Curtain is available for your own photos. We will also have an interview, and will assist in bringing interviewees to that area. If you need a quote or interview with any Jeff Committee member, please call Jeffrey Marks at 312.606.0400 or email him at media@jeffawards.org.

Contact: Jeffrey Marks-Media Chair at 312-606-0400 or media@jeffawards.org or Glenn Hering-Citations Chair at citations@jeffawards.org