Local actors, directors and more will be honored at the New Hampshire Theatre Awards
Granite State stages were quite busy last year, and the ballot for the upcoming New Hampshire Theatre Awards is proof. There are 236 semifinalists from 80 productions done by 25 youth, community and professional companies on a list of 31 categories. Additionally, three special awards will be presented at the ceremony, on Jan. 30 at Concord’s Capitol Center.
There’s more to the event than who wins, however. Attendees are promised a night of entertainment, with an emphasis on comedy. It will be provided by an ensemble directed by Ro Gavin, whose eponymous company’s production of Seussical! is up for three awards. Breanne Aria Battey serves as Musical Director.
Winning is rewarding, but it’s not everything, Irene Cohen, President of the New Hampshire Theatre Alliance said in a recent phone interview.
“The feeling in this gigantic room, with over 800 people participating, is one of community and collaboration and support,” Cohen said. “We have something so special.”
That said, a few companies stood out on this year’s semi-finalists list. Actorsingers, Arts In Motion and Ovation Theatre Company each had four productions that received multiple nominations. Andy’s Summer Playhouse, Barnstormers, and Theatre Up each had three. Several companies had a dozen or more individual nominations.
Special award winners include Dr. Alan Kaplan, founder and outgoing artistic director of Manchester Community Theatre Players. He’ll receive the Francis Grover Cleveland Award for Lifetime Achievement. “He’s created this legacy,” Cohen said. “It’s an example of people doing it for the love of theatre, and the benefit of what it can bring to the community.”
Ryan Kaplan, also a nominee this year for his supporting role in Ovation’s Spamalot: Youth Edition, will be recognized for Special Achievement in Youth Theatre. “He started a theatre group when he was 12 years old, which has evolved to producing plays,” Cohen said. “He does it for the love of it, and it’s extraordinary what he has inspired among his peers.”
An award will also be presented for Excellence in Playwriting. “For an original play or script,” Cohen said. “That’s not given every year, because there isn’t always a work that gets submitted, but we had three this year. It’s exciting to honor the efforts of people producing original work.”
A handful of professional companies, those whose actors are paid for their roles, are up for awards. They include The Barnstormers Theatre, whose founder Grover Cleveland is the namesake for the NHTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, along with Peterborough Players, Firelight Theatre Workshop and Weathervane Theatre.
The majority of semi-finalists are in it for their passion for acting, but that does not discount their efforts, Cohen believes.
“There’s a thought that you only get quality with professional productions, and that’s just not true,” she said. “There are some extraordinary actors and actresses and youth performers in this state who participate in a production and deliver a performance that is very believable and convincing and artistic and individualized.”
She further urged folks who’ve thought about attending in the past consider coming to this year’s event.
“We’re infusing a little more humor in it, so it’s a good time to give it a try,” she said, adding both levity and solidarity are good responses to 2025, a year that was filled with challenges. “We’re at a juncture where, especially in this state, we need to speak loud and clear about the role of the arts in life and in our state.”
21st New Hampshire Theatre Awards
When: Saturday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m.
Where: Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $54 at ccanh.com
Featured photo: New Hampshire Theatre Awards. Photo by Chuck Swierad.