The Colorado Theatre Guild’s Henry Awards are going home to the Denver Center, where its homegrown theater company once again has hauled in a lion-sized share of the nominations.

The DCPA Theatre Company received a robust 37 nominations Thursday, but that’s actually down from the record 47 it hauled in last year. The 17th annual celebration honoring the best in theater among the Guild’s member companies will take place July 24 in the Denver Center’s Wolf Theatre. The party was last held at the Denver Center in 2010.

Boulder’s Butterfly Effect Theatre Company was next with 21 nominations. That’s a particularly sentimental accomplishment for BETC, whose married founders, Rebecca Remaly and Stephen Weitz, just stepped away from the company at the end of their just-completed 17th season. BETC received just one nomination a year ago.

The Arvada Center was next with 19 nominations – all for its musicals; none for its widely praised plays.

They were followed by the Creede Repertory Theatre with 11 and Cherry Creek Theatre with 10. Last year, Creede was shut out. 

The most nominated musical of the year is the Arvada Center’s “Beauty and the Beast,” with 13. Every year, the Henry Awards tends to lift one underdog company out of the pack, and this time around that’s Give 5 Productions, which took nine nominations, all for “Footloose,” a co-production with Parker Arts. The most-nominated plays of the season are BETC’s “The Royale” and the DCPA Theatre Company’s “Quixote Nuevo,” with 11 each. No less than five actors in “The Royale” are nominated in individual acting categories. The DCPA Theatre Company’s “Hotter than Egypt” received eight.

The field includes what the Guild believes to be the first non-binary nominee in Henrys history – the single-named eden, who is nominated as a supporting actress for the Aurora Fox’s baseball play “Toni Stone.” While the call continues to grow for the elimination of gendered categories in awards shows, no one has fully solved that problem yet. “We ask each company how a performer wants to be listed, and eden selected ‘actress,’” said Colorado Theatre Guild President Betty Hart, who added, “we are certainly going to be having more conversations about this.”

The Guild, which serves as an advocacy group for live theater across Colorado, splits most every category into two tiers based on company size in an attempt to expand the nominee fields and give its smaller companies a better shot at a prize. The strategy worked, as a record 28 companies earned at least one nomination. The field is again well-represented outside the metro area, with Thunder River of Carbondale earning seven noms and Theatre Aspen earning six. The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College took five, the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre of Grand Lake four; the (Colorado) Springs Ensemble Theatre and Fort Collins’ Openstage three each; Bas Bleu of Fort Collins two; and Steel City of Pueblo and Backstage Breckenridge one each.

The nominations always produce interesting oddities. This year, two different mountain productions of the Broadway reliable “Jersey Boys” – by Theatre Aspen and the Rocky Mountain Rep – both landed among the six Best Musical nominees.

DCPA Theatre Company Artistic Director Chris Coleman is nominated for directing both “Hotter Than Egypt” and “Much Ado About Nothing.” Lavour Addison is nominated as outstanding leading actor for both “The Royale” and Creede Rep’s “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood.”  Emily Van Fleet and Caitlin Wise are both nominated for their co-starring work in both a musical (“Always … Patsy Cline”) and a play (“Sherwood”), both for Creede. Jeremy Rill is twice nominated as outstanding leading actor in a musical, for Cherry Creek Theatre’s “The Headliners” and Give 5’s “Footloose” – and he might very well have landed a third for his work in Performance Now’s “Carousel” (but did not).

Other multiple nominees include Brian Mallgrave, who was honored for three different scenic designs; Emily A. Maddox for two lighting designs; and Cece Smith and Max Silverman for two sound designs.

Gender progress has been made in the directing categories: Last year, only one of the 10 nominees for directing a play or musical was a woman. This year, three of the 11 honorees are women. New or relatively new to the Henry Awards party include Ovation West of Evergreen, the lower-cased square product theatre of Boulder, and Denver’s brand-new Clover & Bee Productions. Boulder’s Colorado Shakespeare Festival, which has been historically almost completely ignored, bounced back with five nominations.

On the other end of the spectrum are the many companies that went largely overlooked. Town Hall Arts Center received just two nominations. Curious Theatre, which pulled out of Henry Awards consideration in 2016, returned to the fold this year under new Artistic Director Jada Suzanne Dixon. But after what subjectively had to be considered one of the stronger seasons in Curious’ 25-year history, the company received just two nominations. (Although Dixon was separately nominated as the director of BETC’s “The Royale.”) Also receiving only one nomination were Miners Alley Playhouse, BDT Stage and Vintage Theatre, which produces more shows each year than any Colorado theater company. This year that included the epic, two-part regional premiere of the Tony-winning opus “The Inheritance,” which was shut out.

So, too was Curious’ astonishing one-actor play “On the Exhale” (starring Dee Covington), Miners Alley Playhouse’s “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” and Buntport Theater’s “The Death of Napoleon.”

In all, 51 Colorado companies were considered for awards. Su Teatro and Phamaly (Denver’s disability-affirmative theater company) were among those that received no nominations. Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Johnstown and Lake Dillon Theatre (now called Theatre SilCo) chose not to participate.

According to the Guild, 159 shows were adjudicated and eligible for awards consideration, up from 140. Shows had to have opened between May 16, 2022, and May 15, 2023, to be eligible.

Tickets to the July 24 awards ceremony will be available starting June 22 at denvercenter.org or by calling 303-893-4100.

17th Annual Henry Award Nominations

Outstanding Play

• “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• “The Book of Will,” Colorado Shakespeare Festival
• “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company

Outstanding Musical

• “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• “Into the Woods,” Arvada Center
• “The Color Purple,” DCPA Theatre Company
• “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• “Jersey Boys,” Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
• “Jersey Boys,” Theatre Aspen

Director of a Play

• Chris Coleman, “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Chris Coleman, “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Jada Suzanne Dixon, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Tara Falk, “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Lisa Portes, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company

Director of a Musical

• Dee Covington, “Raised on Ronstadt,” Local Theater Company
• Jeff Duke, “Jersey Boys,” Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
• Hunter Foster, “Jersey Boys,” Theatre Aspen
• Kenny Moten, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Kelly Van Oosbree, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• Robert Wells, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” Town Hall Arts Center

Musical Direction

• Eric Alsford, “Jersey Boys,” Theatre Aspen
• Trent Hines, “Into the Woods,” Arvada Center
• Jordan Ortman, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Michael Querio, “Jersey Boys,” Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
• Jesse Sanchez, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company

Lead Actor in a Play, Tier 1

• Lavour Addison, “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• Logan Ernsttal, “The Book of Will,” Colorado Shakespeare Festival
• Geoffrey Kent, “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Erik Sandvold, “Franklinland,” Curious Theatre Company
• Herbert Siguenza, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company

Lead Actor in a Play, Tier 2

• Lavour Addison, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Sam Gregory, “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Chris Kendall, “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Bob Moore, “You Can’t Take It With You,” Thunder River Theatre Company
• Sean Verdu, “Hand to God,” Springs Ensemble Theatre

Lead Actress in a Play, Tier 1

• Emily Bosco, “Native Gardens,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• Dana Green, “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Narea Kang, “The Chinese Lady,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Kate MacCluggage, “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Emily Van Fleet, “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” Creede Repertory Theatre

Lead Actress in a Play, Tier 2

• Elizabeth Baugh, “Lost in Yonkers,” Bas Bleu Theatre
• Martha Harmon Pardee, “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Emily Paton Davies, “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Jessica Robblee, “The Belle of Amherst,” Clover & Bee Productions
• Gin Walker, “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado

Lead Actor in a Musical, Tier 1

• Brian Bohlender, “Hair,” Miners Alley Playhouse
• Michael Cárrasco, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Trevor James, “Jersey Boys,” Theatre Aspen
• Mitchell Lewis, “Jersey Boys,” Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
• Elton J. Tanega, “Newsies,” Town Hall Arts Center

Lead Actor in a Musical, Tier 2

• Miracle Myles, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• Lars Preece, “Carousel,” Performance Now Theatre Company
• Jeremy Rill, “The Headliners,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Jeremy Rill, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• Ethan Walker, “Cabaret,” OpenStage Theatre & Company

Lead Actress in a Musical, Tier 1

• Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda, “In the Heights,” Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
• Cassondra James, “Gypsy,” Theatre Aspen
• Maiesha McQueen, “The Color Purple,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Emily Van Fleet, “Always…Patsy Cline,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• Caitlin Wise, “Always…Patsy Cline,” Creede Repertory Theatre

Lead Actress in a Musical, Tier 2

• GerRee Hinshaw, “Raised on Ronstadt,” Local Theater Company
• Carolyn Lohr, “Carousel,” Performance Now Theatre Company
• Emily Macomber, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” Ovation West
• Katie Reid, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• Leiney Rigg, “Little Women,” Performance Now 

Supporting Actor in a Play, Tier 1

• Raúl Cardona, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Sammy Gleason, “It’s A Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play,” Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
• Michael Lee, “It’s A Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play,” Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
• Wasim No’Mani, “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Matt Zambrano, “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” Creede Repertory Theatre

Supporting Actor in a Play, Tier 2

• Cris Davenport, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Cameron Davis, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• John Hauser, “Proof,” Thunder River Theatre Company
• Cajardo Lindsey, “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Augie Truhn, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado

Supporting Actress in a Play, Tier 1

• Maggie Bofill, “Laughs in Spanish,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Anne Faith Butler, “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• Anastasia Davidson, “The Book of Will,” Colorado Shakespeare Festival
• eden, “Toni Stone,” Aurora Fox Arts Center
• Krystal Ortiz, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Alexis B. Santiago, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Caitlin Wise, “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” Creede Repertory Theatre

Supporting Actor in a Play, Tier 2

• Nina Gabianelli, “You Can’t Take It With You,” Thunder River Theatre Company
• Missy Moore, “Hurricane Diane,” Thunder River Theatre Company
• Desireé Myers, “The Revolutionists,” Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Sydney Parks Smith, “The Revolutionists,” OpenStage Theatre & Company
• Sarah Sheppard Shaver, “The Revolutionists,” Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Alicia “Lisa” Young, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado

Supporting Actor in a Musical, Tier 1

• Colin Alexander, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Cordell Cole, “Into the Woods,” Arvada Center
• Robert “Spence” Gabriel, “In the Heights,” Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
• Kevin Hack, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Barret Harper, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center

Supporting Actor in a Musical, Tier 2

• Zayaz Da Camara, “Small Ball,” The Catamounts
• Bill Diggle, “Carousel,” Performance Now Theatre Company
• Jordan Leigh, “Small Ball,” The Catamounts
• Jeffrey Parker, “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Carter Edward Smith, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts

Supporting Actress in a Musical, Tier 1

• Rae Leigh Case, “The Spongebob Musical,” BDT Stage
• Shea Gomez, “Gypsy A Musical Fable,” Theatre Aspen
• Adriane Leigh Robinson, “Damn Yankees,” Arvada Center
• Megan Van De Hey, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Taylor J. Washington, “The Color Purple,” DCPA Theatre Company

Supporting Actress in a Musical, Tier 2

• Jennifer Burnett, “Carousel,” Performance Now Theatre Company
• Suzanna Champion, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• Amy Condon, “The Addams Family,” Sasquatch Productions
• Jennifer Grahnquist, “Carousel,” Performance Now Theatre Company
• Danielle Hermon, “Sound of Music,” Sasquatch Productions

Ensemble

• “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• “Steel Magnolias,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• “It’s A Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play,” Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College
• “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company

Choreography

• Marissa Herrera, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Jessica Hindsley, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Nick Jones, “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Christopher Page-Sanders, “Sophisticated Ladies,” Vintage Theatre
• Teonna Wesley, “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” Creede Repertory Theatre

New Play or Musical

• “Acts of Faith,” Aurora Fox Arts Center
• “The Headliners,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• “Laughs In Spanish,” DCPA Theatre Company
• “Raised on Ronstadt,” Local Theater Company

Costume Design, Tier 1

• Meghan Anderson Doyle, “The Book of Will,” Colorado Shakespeare Festival
• Kevin Copenhaver, “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Clare Henkel, “Into the Woods,” Arvada Center
• Helen Q. Huang, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Sarah Stark, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center

Costume Design, Tier 2

• Caitlyn Clark, “Carousel,” Performance Now Theatre Company
• Steffani Day, “You Can’t Take It With You,” Thunder River Theatre Company
• Nicole Harrison, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• Linda Morken, “The Headliners,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Sarah Zinn, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado

Lighting Design, Tier 1

• Robert J. Aguilar, “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Isabella Byrd, “The 39 Steps,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Jon Dunkele, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Pablo Santiago, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Paul Whitaker, “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company

Lighting Design, Tier 2

• Jess Buttery, “Dance Nation,” square product theatre
• Emily A. Maddox, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Emily A. Maddox, “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Neil Truglio, “A Great Wilderness,” Benchmark Theatre
• Colin Young, “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado

Scenic Design, Tier 1

• Efren Degadillo, Jr., “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Lex Liang, “The 39 Steps,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Brian Mallgrave, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center
• Brian Mallgrave, “Into the Woods,” Arvada Center
• Lisa M. Orzolek, “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Klara Zieglerova, “Much Ado About Nothing,” DCPA Theatre Company

Scenic Design, Tier 2

• Tina Anderson, “Eden Prairie, 1971,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• James Brookman, “Clue: On Stage,” OpenStage Theatre and Company
• Brian Mallgrave, “Footloose,” Give 5 Productions and Parker Arts
• Ron Mueller, “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Colin Tugwell, “You Can’t Take It With You,” Thunder River Theatre Company

Sound Design, Tier 1

• Jason Ducat, “The Book of Will,” Colorado Shakespeare Festival
• Brian Freeland, “Franklinland,” Curious Theatre Company
• Lindsay Jones, “The 39 Steps,” DCPA Theatre Company
• David R. Molina, “Hotter Than Egypt,” DCPA Theatre Company
• David R. Molina, “Quixote Nuevo,” DCPA Theatre Company
• Max Silverman, “Beauty and the Beast,” Arvada Center

Sound Design, Tier 2

• Andrew Metzroth, “Eden Prairie, 1971,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Missy Moore and Dani Taylor-Moxon, “You Can’t Take It With You,” Thunder River Theatre Company
• Max Silverman, “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” Cherry Creek Theatre
• Cece Smith, “The Royale,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• CeCe Smith, “The Children,” Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado
• Bailey Trierweiler, “Dance Nation,” square product theatre

Youth Performer

• Jackson Baldwin, “A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol,” Steel City Theatre Company
• Sadie Crain, “The Sound of Music,” Sasquatch Productions
• Jacob L. Johnson, “A Christmas Story,” Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
• Hayden McDonald, “Lost in Yonkers,” Bas Bleu Theater Company
• Nolan McDowell, “The Addams Family,” Sasquatch Productions