Arden Theatre leads Barrymore Awards nominations pack

IF YOU'RE wondering about those barnyard sounds emanating from 2nd Street, it's likely the folks at Arden Theatre Company crowing about their Barrymore Awards nominations.

The Old City-based company copped a field-leading 23 nominations in the competition that honors excellence in Philadelphia's theater community. Finishing in the place position was the financially beleaguered Philadelphia Theatre Company with 11 nods, followed by Wilma Theatre with 10.

Arden's haul was spearheaded by its production of "Parade," which received nominations in such prestigious categories as Production of a Musical; Director of a Musical (Terrence J. Nolen); Actor and Actress in a Musical (Ben Dibble, Jennie Eisenhower); Supporting Actor and Actress in a Musical (Michael Phillip O'Brien, Kenita Miller); Ensemble in a Musical and Choreography/Movement ( Niki Cousineau).

Other "glamour"-category nominees included:

* Production of a Play

"Annapurna" (Theatre Exile); "The Brothers Size" (Simpatico Theatre Project); "Circle Mirror Transformation" (Theatre Horizon); "Don Juan Comes Home From Iraq" (Wilma Theater); "Down Past Passyunk" (InterAct Theatre Company); "I Am My Own Wife" (Theatre Horizon); "In a Dark Dark House" (Simpatico Theatre Project).

* Production of a Musical

"Midsummer" (Inis Nua Theatre Company); "The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)" (Montgomery Theater); "Nerds" (Philadelphia Theatre Company).

* Director of a Play

Samantha Bellomo, "Pride & Prejudice (People's Light & Theatre Company); Damon Bonetti, "True Story" (Passage Theatre Company); Joe Canuso, "Annapurna" (Theatre Exile); Matthew Decker, "Circle Mirror Transformation" (Theatre Horizon); James Ijames, "The Brothers Size" (Simpatico Theatre Project); Kathryn MacMillan, "I Am My Own Wife" (Theatre Horizon); Matt Pfeiffer, "Down Past Passyunk" (InterAct Theatre Company).

* Director of a Musical

Stephen Casey, "The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)" (Montgomery Theater); Aaron Cromie, "Man of La Mancha" (Act II Playhouse); Kate Galvin, "Midsummer" (Inis Nua Theatre Company).

* Actor in a Play

Pearce Bunting, "Annapurna" (Theatre Exile); Keith J. Conallen, "Don Juan Comes Home From Iraq" (Wilma Theater); Akeem Davis, "The Brothers Size" (Simpatico Theatre Project); Charlie DelMarcelle, "I Am My Own Wife" (Theatre Horizon); Dan Olmstead, "Frost/Nixon" (New City Stage Company); Allen Radway, "In a Dark Dark House" (Simpatico Theatre Project); William Zielinski, "Down Past Passyunk" (InterAct Theatre Company).

* Actress in a Play

Nancy Boykin, "The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington" (Flashpoint Theatre Company); Beth Dixon, "4000 Miles" (Philadelphia Theatre Company); Alice M. Gatling, "Gidion's Knot" (InterAct Theatre Company); Alex Keiper, "Down Past Passyunk" (InterAct Theatre Company); Deirdre Madigan, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" (Philadelphia Theatre Company); Katharine Powell, "Three Sisters" (Arden Theatre Company); Catharine Slusar, "Annapurna" (Theatre Exile).

* Actor in a Musical

Stanley Bahorek, "Nerds" (Philadelphia Theatre Company); Charlie DelMarcelle, "Midsummer" (Inis Nua Theatre Company); Rob McClure, "The Story of My Life" (Delaware Theatre Company).

* Actress in a Musical

Liz Filios, "Midsummer" (Inis Nua Theatre Company); Lexy Fridell, "Nerds" (Philadelphia Theatre Company); Laura Giknis, "Little Shop of Horrors" (Bristol Riverside Theatre).

This year's Lifetime Achievement honor will be presented to Carla Belver, who was a founding member of the Philadelphia Theatre Company and a fixture at Malvern-based People's Light & Theatre company. Two major companies, Walnut Street Theatre and Media Theatre, chose not to participate.

The winners will be announced at an Oct. 27 gala at the Merriam Theater staged by Theatre Philadelphia, under whose aegis the Barrymores - named for the legendary Philadelphia theater family of the 19th and early 20th centuries - are distributed.

The program will be the first in three years. During the hiatus, a new nominating format, which eliminated "blind" voting in favor of a collaborative process among judges, was developed.

It's a Great White Way double-header this weekend as The Rrazz Room in New Hope presents two performers with impressive Broadway resumes.

Tomorrow, '70s-teen-idol-for-a-minute Rex Smith, who later co-starred with Linda Ronstadt in "The Pirates of Penzance," brings his new musical program, "Confessions of a Former Teen Idol," to the Bucks County cabaret.

Sunday, the supper club's musical menu features "Me and Larry," starring Adam Pascal, who hit the New York boards as Roger in the original cast of "Rent" (his CV also includes stints in "Memphis," "Chicago" and "Cabaret").

In case you're wondering, the "Larry" of the title is his musical director, Larry Edoff.