SILVER PALM AWARDS ANNOUNCED!
TO BE PRESENTED AT UNION KITCHEN & BAR IN WILTON MANORS ON OCTOBER 21, 2024!
The Silver Palm Awards will be presented at a new venue this year. Union Kitchen & Bar will host the event on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 6:30 p.m., when the recipients of this year’s awards will be honored. The Silver Palm Awards were established in 2008, conceived to celebrate the work of theater artists who live in South Florida.
This year, honorees – along with all those who participate in creating theater in South Florida – will enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere, with passed hors d’oeuvres, food stations and free prosecco during the presentation of the awards and dancing afterwards with a live DJ. Tickets for the event are $35, or $150 for an “Ensemble” of 5 tickets. Union Kitchen & Bar is located at 2309 Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. The Silver Palm Awards are sponsored by the Tony Finstrom Fund at Our Fund and Mark Traverso and Conor Walton.
Tickets can be reserved at http://www.silverpalmawards.
The Silver Palm Awards strive to include and honor more unique and non-traditional contributions to our community. Judges from across Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward Counties helped choose the honorees. Judges – consisting of professionals working in all aspects of the theater industry, as well as devoted, knowledgeable patrons – attended over 400 performances this season. Votes are weighted by how many shows each judge saw, and honorees confirmed by a select committee.
The Silver Palm 2023-2024 Judging Panel:
*designates select committee member
• Barbara Bradshaw
• Oline Cogdill
• Mary Damiano
• Christine Dolen*
• Niki Fridh
• Bianca Garcia
• Patti Gardner
• Teddy Harrell*
• Carey Brianna Hart
• Luis Roberto Herrera*
• Carolyn Johnson
• Angelina Lopez Catledge
• Dayana Morales
• Marj O’Neill Butler*
• Lee Rubin
• Michelle Solomon
• Karen Stephens
• Sandi Stock*
• James White III
THE SILVER PALM AWARDS 2023-2024 HONOREES
Outstanding Performance
• LINDSEY COREY, Cabaret, Zoetic Stage
• BETH DIMON, Rooted, Theatre Lab
• KAREN STEPHENS, Clyde’s, Zoetic Stage
• ELIJAH WORD, Cabaret, Zoetic Stage
• LELA ELAM, The Girls of Summer, M Ensemble
Outstanding Solo Performance
• MELVIN HUFFNAGLE, How I Learned What I Learned, Gablestage
Outstanding New / Emerging Theatre Company
• TRUE MIRAGE THEATER
Outstanding “Out of the Box” Programming
• THINKING CAP THEATRE
Outstanding Production
• MUSEUM PLAYS, Miami New Drama in collaboration with the Rubell Museum
• DEATH OF A SALESMAN, Palm Beach Dramaworks
Outstanding Original Immersive Experience
• CONJURING THE KING, Juggerknot Theatre Company
Outstanding Direction
• BARI NEWPORT, The Lehman Trilogy, Gablestage
• CAREY BRIANNA HART, How I Learned What I Learned, Gablestage
• GIANCARLO RODAZ, Oliver, Area Stage
Outstanding Career Achievements in Directing
• STUART MELTZER, 23-24 Season: Clyde’s, Wicked Child, Cabaret, Cuban Chicken Soup: When There’s No More Café, Zoetic Stage; Clark Gable Slept Here, Plays of Wilton; A Streetcar Named Desire, New City Players
Outstanding Intimacy Direction
• NICOLE PERRY, XOXOLOLA, LakehouseRanchDotPNG; Love! Valour! Compassion!, Island City Stage; La Gringa, City Theatre; Which Way to the Stage, Island City Stage; Plaza Suite, Maltz Jupiter Theatre; The Cancellation of Lauren Fein, Palm Beach Dramaworks; The Dyke and the Porn Star, Women of Wilton; Dickery Pokery, Summer Shorts, City Theatre; Have You Seen Boomer, LakehouseRanchDotPDF
Outstanding Dialect Coaching
• KATHRYN JOHNSTON, The Berlin Diaries, Theatre Lab
Outstanding Scenic & Prop Design
• JODI DELLAVENTURA & NATALIE TAVERAS, Clyde’s, Zoetic Stage; La Gringa, City Theatre
Outstanding Scenic Design
• MICHAEL McCLAIN, Rooted, Theatre Lab
Outstanding Career Achievements in Scenic Design
• FRANK J. OLIVA, 23-24 Season: How I Learned What I Learned, The Thanksgiving Play, The Lehman Trilogy, Gablestage; Oliver, Area Stage
Outstanding Special Effect – Foley
• TYLER JOHNSON GRIMES, A Christmas Carol, New City Players; The Spongebob Musical, Slow Burn Theatre Company
Outstanding Community Support Organization for Contributions to LGBTQ Arts
• OUR FUND FOUNDATION
ABOUT THE SILVER PALM AWARDS
Tony Finstrom, Iris Acker and Ron Levitt co-founded the awards in 2008 as a way to celebrate excellence in South Florida theater. Fashioned after New York’s Off-Broadway Obie Awards, the Silver Palms do not designate nominees, and they place no limit on the number of citations that might be given in any “category.” In truth, there are no official categories. Silver Palm judges submit 10 recommendations to the Silver Palm Executive Committee, citing the artists they feel should be recognized as having made an “Outstanding Contribution to the South Florida Theater Season.” All submissions are tallied and scored. The theater artists with the highest scores are awarded the honor. After his passing, Mr. Finstrom designated Andy Rogow and Michael McKeever as the co-chairs of the Awards, requesting that they continue his legacy of supporting the community and honoring its artists. Sandi Stock oversees the awards as Managing Director.
