The Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles, created to recognize excellence in theatrical performance, production and design in the Greater Los Angeles area.

The   Pasadena   Playhouse   production  of Ragtime  (February 5 — March 9 , 2019) is  the  winner of   the 30th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards.
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• Best Production of  the  Musical  in the   large  theatre  category.
• David  Lee   - Best   Direction  of a   Musical. 
• Darryl Archibald - Music  Direction.  

Congratulations   to  the   cast  and production  crew  of   the show! 

Ragtime   Ensemble. Photo   by Nick Agro.

​What a year! 2019 was - one of our best years yet,   serving a record number of people in our community. I  wanted to pause a moment and take a look back at the
moments that defined 2019 for us at the Playhouse. Here  are my top 10 moments:

#1 Ragtime Raves: We started the year with one of  the most ambitious shows we ever produced. Created  by over 100 local theater people, our extraordinary  production of Ragtime was hailed by critics and  audiences alike, and just received a record-breaking
14 Ovation nominations.

#2 Science + Art: We continued our partnership with CalTech presenting Mach33, a festival of new science-themed plays with a goal of illuminating science through theater. The festival will continue this Spring.

#3 A Musical Theater Lovers Paradise: NYU Professor Adam Epstein taught a 12-week course, The History of the Broadway Musical, to a sold-out class expanding our education program efforts to lifelong learners. 

#4 A Very Beautiful Thing: Our production of Tiny  Beautiful Things directed by Thomas Kail (Hamilton’s director) starring Nia Vardalos brought audiences to tears with its healing stories. The LA Times even wrote a story  about audiences crying in the theater.

#5 Dancing in the Streets: Over 12,000 people came together for our  Playhouse Block Party. With over 50 local community groups participating, it was  truly a highlight of the year.

#6 A Convening of Directors: The Playhouse brought emerging directors from  all over the country together for a one-week conference, Directors Lab West.
The conference continues our commitment of being a center of theater learning
including professional development opportunities.

#7 Good Boys: Our powerful and timely new play, Good Boys by Roberto  Aguierre-Sacasa had audiences riveted as it explored the world of private boys  school culture. The talented cast gave performances that are still being talked   about.

#8 The Next Generation: We partnered with the  London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and  hosted a two-week Summer Intensive for early career   actors. They studied the classics and had some of the  top instructors direct from London. And even better, our Playhouse alumni-funded scholarships subsidized  tuition for 20 of the students.

#9 Little Shop Reinvented: We blew the roof off The  Playhouse with our re-conceived Little Shop of Horrors. The  LA Times Theater Critic Charles McNulty raved that the
production was “the best Little Shop I’ve ever seen.” We  broke our box office record for a musical and our  performance on the Late Late Show with James Corden has
already been viewed well over 600,000 times by people  all over the world.
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#10 A Great Partnership: We recently concluded our run of Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap directed by BD Wong and receiving an LA Times Critic’s Pick. The show was a partnership between the Playhouse and the local theater company,  East West Players, the nation’s premier Asian-American Theater Company.

Thank you for your continued support and for your part in making 2019 such a
special year for us here at the Playhouse. Here’s to 2020!

Danny Feldman, Producing Artistic Director, Pasadena Playhouse