With absolutely no ado, here are the nominees for the 2000 OCIEs, the OC Weekly Theater Awards for wonderful theater in the year that just ended. Winners will be saluted on Feb. 12 at the Grove Theater Center. We will also present a handful of special awards not listed here. And, of course, Henry the Hard-Drinking Horse will dance the waltz.
Best New Play
• Accidental Dancers by Steven Ludwig at the Long Beach Playhouse
• The Hollow Lands by Howard Korder at South Coast Repertory (SCR)
• Spinelli by Dan Riley at the Long Beach Playhouse
• Wallenberg by Robert Jensen at Fuller-ton College
• Where Men Are Empty Overcoats by Eric R. Pfeffinger at the Chance Theatre
Best Ensemble
• Rocket to the Moon by the Hunger Artists
• Rumors by Stages
• Suburbia by 6 Chairs and a Couple of Artists
Best Actor
• Paul Castellano in Keely and Du at the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble
• Peter Michael Goetz in All My Sons at SCR
• Jay Michael Fraley in History of the Devil at the Rude Guerrilla
• Brian Kojac in Wallenbergat Fullerton College
• Ryan Lee in Look Back in Anger at the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble
Best Actress
• Patricia Boyette in The Beckett Project at the Grove Theater Center
• Jane Carr in Entertaining Mr. Sloane at SCR
• Svetlana Efremova-Reed in The Three Sisters at Cal State Fullerton (CSUF)
• Pamela Nicholson in Simpaticoat the Rude Guerrilla
• Linda Thorson in Amy's View at SCR
Best Direction
• Andrew Barnicle for Communicating Doors at the Laguna Playhouse
• Martin Benson for All My Sons at SCR
• Thomas F. Bradac for The Tempest at Shakespeare Orange County
• Robert Jensen for The Kentucky Cycle at Fullerton College
• Mark Rucker for Amy's View at SCR
Best Professional Production
• All My Sons at SCR
• Heartbreak Houseat the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble
• The History of the Devil at Rude Guerrilla
• The Last Night of Ballyhoo at the Huntington Beach Playhouse
• Suburbia at 6 Chairs and a Couple of Artists
Best College Production
• The Kentucky Cycle at Fullerton College
• Stories of the Night Told Over at UC Irvine
• The Three Sisters at CSUF
• The Triumph of Loveat CSUF
—Nominated by OC Weekly theater staff
