Carbonell Awards And Silver Palms Announce Fall Plans

With the end of summer, the season of South Florida awards galas inches closer, marked by two announcements: the Silver Palms Awards sets a date for announcing the upcoming recipients at a special fundraiser in September; and the Carbonell Awards which has set a November 11 event date now reveals the recipients of its annual “special” awards.

In addition to its 20 competitive awards, the 47th Carbonells will bestow its special recognitions this fall to Area Stage, Kermit Christman, John Pryor, Carl Waisanen Marilynn Wick and Nilo Cruz.

The George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts

 Honoring an individual (or team) who has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region.

Nilo Cruz

Cuban American  Cruz gained national prominence in 2003 when he won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play Anna in the Tropics, a Depression-era tale about migrant Cubans working in a Tampa cigar factory, for which he also received a Steinberg Award and Tony Award nomination. He has become known for his ability to successfully weave strains of magical realism and other literary traditions into his works. His plays include A Park in Our House; Two Sisters and a Piano; A Bicycle Country; Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams; Lorca in a Green Dress; Hurricane; Sotto Voce; Bathing in Moonlight; Hotel Desiderium; Kisses through the Glass; and Thirst on Water Street. His work has been seen at numerous theaters throughout the country and around the world.

The Vinnette Carroll Award

For significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in South Florida theater.

John Pryor

Director and actor Pryor has been a valued theater professor at Miami-Dade Community College and Florida Memorial College who taught hundreds of students the joys of theater while exposing them to playwrights such as August Wilson, Charles Fuller, Lorraine Hansberry, Samm Art-Williams, and Vinnette Carroll. Pryor not only produced Carroll’s Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope for Miami-Dade Community College, he also served as her stage manager when she produced and directed her musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God starring Patti Labelle in a brief Miami run. Pryor has directed more than 100 productions over the last 34 years and has appeared in many as an actor. He also directed M Ensemble’s production of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson’s complete, 10-play Century Cycle.

The Ruth Foreman Award

Recognizes contributions to South Florida theater development by an individual or group, for singular achievement and/or career contributions.

Marilynn Wick, Founder and CEO of The Wick Theatre & Museum Club and Costume World, Inc.

She has dedicated her life to the preservation of theater history. Her commitment to purchasing, restoring, and housing the largest collection of Broadway costumes in the world is a passion that will allow future generations to experience and cherish theatre’s brilliant legacy in a tangible way. Her Costume World houses an incredible collection of 87 original Broadway wardrobes and thousands of theatrical pieces. Her love of theater led her to transform the shuttered Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton into The Wick Theatre & Museum Club, now celebrating its 11th season of offering both mega-sized musicals and intimate Manhattan-style cabaret. The Wick recently added the Museum Club, an immersive venue, featuring original Broadway costumes and a 360-degree video wall showcasing original content that provides comprehensive, entertaining, and educational insights into the history of the Great White Way. Wick is the quintessential role model of an arts advocate–both preserving the irreplaceable past and embracing the future of entertainment.

The Bill Hindman Award

Honoring significant, long-term contributions to the region’s cultural life and onstage career achievement by performing artists based in South Florida.

Carl Waisanen

With an MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa, Carl Waisanen worked as an actor in multiple shows (1776, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Underpants, Funny Girl, and Havana Bourgeois). However, he is best known for the 25 years he served as Production Stage Manager for more than 120 shows at Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables. His lengthy tenure at Actors’ ended when he suffered a massive stroke during COVID.  Famous for his constant and creative reminders when the clocks needed turning back (lest the cast and crew miss half-hour), Carl still sends them out via Facebook to hundreds of actors who look forward to receiving his messages. Throughout his long career, he has been a cherished source of both on-stage guidance and back-stage support to everyone in the cast and crew, show after show after show.

The Howard Kleinberg Award

Honoring an individual or organization for contributions to the health and development of the arts in South Florida.

Kermit Christman, Founder & Artistic Producing Director, Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival

Christman has dedicated his life to professional theater, devoting the past 35 years to creating and running the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival. Starting in 1989, his dream was realized when he welcomed 10,000 visitors to Carlin Park for the inaugural two-week run of the annual Shakespeare by the Sea, which offers free professional theater for year-round residents, fills the end-of-season cultural void, and provides paid work each summer for actors and technicians. He was instrumental in designing and generating public support for the popular Seabreeze Amphitheater and has produced numerous award-winning contemporary theater productions, comedy showcases, and concert series.

The Bill von Maurer Award for Theatrical Excellence

Honoring a theater company that exemplifies excellence for the totality of its programming: productions, educational outreach, developmental programs, and audiences served.

Area Stage

Now celebrating its 35^th anniversary, Area Stage is an award-winning theater organization that offers world-class professional productions and a vibrant conservatory program. It was founded by John & Maria Rodaz with the mission “to provide extraordinary theatrical experiences, to nurture the artistic talents and creative spirits of the next generation of theater professionals, and to make the in-person, collective experience of theatre accessible to everyone, especially to those who traditionally face barriers to access or participation.” In 2008, the company established a professional-level conservatory program in addition to maintaining a full season of professional productions, concerts, and community events. In 2014, the Inclusion Theatre Project (ITP) was established, a life-changing program for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. In 2020, Area Stage moved to The Shops at Sunset Place. Its current headquarters, built from the ground up for its needs, host state-of-the-art dance and voice studios and a black box theatre. Under the visionary leadership of current Artistic Director Giancarlo Rodaz, the critically acclaimed Area Stage has undergone a transformative phase, embracing immersive productions to elevate storytelling, forcing multi-generational, multicultural audiences to rekindle new relationships with classic tales. With a vision of unceasing growth, Area Stage aspires to remain a key component of South Florida’s artistic and cultural landscape now and in the future.

As part of the 2024 Carbonell Awards, $2,000 Jack Zink Memorial Student Scholarships will be presented to Alexandra Dreszer (Miami-Dade County), Lillian Jones (Palm Beach County), and Morgan Brooke Wilder (Broward County).

Tickets are just $40 each (including facility fee) and will be available for public purchase next month. The event will be held at 7:30 pm at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center at 3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill.

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The Silver Palms, celebrating outstanding work of theater artists who live in South Florida since 2008, will reveal the names of this year’s recipients on Sept. 23 at The Finstrom Follies fundraiser. The actual awards will be presented Oct. 21.

The celebration next month will be held at 7 p.m. at Island City Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors.

Talent will present songs from the previous theater season. Raffle prizes include season tickets to local theaters, dinners at regional restaurants and spa treatments.

A video presentation will review the history of South Florida theater written and narrated by theater critic Christine Dolen will be shown. The celebration will continue after the presentation with free wine.

Tickets to the event are $26 and can be obtained at http://www.silverpalmawards.com.

The Awards are sponsored by the Tony Finstrom Fund at Our Fund. Support for the event is also provided by Mark Traverso and Conor Walton.

The follies are named after South Florida playwright and arts patron Tony Finstrom, who was a long-time Carbonell Award judge and founder of the Silver Palm Awards. The author of numerous plays, Finstrom was the recipient of various honors including the Charlie Cinnamon Award and the South Florida Theatre League’s Remy Pioneer Award. He passed away in December 2018.