THE WORDIES!

WOTS has decided to start giving out her own awards (in the spirit of The Empty Space Awards, aka "The Empties.") But The First Annual Word on the Street Awards (AKA "The Wordies") are like the People's Choice Awards -- We got a little something something for EVERYBODY!

Feel free to blog your votes on WOTS's top picks of the Best of Bakersfield's talented theatrical underground. Nominees for music and superlarative catagories to follow.

And the nominees are ...

LOCAL THEATER

General Excellence:

• Stars Theatre Restuarant/Bakersfield Music Theatre
• The Spotlight Theatre and Cafe
• Bakersfield Community Theatre
• The Empty Space

Best Production:

• "Angels In America" (The Empty Space)
• "Into the Woods" (The Spotlight Theatre)
• "The Vagina Monologues" (The Empty Space)
• "Beauty & the Beast" (Bakersfield Music Theatre)
• "Cabaret" (The Empty Space)

Best Production No One Saw

• "The Altruists" (The Empty Space)
• "Our Town" (The Empty Space)
• "A Few Good Men" (The Spotlight)
• "On the Verge" (The Spotlight)
  

Best Musical:

• "Into the Woods" (The Spotlight Theatre)
• "Cabaret" (The Empty Space)
• "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (The Spotlight Theater)
• "Beauty & the Beast" (Bakersfield Music Theatre)

Best Drama:

• "A Few Good Men" (The Spotlight Theatre)
• "Angels In America" (The Empty Space)
• "Of Mice and Men" (The Empty Space)
• "Stop Kiss" (The Empty Space)
  

Best Comedy:

• "Love, Sex, and the IRS" (Bakersfield Community Theatre)
• "Plaza Suite" (Stars Theatre/Bakersfield Music Theatre)
• "The Altruists" (The Empty Space)
• "Spider Baby: The Musical" (The Empty Space)
  

Best Original or Adapted work:

• "Hatikvah," Hal Friedman
• "Spider Baby: The Musical," Enrique Acosta, Brent Simms and Lorien Patton
• "This Ain't Your Mama's Chili," Betty Briscoe (from Bakersfield Community Theatre's annual Original One Act Play Festival)
• "Dracula," David Zent
  

Best Director:

• Hal Friedman, "Angels In America"
• Ashley Bretz, "The Vagina Monologues"
• David Lollar, "Cabaret"
• Ron Steinman, "Beauty and the Beast"
• Roger Mathey, "A Few Good Men"

Best Actor:

• Doug Cheesman (Emcee), "Cabaret"
• John Patrick Wells (Prior), "Angels In America"
• Brian Sivesind (Roy Cohn), "Angels In America"
• Ken Burdick (Sweeney Todd), "Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
  

Best Actress:

• Jenny Hatzman (Harper), "Angels In America"
• Monique Gomez (The Witch), "Into the Woods"
• Sheila McClure (Sally Bowles), "Cabaret"
• Guinevere Park-Hall (Sara), "Stop Kiss"
  

Best Supporting Actor:

• Joe Cannon (Caiaphas), "Jesus Christ Superstar"
• Maurice Pittman (Mr. Lies/Belize), "Angels In America"
• Doug Cheesman (MC Lt. Kendrick), "A Few Good Men"
• Brandon Turner (Cassius), "Julius Caesar"

Best Supporting Actress:

• Veronica Stinchfield (Baker's Wife), "Into the Woods"
• Monique Gomez (Mary), "Jesus Christ Superstar"
• Elisabeth Lepine (Ursula), "Much Ado About Nothing"
• Tracy Herda (Cybil), "The Altruists"
  

Best Actor in a Musical Performance:

• Ken Burdick (Sweeney Todd), "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
• Joe Cannon (Caiaphas), "Jesus Christ Superstar"
• Andrew Hupp (The Baker), "Into the Woods"
• Mylum Nicholson, "The Songs for A New World"

Best Actress in a Musical Performance:

• Monique Gomez (The Witch), "Into the Woods"
• Candice Halfacre (Cinderella), "Into the Woods"
• Marcy Dow (Belle), "Beauty and the Beast"
• Jill Burdick (Rapunzel), "Into the Woods"
  

Best Comedic Performance (male):

• Jason Gonzales (Jon Trachtman), "Love, Sex, and the IRS"
• Richie Bench (Leeslie Arthur), "Love, Sex, and the IRS"
• Jeremiah Heitman (Ronald), "The Altruists"
• Jason McClain (Jesse Kiplinger), "Plaza Suite
  

Best Comedic Performance (female):

• Cory Rickard (Beatrice), "Much Ado About Nothing"
• Rosie Ayala (Mauriel Tate), "Plaza Suite"
• Monique Gomez, "The Pajama Game"
• Alana Peck (Kate Dennis), "Love, Sex and the IRS"
  

Breakthrough Performance:

• Colette Masala, "The Vagina Monologues"
• Mylum Nicholson, "The Songs For A New World"
• Guinevere Park-Hall, "Stop Kiss"
• Julia Heaterwick, "The Vagina Monologues"

Best Original Music:

• Score to "Spider Baby: The Musical" (Enrique Acosta, Brent Simms and Lorien Patton)
  
• Theme song to "Love, Sex and the IRS" (Richard Bench)
  
• Original score for "Julius Caesar" (Robert Chan and Joel Walton)
  
• Original music for "The Vagina Monologues" (Ben Gomez, Smith Mitchell & Steve Taylor)
  

Best Music Orchestration/Production

• "Jesus Christ Superstar" (The Spotlight Theatre)
  
• "The Vagina Monologues" (The Empty Space)
  
• "Cabaret" (The Empty Space)
  
• "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (Bakersfield Music Theatre)
  

Best Duet/Solo Performance

• "Agony," Ken Burdick and Greg Ramsdell (Into the Woods)
  
• "King of the World," Mylum Nicholson (The Songs For A New World)
  
• "I Don't Care," Doug Cheesman (Cabaret)
• "Our Little World," Monique Gomez and Jill Burdick (Into the Woods)
  

Best Choreographed Sequence for the Stage:

• "What Are They Thinking" from "Spider Baby"
  
• "The Wear and Say Lists" from "The Vagina Monologues"
  
• "Crucifiction" from "Jesus Christ Superstar"
  
• "The Death of Caesar" from "Julius Caesar"
  

Best Choreography:

• "Cabaret" (Kelsey White, Sheila McClure, Paul Sosa and David Lollar)
  
• "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Monique Gomez)
  
• "Beauty and the Beast" (Brent Rochon and Sarah Giorgis)
  
• "The Pajama Game"
• "Teatro Bizarro" (Terri Cline)
  

Best Lighting:

• "A Few Good Men" (The Spotlight Theatre)
  
• "Julius Caesar" (The Empty Space)
  
• "On the Verge" (The Spotlight Theater)
  
• "Beauty and the Beast" (Bakersfield Music Theatre)
  

Best Original Set Design:

• "Into the Woods" (The Spotlight Theatre)
  
• "On the Verge" (The Spotlight Theatre)
  
• "Teatro Bizarro" (Stars/Bakersfield Music Theater)
  
• "Casablanca" (Candlelight Dinner Theatre)
• "SubUrbia" (The Empty Space)
  

Best Original Costuming/Makeup:

• "The Vagina Monologues" (The Spotlight)
  
• "Angels In America" (The Empty Space)
  
• "Into the Woods" (The Spotlight)
  
• "Cabaret" (The Empty Space)
  
• "On the Verge," (The Spotlight)