Judy's Scary Little Christmas: Willamette Week Online

WILLAMETTE WEEK ONLINE

The Big Cast Party

The Drammy Awards' 25th anniversary party

was nearly a cast of thousands.

BY STEFFEN SILVIS

Awards ceremonies are all alike at base. There are the insiderish jibes and jokes, the forced bonhomie and backslapped greetings, the odd unsteady presenter and failed attempts at humor and modesty from some winners. Award evenings are one-off productions that we cast ourselves in with defined roles of who we are and what we'll do. Yet, even with so much that is set and rote, there are always a few wonderful, improvisational moments that can turn an evening into an event.

The 25th Anniversary Drammy Awards suffered a few hitches in its new venue, the Crystal Ballroom. Half the winners were missing, and some that were there had such a long walk to the podium that their applause was dead before they got there. There also seemed to be an unceasing racket from the back of the house, which next year must be marked as a "no manners" zone.
But the evening had many memorable moments: Tony Caputo accepting his award for Peter Pan in honor of his mother who had recently passed away; Stephen Alexander accepting his award for the musical The Spitfire Grill looking like an escapee from 1776; Jason Maniccia holding a cellphone up while the house yelled congratulations to winner Deb Lund, who couldn't attend; Victoria Parker's elegant introduction to this year's recipient of a lifetime achievement award, Jack Featheringill; and Hand2Mouth's Jonathan Walters reminding the house that theater is a collaborative, participatory art form that has the power of uniting.
Among this year's presenters were Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn (playing to a supportive house) and various media figures, as well as the two original founders of the awards, Bob Sitton and Stephanie Oliver.
The big winners of the evening were Oregon Children's Theater's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Pixie Dust's Peter Pan (both directed by Greg Tamblyn), Hand2Mouth's Wild Child and Lakewood's Once in a Lifetime. A few of the night's favorites were Tony James, who won for his spooky embodiment of Judy Garland in Triangle's Judy's Scary Little Christmas, William Hurt for ART's Drawer Boy, and Karen Tate for her hilarious old bag in The Tale of the Allergist's Wife.
All in all, it was an evening that served both as a milestone and as a benchmark. If only most award ceremonies had as much character.