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The Silver Palm Awards for the 2025-2026 South Florida season have been announced with a presentation slated for Oct. 12.
Envisioned as less structured program than the competitive Carbonell Awards, they honor outstanding contributions to the professional theater community.
Fashioned after the New York Obie Awards, the Silver Palms bills itself as “seeking to honor new and exciting offerings of talent and skill ranging from performance, to design, to more unique, out of the box concepts and creations of theatrical excellence.”
The original was created in 2007 and managed for years by the late playwright Tony Finstrom, actress/director/producer Iris Acker and journalist Ron Levitt.
Twenty-one judges attended performances from Miami to Jupiter from September 2025 to August 2026.
The Silver Palm Awards will be returning to Union Kitchen & Bar at 2309 Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors on Monday, October 12 at 6:30 p.m., with free champagne, hors d’oeuvres, and light food stations before and after the presentation of the awards.
Tickets for the event are $35 and can be reserved at http://www.silverpalmawards.com.
The Silver Palm Awards Celebration is sponsored by the Tony Finstrom Fund at Our Fund and Mark Traverso and Conor Walton.
The Silver Palm Awards 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 – at
tended 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 Awards 2025-2026 Honorees
- Ali Tallman, Outstanding Direction, The 39 Steps, New City Players
- Dalia Aleman, Outstanding Performance, Left on Tenth, GableStage
- Daisy Tanner, Outstanding Performance, Ruthless!, Island City Stage
- Larry Buzzeo, Outstanding Theatrical Contributions, 2025-2026 Season, ArtBuzz Theatrics
- Randall Swinton, Outstanding Performance, The Case For The Existence of God, New City Players
- Gage Callenius, Outstanding Performance, Light Switch, Island City Stage
- Brandon Urrutia, Outstanding Theatrical Experience, 2025-2026 Season, Lakehouseranchdotpng
- Michael McKeever, Outstanding Performance, The Inheritance, Part 1, Zoetic Stage
- Lindsey Corey, Outstanding Performance, Ruthless!, Island City Stage
- Tony Galaska, Outstanding Lighting Design, Sotto Voce, GableStage
- Maribeth Graham, Outstanding Performance, Eureka Day, Island City Stage
- Bridge Across the Pond Theater Company, Outstanding New Theater
- Rita Cole, Outstanding Performance, The Mountaintop, Palm Beach Dramaworks
- Sara Grant, Outstanding Performance, Fall Well & Forbidden, Plays of Wilton/The Foundry
- Dawn C. Shamburger, Outstanding Costume Design, Merrily We Roll Along, Zoetic Stage
- Nicole Hulett, Outstanding Performance, Burst, New City Players
- Ronnie Larsen, Outstanding Playwright & Direction, Fall Well & Forbidden, Plays of Wilton/The Foundry
- Bong Redila, Outstanding Graphics, Everything Beautiful Happens at Night, Island City Stage
- Seth Trucks, Outstanding Performance, Fall Well & Mae West on Sunset Boulevard, Plays of Wilton/The Foundry
- Ardean Landhuis, Outstanding Scenic & Lighting Design, Ruthless! & Everything Beautiful Happens at Night, Island City Stage
Special Award: Bill Hirschman & Oline Cogdill, The Tony Finstrom Award (Editor’s note: They did not recommend themselves)
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” because 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, 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. Marj O’Neill Butler oversees the awards as Executive Director.
The volunteer judges include Barbara Bradshaw, Oline Cogdill, Mary Damiano, Cheryl Dunn Bychek, Jason Evan Fisher, Sharon Geltner, Britin Haller, Bill Hirschman, Carolyn Johnson, Angelina Lopez Catledge, Kathleen Moorhead, Marj O’Neill-Butler, Pete Rogan, Lee Rubin, Michelle Solomon, Cheryl Steinthal and James White III.
