LGBT-themed plays shine in 2012 Jeff Nominations

The 2012 Equity Jeff Award nominees were announced in the wee hours of Monday, August 20. Leading the pack is the Goodman Theatre with 18 nominations. Kris Vire of Time Out Chicago noted on Twitter that at least 60% of the eligible shows were nominated with at least one award, putting some categories at a high of ten nominations. This year's season was exceptionally diverse, so while I'll list the full nominee list below, I'd like to shout out some of the productions this year that had LGBT themes and characters. And believe me, these productions would serve to make any queer theatergoer proud:

Angels in America, Parts One and Two by Tony Kushner - Court Theatre

"The Great Work Begins." The year is 1985: Ronald Reagan has just been reelected to a second term, and the deadly AIDS epidemic is at its height in New York City. Tony Kushner's two-part epic historical drama captures the lives of the HIV-positive Prior; Louis, his lover who abandons him; Joe, a closeted gay Mormon; his Valium-addicted wife Harper; Roy Cohn, a notorious lawyer from the McCarthy hearings, dying of AIDS; Belize, his African-American nurse; Hannah, Joe's mother from Utah; and the Angel, a terrifyingly beautiful herald of the apocalypse. As these characters discover, confront, and seduce each other during a time of death, hypocrisy, and tumultuous change, Kushner summons a restless pastiche of the historical and the supernatural, the theological and the political—all told with surging theatricality by a company of eight actors.

Nominations: Production – Play (Large); Actor in a Principal Role, Play – Lary Yando (Roy M. Cohn)

Immediate Family by Paul Oakley Stovall - Paul Boskind, Ruth Hendel and Stephen Hendel by special arrangement with Goodman Theatre, and in association with About Face Theatre Company

In the Bryant family's Hyde Park home, keeping a secret is next to impossible... When the entire clan comes together for the first time in more than five years, family secrets are exposed in a hilarious, emotional family reunion. Evy can't understand why her younger brothers are so mysterious and distant; Jesse is afraid to be true to himself and honest with his family; and no one can understand why Tony is so eager to get married. Modern Family meets All in the Family as these siblings try to bridge their differences with a little help from God, card games and their Immediate Family.

Nominations: Best Production – Play (Midsize); Best Scenic Design – John Iacovelli

A Catered Affair, book by Harvey Fierstein, music & lyrics by John Bucchino- Porchlight Music Theatre

Set in the Bronx in 1953, A Catered Affair is a bittersweet reflection on the complexities of relationships between husbands and wives and parents and children. A couple must decide whether to spend their life savings on a family business or to celebrate their only daughter's marriage with a lavish catered affair, providing her with the joyful wedding they never had for themselves. A beautiful exploration of the resilience of love, A Catered Affair features a melodious, 50s-inspired score.

Nominations: Production – Musical (Midsize); Actress in a Principal Role, Musical – Rebecca Finnegan (Aggie Hurley)

Rent by Jonathan Larson - American Theater Company and About Face Theatre

East Village. 1990. American Theater Company teams up with About Face Theatre to create a fresh look at Jonathan Larson's 1996 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning rock opera. At the end of the 1980's, a group of Bohemian artists struggle to find life, love and art in a brutal economy and the height of the AIDS crisis. Director David Cromer brought a staggering reality to this landmark musical.

Nominations: Production – Musical (Midsize); Costume Design (Midsize) – David Hyman

The Kid Thing by Sarah Gubbins- Chicago Dramatists and About Face Theatre

When two lesbian couples who have been close friends for years get together for a dinner party, the unexpected news of an impending pregnancy rocks their relationships. Darcy, Nate, Leigh and Margot are four women in their mid-thirties who are each facing the parenthood question. When Jacob, an old college friend and the sperm donor of one of the couples, enters the picture, emotions run deep in this biting, witty piece with five different points of view on what it means to have a child erupt.

Nominations: New Work – Sarah Gubbins; Actress in a Principal Role, Play – Killi Simpkins (Darcy); Scenic Design (Midsize) – Chelsea M. Warren

Tick, Tick... Boom! by Jonathan Larson, with David Auburn - Porchlight Music Theatre

Tick, tick... BOOM! is Larson's semi-autobiographical story of Jon, an aspiring composer anxiously approaching his 30th birthday. Jon's girlfriend wants to get married and leave New York for a more conventional life, his best friend is earning a fortune on Madison Avenue, and Jon is still waiting on tables while trying to create the great American musical. An inspiring story of a struggling artist who chooses to follow his dreams, tick, tick... BOOM! features a dynamic pop-rock score blended with traditional musical theater styles, in what many believe to be Larson's homage to Stephen Sondheim.

Nominations: Actor in a Principal Role – Adrian Aguilar (Jon)

And now, a big congrats to all the nominees:

PRODUCTION – PLAY – LARGE
Angels in America, Parts One and Two - Court Theatre
Clybourne Park - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
The Convert - Goodman Theatre in association with Center Theatre Group and McCarter Theatre Center
Elizabeth Rex - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre
In the Next Room or the vibrator play – Victory Gardens Theater
Invisible Man - Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions
Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Oedipus el Rey - Victory Gardens Theater

PRODUCTION – PLAY – MIDSIZE
Blizzard '67 - Chicago Dramatists
Chesapeake - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Death and Harry Houdini - The House Theatre of Chicago
Disgraced - American Theater Company in special arrangement with The Araca Group
Enron - TimeLine Theatre Company
Fish Men - Goodman Theatre presents the Teatro Vista production
Freud's Last Session - Carolyn Rossi Copeland, Robert Stillman, and Jack Thomas present the Barrington Stage Production
Immediate Family - Paul Boskind, Ruth Hendel and Stephen Hendel by special arrangement with Goodman Theatre, and in association with About Face Theatre Company
The Pitmen Painters - TimeLine Theatre Company

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – LARGE
Eastland: A New Musical - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Follies - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Hairspray - Drury Lane Productions
A Little Night Music - Writers' Theatre
The Pirates of Penzance - Marriott Theatre
The Sound of Music - Drury Lane Productions
Sweeney Todd - Drury Lane Productions

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – MIDSIZE
A Catered Affair - Porchlight Music Theatre
The Christmas Schooner A Musical - The Mercury Theater
The Doyle & Debbie Show - lonesome road productions in association with Jim Jensen and Lisselan Productions
Rent - American Theater Company and About Face Theatre

PRODUCTION – REVUE
Stephen Sondheim's Putting it Together - Porchlight Music Theatre
We're All in This Room Together - The Second City e.t.c.

DIRECTOR – PLAY
Nathan Allen - Death and Harry Houdini - The House Theatre of Chicago
J. Nicole Brooks - Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Robert Falls - The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre
BJ Jones - The Pitmen Painters - TimeLine Theatre Company
Christopher McElroen - Invisible Man - Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions
Amy Morton - Clybourne Park - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Charles Newell - An Iliad - Court Theatre
Ron OJ Parson - The Caretaker – Writers' Theatre
Sandy Shinner - In the Next Room or the vibrator play - Victory Gardens Theater
Chay Yew - Oedipus el Rey - Victory Gardens Theater

DIRECTOR – MUSICAL
William Brown - A Little Night Music - Writers' Theatre
Amanda Dehnert - Eastland: A New Musical - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Gary Griffin - Follies - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Tammy Mader - Hairspray - Drury Lane Productions
Dominic Missimi - The Pirates of Penzance - Marriott Theatre
Rachel Rockwell - The Sound of Music - Drury Lane Productions
Rachel Rockwell - Sweeney Todd - Drury Lane Productions

ENSEMBLE
Ameriville by Universes - Victory Gardens Theater
Clybourne Park - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre
Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting - Lookingglass Theatre Company
The Pitmen Painters - TimeLine Theatre Company

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Usman Ally (Amir) - Disgraced - American Theater Company in special arrangement with The Araca Group
Teagle F. Bougere (Invisible Man) - Invisible Man - Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions
William J. Norris (Davies) - The Caretaker - Writers' Theatre
Martin Rayner (Sigmund Freud) - Freud's Last Session - Carolyn Rossi Copeland, Robert Stillman, and Jack Thomas present the Barrington Stage Production
Steven Sutcliffe (Ned Lowenscroft) - Elizabeth Rex - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Larry Yando (Roy M. Cohn) - Angels in America, Parts One and Two - Court Theatre

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Adrian Aguilar (Jon) - tick... tick... BOOM! - Porchlight Music Theatre
Bruce Arntson (Doyle Mayfield) - The Doyle & Debbie Show - lonesome road productions in association with Jim Jensen and Lisselan Productions
Clarke Hallum (Ralphie) - A Christmas Story, The Musical - Gerald Goehring, Roy Miller, Michael F. Mitri, Pat Flicker Addiss, Peter Billingsley, Mariano Tolentino, Louise H. Beard, Michael Filerman, Scott Hart, Timothy Laczynski, Bartner/Jenkins Entertainment, Angela Milonas and Bradford W. Smith
Andrew Lupp (Phil Davis) - Irving Berlin's White Christmas The Musical - Marriott Theatre
Kelvin Roston, Jr. (Jackie Wilson) - The Jackie Wilson Story (My Heart is Crying, Crying) - Black Ensemble Theater
Rashawn Thompson (Marvin Gaye) - The Marvin Gaye Story (Don't Talk About My Father Because God is My Friend) - Black Ensemble Theater

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Pascale Armand (Jekesai/Ester) - The Convert - Goodman Theatre in association with Center Theatre Group and McCarter Theatre Center
Janet Ulrich Brooks (Anya Botvinnik) - A Walk in the Woods - TimeLine Theatre Company
Kate Buddeke (Tanya) - The North Plan - Theater Wit
Diane D'Aquila (Queen Elizabeth I) - Elizabeth Rex - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Kate Fry (Catherine Givings) - In the Next Room or the vibrator play - Victory Gardens Theater
Lia Mortensen (Lynn Fontanne) - Ten Chimneys - Northlight Theatre
Kelli Simpkins (Darcy) - The Kid Thing - Chicago Dramatists and About Face Theatre

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Jennifer Blood (Maria Rainer) - The Sound of Music - Drury Lane Productions
Lillian Castillo (Tracy Turnblad) - Hairspray - Drury Lane Productions
Shannon Cochran (Desirée Armfeldt) - A Little Night Music - Writers' Theatre
Rebecca Finnegan (Aggie Hurley) - A Catered Affair - Porchlight Music Theatre
Jenny Littleton (Debbie) - The Doyle & Debbie Show - lonesome road productions in association with Jim Jensen and Lisselan Productions
Liz McCartney (Mrs. Lovett) - Sweeney Todd - Drury Lane Productions
Caroline O'Connor (Phyllis Rogers Stone) - Follies - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

ACTOR OR ACTRESS IN A REVUE
Edgar Blackmon (Ensemble) - Who Do We Think We Are? - The Second City
McKinley Carter (Woman #1) - Stephen Sondheim's Putting it Together - Porchlight Theatre Company
Mike Kosinski (Ensemble) - We're All in This Room Together - The Second City e.t.c.
Adam Pelty (Man #1) - Stephen Sondheim's Putting it Together - Porchlight Theatre Company

SOLO PERFORMANCE
Greg Matthew Anderson (Kerr) - Chesapeake - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Timothy Edward Kane (Poet) - An Iliad - Court Theatre
Deborah Staples (Performer) - The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead - Writers' Theatre

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Brad Armacost (Phil Hogan) - A Moon for the Misbegotten - Seanachaí Theatre Company
Ian Barford (Arly Wilcox) - The March - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Brian Dennehy (Larry Slade) - The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre
Alex Goodrich (Ellard Simms) - The Foreigner - Provision Theater
Harry Groener (General William Tecumseh Sherman) - The March - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Ron Orbach (Nick Bottom) - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Dan Waller (Oliver Kilbourn) - The Pitmen Painters - TimeLine Theatre Company
Howard Witt (Adam Kirchbaum AKA Ninety-Two) - Fish Men - Goodman Theatre presents the Teatro Vista production

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Brandon Dahlquist (Count Carl-Magnus & Lieder Singer) - A Little Night Music - Writers' Theatre
Alex Goodrich (Kirk) - HERO the Musical - Marriott Theatre
Kevin Earley (Pirate King) - The Pirates of Penzance - Marriott Theatre
Ross Lehman (Major-General) - The Pirates of Penzance - Marriott Theatre
Michael Aaron Lindner (Edna Turnblad) - Hairspray - Drury Lane Productions
Rod Thomas (Orin Scrivello, Derelict, Customer, Radio Announcer, Bernstein, Mrs. Luce, Skip Snip, and Patrick Martin) - Little Shop of Horrors - Theatre at the Center

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Mai Tamba) - The Convert - Goodman Theatre in association with Center Theatre Group and McCarter Theatre Center
Hannah Gomez (Maribel) - Crooked - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Mary Cross and Sharon Furiya
Patrese D. McClain (The Folk) - Spunk - Court Theatre
Polly Noonan (Sabrina Daldry) - In the Next Room or the vibrator play - Victory Gardens Theater
MaryAnn Thebus, (Vera) - After the Revolution - Next Theatre Company
Kristina Valada-Viars (Mandy Bloom) - Time Stands Still - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Natalie West (Gail) - The Butcher of Baraboo - A Red Orchid Theatre

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Dara Cameron (Susan Schmitty) - HERO the Musical - Marriott Theatre
Patti Cohenour (The Mother Abbess) - The Sound of Music - Drury Lane Productions
Hollis Resnik (Carlotta Campion) - Follies - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Alene Robertson (Martha Watson) - Irving Berlin's White Christmas The Musical - Marriott Theatre
Christine Sherrill (Paulette) - Legally Blonde The Musical - Marriott Theatre

NEW WORK – PLAY OR MUSICAL
Ayad Akhtar - Disgraced - American Theater Company in special arrangement with The Araca Group
John Conroy - My Kind of Town - TimeLine Theatre Company
Sarah Gubbins - The Kid Thing - Chicago Dramatists and About Face Theatre
Andrew Hinderaker - I Am Going to Change the World - Chicago Dramatists
Jon Steinhagen - Blizzard '67 - Chicago Dramatists
Aaron Thielen and Michael Mahler - HERO the Musical - Marriott Theatre
Andrew White, Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman - Eastland: A New Musical - Lookingglass Theatre Company

NEW ADAPTATION – PLAY
Calixto Bieito and Marc Rosich - Camino Real - Goodman Theatre
Frank Galati - The March - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Oren Jacoby - Invisible Man - Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions
Tracy Letts - Three Sisters - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Jessica Thebus and Frank Maugeri - The Feast: an intimate Tempest - Chicago Shakespeare Theater in association with Redmoon

CHOREOGRAPHY
Tammy Mader - Hairspray - Drury Lane Productions
Matt Raftery - The Pirates of Penzance - Marriott Theatre
Jessica Redish - Pippin - The Music Theatre Company
Marc Robin - Irving Berlin's White Christmas The Musical - Marriott Theatre
Alex Sanchez - Follies - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC
Jenny Giering - Elizabeth Rex - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Andrew Hansen - A Walk in the Woods - TimeLine Theatre Company
Lindsay Jones - Timon of Athens - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Kevin O'Donnell - Death and Harry Houdini - The House Theatre of Chicago
David Singer - Three Sisters - Steppenwolf Theatre Company

MUSIC DIRECTION
Austin Cook - Stephen Sondheim's Putting it Together - Porchlight Music Theatre
Roberta Duchak - The Sound of Music - Drury Lane Productions
Roberta Duchak - Sweeney Todd - Drury Lane Productions
Brad Haak - Follies - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Valerie Maze - A Little Night Music – Writers' Theatre
Robert Reddrick - The Marvin Gaye Story (Don't Talk about My Father Because God is My Friend) - Black Ensemble Theater

SCENIC DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Ira Amyx and Merje Veski - A Moon for the Misbegotten - Seanachaí Theatre Company
John Iacovelli - Immediate Family - Paul Boskind, Ruth Hendel and Stephen Hendel by special arrangement with Goodman Theatre, and in association with About Face Theatre Company
Jack Magaw - Disgraced - American Theater Company in special arrangement with The Araca Group
Brian Prather - Freud's Last Session - Carolyn Rossi Copeland, Robert Stillman, and Jack Thomas present The Barrington Stage Production
Chelsea M. Warren - The Kid Thing - Chicago Dramatists and About Face Theatre

SCENIC DESIGN – LARGE
Kevin Depinet - The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre
Troy Hourie - Invisible Man - Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions
Jack Magaw - The Caretaker - Writers' Theatre
Jack Magaw - In the Next Room or the vibrator play - Victory Gardens Theater
Dan Ostling - Eastland: A New Musical - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Todd Rosenthal - Clybourne Park - Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Todd Rosenthal - An Iliad - Court Theatre
Todd Rosenthal - Red - Goodman Theatre in association with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater
Walt Spangler - Time Stands Still - Steppenwolf Theatre Company

LIGHTING DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Jesse Klug - The Amish Project - American Theater Company
Jesse Klug - Fish Men - Goodman Theatre presents the Teatro Vista production
JR Lederle - Chesapeake - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Michael McNamara - The Turn of the Screw - First Folio Theatre
Ben Wilhelm - Death and Harry Houdini - The House Theatre of Chicago

LIGHTING DESIGN – LARGE
John Culbert - Invisible Man - Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions
James F. Ingalls - Camino Real - Goodman Theatre
Natasha Katz - The Iceman Cometh - Goodman Theatre
Jesse Klug - Sweeney Todd - Drury Lane Productions
Keith Parham - Red - Goodman Theatre in association with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater

COSTUME DESIGN – MIDSIZE
David Hyman - Rent - American Theater Company and About Face Theatre
Branimira Ivanova - Cloud 9 - The Gift Theatre
Lee Keenan - Death and Harry Houdini - The House Theatre of Chicago
Kate Murphy - Absolute Hell - The Gift Theatre
Michael Alan Stein - The Nativity - Congo Square Theatre Company

COSTUME DESIGN – LARGE
Jacqueline Firkins - In the Next Room or the vibrator play - Victory Gardens Theater
Rachel Anne Healy - A Little Night Music - Writers' Theatre
Virgil C. Johnson - Follies - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Nancy Missimi - The Pirates of Penzance - Marriott Theatre
Nancy Missimi - Irving Berlin's White Christmas The Musical - Marriott Theatre

SOUND DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Victoria DeIorio - Falling: A Wake - Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Mikhail Fiksel - Fish Men - Goodman Theatre presents the Teatro Vista production
Christopher Kriz - The Turn of the Screw - First Folio Theatre
Kevin O'Donnell and Harrison Adams - Death and Harry Houdini - The House Theatre of Chicago
Rick Sims - Chesapeake - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company

SOUND DESIGN – LARGE
Mikhail Fiksel - Oedipus el Rey - Victory Gardens Theater
Joshua Horvath and Kevin O'Donnell - Angels in America, Parts One and Two - Court Theatre
Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen - The 39 Steps - Drury Lane Productions
Andre Pluess - An Iliad - Court Theatre
Josh Schmidt - The March - Steppenwolf Theatre Company

PROJECTIONS / MEDIA DESIGN
Maya Ciarrocchi - Crowns - Goodman Theatre
Seth Henrikson & Oddmachine - Megacosm - A Red Orchid Theatre
Alex Koch - Invisible Man - Court Theatre in association with Christopher McElroen Productions
Mike Tutaj - I Am Going to Change the World - Chicago Dramatists
Mike Tutaj - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Mike Tutaj - A Walk in the Woods - TimeLine Theatre Company

ARTISTIC SPECIALIZATION
Kurt Alger - Wig Design - Hairspray - Drury Lane Productions
Jesse Mooney-Bullock - 3D Puppetry Design - The Feast: an intimate Tempest - Chicago Shakespeare Theater in association with Redmoon
Melissa Veal - Wig and Make-up Design - Elizabeth Rex - Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Dennis Watkins - Magic Designer -