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This has been an extraordinary year for theatre in Los Angeles and, though I attended almost as many productions around town as usual, 2007 signaled a bit of a personal milestone for me as I cut back considerably writing reviews. This was originally due primarily to several excursions away from home, including several trips to Vegas on assignment and extended stays in Orlando and New Orleans, but mostly my hiatus from reviewing was a result of trying to prepare, rehearse and perform in two incredibly demanding productions simultaneously: playing Shelly “The Machine” Levene in Misty Carlisle’s visionary re-mounting of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross at the Egyptian Arena in Hollywood and alternating as the Marchesa Constance Ridgeway-Condotti, better known as the Witch of Capri, in Tennessee Williams’ seldom-produced The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, directed by the venerated Simon Levy at the Fountain. Appearing in both of these modern classic plays was a highlight for me this year, especially keeping my wits about me playing a desperate Chicago real estate huckster one night and one of the world’s wealthiest and most Fellini-esque women the next. And believe me, if it were not for the obvious lack of objectivity on my part, these two shows would certainly have had several major winners among my choices for this year’s TicketHolder Award honors. 
1. Bug, Lost Angels at Coast Playhouse 
2. Bleed Rail, Theatre @ Boston Court 
3. Beautiful Thing, Celebration Theatre 
4. The Car Plays, Moving Arts at the Steve Allen Theatre 
5. Fat Pig, Geffen Playhouse 
6. Yellow Face, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum 
7. Tryst, Black Dahlia Theatre 
8. Kimberly Akimbo, Victory Theatre Center 
9. Pyretown, Playwrights Arena at studio/stage 
10. Feeding the Monkey in Hollywood, Gardner Stages 
RUNNERS-UP: The Bacchae, Celebration Theatre; Bitch, Indecent Exposure at the Bootleg Theatre; Defiance, Pasadena Playhouse; Distracted, CTG, Mark Taper Forum; The History Boys, CTG, Ahmanson Theatre; Krapp’s Last Tape / The Zoo Story, Deaf West; Moonlight, Lost Studio; No Man’s Land, Theatre/Theater; Out Late, Macha Theatre; The Rainmaker, Knightsbridge Theatre; Small Tragedy, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble; Twelve Angry Men, CTG, Ahmanson; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, CTG, Ahmanson; Wildboy ’74, Calamity Theatre at the Bootleg; Zorro in Hell, Ricardo Montalban Theatre 
1. “13,” Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum 
2. Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, Theatre @ Boston Court 
3. The Color Purple, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre 
4. Jersey Boys, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre 
5. Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse 
6. Avenue Q, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre 
7. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Wadsworth Theatre 
8. George Gershwin Alone, Geffen Playhouse 
9. Zanna, Don’t!, West Coast Ensemble 
10. Bush Is Bad, NoHo Arts Center 
RUNNERS-UP: Mental the Musical, Edgemar Center; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Festival/LA; Mommy! Mommy! The Musical…Musical!, Hudson Backstage
Nick Mennell, Bitch, Indecent Exposure at the Bootleg Theatre 
RUNNERS-UP: Bill Brochtrup, Small Tragedy, Odyssey; Tyrone Giordono, Zoo Story, Deaf West; Nathan Frizzell, Beautiful Thing, Celebration; Bill Irwin, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Ahmanson; Troy Katsur, Krapp’s Last Tape, Deaf West; Kevin Kilner, Defiance, Pasadena Playhouse; Hoon Lee, Yellow Face, Taper; Jeff Murray, No Man’s Land, Theatre/Theater; Gabriel Olds, Tryst, Black Dahlia; Mitchell Ryan, Moonlight, The Lost Studio; Michael A. Shepperd, The Bacchae, Celebration 
Judy Jean Berns, Kimberly Akimbo, Victory Theatre Center 
RUNNERS-UP: Jordan Baker, Defiance, Pasadena Playhouse; Shana Gagnon, Swimming, Road; Maria Gobetti, Taking Care, Victory; Deidrie Henry, Small Tragedy, Odyssey; S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba, Kirk Douglas; Susan Priver, Twentieth Century, Lillian; Deborah Puette, Tryst, Black Dahlia; Jeanne Sakata, Master Class, East West Players; Dendrie Taylor, Pyretown, Playwrights Arena; Sarah Taylor, Beautiful Thing, Celebration; Kirsten Vangsness, Fat Pig, Geffen 
Kevin Earley, Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse  Right RUNNERS-UP: Ken Barnett, Atlanta, Geffen Playhouse; Erich Bergen, Jersey Boys, Ahmanson; Rufus Bonds Jr., The Color Purple, Ahmanson; Dan Callaway, Paradise Lost, Boston Court; Michael Ingersoll, Jersey Boys, Ahmanson; Christopher Kale Jones, Jersey Boys, Ahmanson; Deven May, Jersey Boys, Ahmanson; Robert McClure, Avenue Q, Ahmanson; Geoffrey Owens, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Festival/LA
Jeannette Bayardelle, The Color Purple, CTG, Ahmanson Theatre 
RUNNERS-UP: Merle Dandridge, Atlanta, Geffen Playhouse; Michelle Duffy, Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse; Heidi Godt, Mommy! Mommy! The Musical…Musical!, Hudson Backstage; Julie Janney, Mommy! Mommy! The Musical…Musical!, Hudson Backstage; Hila Plitmann, Paradise Lost, Boston Court; Kelli Sawyer, Avenue Q, Ahmanson 
Leo Marks, Defiance, Pasadena Playhouse  Left RUNNERS-UP: Jeff Alan-Lee, Zoo Story, Deaf West; Steve Coombs, Matter of Honor, Pasadena Playhouse; Troy Katsur, Zoo Story, Deaf West; Derek Long, Hamlet, Hollywood Forever Cemetery; Tzi Ma, Yellow Face, Taper; Robert Manning Jr., Defiance, Pasadena Playhouse; Branden Morgan, No Man’s Land, Theatre/Theater; Chris Pine, Fat Pig, Geffen; Ray Porter, Distracted, Taper; Patrick Rogers, Kimberly Akimbo, Victory; Justin Schaefers, Gemini, Celebration; Tony Torn, Yellow Face, Taper; Will Watkins, Gilgamesh, Boston Court 
Cathy Carlton, Orestes Remembered: The Fury Project, Ghost Road Theatre Company at the Powerhouse 
RUNNERS-UP: Andrea Anders, Fat Pig, Geffen; Kathleen Bailey, Kimberly Akimbo, Victory; Stephanie Berry, Distracted, Taper; Judy Jean Berns, Out Late, Macha Theatre; Mary Cobb, As You Like It, LAWSC; Johanna Day, Distracted, Taper; Stephanie Faracy, Gemini, Celebration; Sharon Johnston, Kimberly Akimbo, Victory; Mara Marini, Bitch, Bootleg; Veronique Ory, Pterodactyls, Stella Adler; Mindy Sterling, Gemini, Celebration; Tamara Zook, Swimming, Road; Lisa Wolpe, As You Like It, LAWSC 
John Bobek, Mental the Musical, Edgemar Center for the Arts 
RUNNERS-UP: Alan Blumenfeld, Man of La Mancha, A Noise Within; David Engel, Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse; Gregory Franklin, Man of La Mancha, A Noise Within; Brian Joseph, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Festival/LA; Rodolfo Nieto, Paradise Lost, Boston Court; Kevin Odekirk, Paradise Lost, Boston Court; Adam Simmons, Mental the Musical, Edgemar Center; Amir Talai, Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse; Robert Yacko, Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse 
Angela Ai, Avenue Q, CTG, Ahmanson Theatre 
RUNNERS-UP: Felicia P. Fields, The Color Purple, Ahmanson; Miranda Frigon, Mental the Musical, Edgemar Center; Dawn Lyen Gardner, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Festival/LA; Carla Renata, Avenue Q, Ahmanson; Jackie Seiden, Jersey Boys, Ahmanson; Marie M. Wallace, Paradise Lost, Boston Court; Michelle Williams, The Color Purple, Ahmanson 
Bleed Rail, Theatre @ Boston Court 
RUNNERS-UP: The Bacchae, Celebration; Bug, Coast Playhouse; The Car Plays, Moving Arts; Feeding the Monkey in Hollywood, Gardner Stages; Heroes, Geffen; The History Boys, Ahmanson; Love Bites, Vol. V, Elephant Lab; The Rainmaker, Knightsbridge; Rounding Third, Colony; Twelve Angry Men, Ahmanson; Wildboy ’74, Bootleg; Zorro in Hell, Montalban 
“13,” CTG, Mark Taper Forum 
RUNNERS-UP: Bush Is Bad, NoHo Arts Center; Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse; The Color Purple, Ahmanson; The Hollywood Father/Daughter Purity Ball, Acapulco La Cienega; Jersey Boys, CTG, Ahmanson; Mental the Musical, Edgemar Center; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Festival/LA; Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, Boston Court; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Wadsworth; Zanna, Don’t!, WCE 
Tobias Forrest, Pyretown, Playwrights Arena at studio/stage 
RUNNERS-UP: Anthony Cretara, Ubu the Shit!, Complex; Navaris Darson, Twentieth Century, Lillian; Emme Geissal, As You Like It, LAWSC at the Matrix; Eric Hunicutt, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hollywood Forever Cemetery; Bruno Gagnon, Corteo, Cirque du Soleil at the Forum; Ian Littleworth, Invasion! The Musical, Hudson; Emily Pennington, Invasion! The Musical, Hudson; Daryl Sabara, Catskill Sonata, Matrix; Jonathan Sharp, Can-Can, Pasadena Playhouse; Michael Tauzin, The Bacchae and Beautiful Thing, Celebration; Hudson Thames, Distracted, Taper; Edward Tourier, Small Tragedy, Odyssey 
Dan Guerrero, Gaytino, Latino Laugh Festival at King King 
RUNNERS-UP: Hershey Felder, George Gershwin Alone, Geffen; Natasha Wood, Rolling with Laughter, El Portal 
Karen Morrow, Broadway Babies, Reprise! at the Ford Amphitheatre 
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