Riley Cole and Bonnie-Lynn Montaño in “Pirates Wanted!” at The Last Call Theatre (Photo by Charly Charney Cohen)
A Party for Empathy
Recipients of the 2025 Stage Raw Theater Awards
Now in its 11th year, Stage Raw announces its 2025 Stage Raw Awards Party on Monday, May 5, 2025 at Sassafras Saloon, 1233 Vine Street, Los Angeles, 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm. The party honors distinguished work on Southern California stages throughout the 2024 calendar year in a brief half-hour ceremony. These awards recipients were selected by the contributors to Stage Raw. The central purpose of the party is to provide an opportunity for members of the theater community, their friends and family to gather, network, dance and to celebrate their many accomplishments. Tickets are $25 and include complimentary food. With thanks to the generosity of onstage411.com, use the promo code stageraw to bypass ticketing fees. There is also a cash bar.
There are also sponsorship opportunities for individuals and companies to support this event. Sponsorships include a variety of promotional opportunities for companies and productions throughout 2025.
Says Stage Raw’s founding editor, Steven Leigh Morris, “We’re living in times of such turmoil: in the arts, in our communities, and on national and international stages. One of many qualities under siege in an era of retribution and folly is empathy. Among the best purposes of theater is offer empathy through divergent characters, and the emotions and ideas they express. On so many occasions, our local theater has risen to that task and deserves a celebration. We must support our theaters of all shapes and sizes, because empathy, like the theater itself, fosters resistance to the pointless cruelties of our times.”
2025 Awards Recipients
“Million Dollar Quartet”: Garrett Forrestal, Will Riddle, LJ Benet, Peter Oyloe and Adam Poole (Photo by Veronica Slavin)
Lighting Design
Dane Bowman, H*tler’s Tasters, Rogue Machine
Donny Jacksonen, Black Cypress Bayou, The Geffen Playhouse
Set Design
Tom Buderwitz, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moving Arts
Robert Beuth (and Mark Twain) in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” at Moving Arts (Photo by Lila Seeley)
Katrina Coulourides, Mercury, Road Theatre Company
Justin Huen, Two Stop, Ensemble Studio Theatre, LA
Lawrence E. Moten III, Black Cypress Bayou, The Geffen Playhouse
Leah Ramillano, God Will Do the Rest, Artists at Play and Latino Theater Company
Sound Design
Everett Elton Bradman, Black Cypress Bayou, The Geffen Playhouse
Austin Quan Two Stop, Ensemble Studio Theatre, LA
Jessica Rivera, Detroit ’67, Long Beach Playhouse
John Zalewski, The Body’s Midnight, IAMA Theatre Company and Boston Court Pasadena
“Two Stop” (Ensemble Studio Theatre – LA) Tristina Lee, Susan Baraka and JungSoo Ham (Photo by Tracy A. Leigh)
Video Design
David Murakami, Green Day’s American Idiot, The Mark Taper Forum
Austin Quan, Two Stop, Ensemble Studio Theatre, LA
Immersive Environmental Design
dots, Kate, Pasadena Playhouse
Puppet Design
Robert Beuth and Mark Steen, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moving Arts
Original Music
Ben Decter, It’s all Your Fault, Tyler Price!, The Hudson Theatre
Wes Meyers, Tiny Little Town, Theatre Movement Bazaar at the Broadwater
Ishika Muchhal and Paula Rebelo float on air, in Theatre Movement Bazaar’s “Tiny Little Town” (Photo by Doug Haverty)
Costume Design
David Reynoso, La Cage Aux Folles, Pasadena Playhouse
Production Design
Ghost Waltz, Latino Theater Company
Happy Fall: A Queer Stunt Spectacular, Rogue Artists Ensemble and Los Angeles LGBT Center
Pascal & Julien, 24th Street Theatre
Tiny Father, The Geffen Playhouse
Void, Trailblazer Productions
Waiting for Godot, The Geffen Playhouse
“H*tler’s Tasters” at Rogue Machine:
Caitlin Zambito, Olivia Gill, Paige Simunovich (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
Choreography
Tina Kronis, Tiny Little Town, Theatre Movement Bazaar
Ashley Wasmand, H*tler’s Tasters, Rogue Machine
Music Direction
Darryl Archibald, Jelly’s Last Jam, Pasadena Playhouse
Julia Hoffman, Once, Rubicon Theatre Company
Direction
Gregg T. Daniel, The Piano Lesson, A Noise Within
Tiffany Nichole Greene, Black Cypress Bayou, The Geffen Playhouse
Sarah Norris, H*tler’s Tasters, Rogue Machine
Jonas Oppenheim, The Planet Earth Farewell Concert, Sacred Fools Theater Company
Elizabeth Swain, A Winter’s Tale, Antaeus Theatre Company
Peter van Norden, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moving Arts
Adaptation
Richard Alger and Tina Kronis, Tiny Little Town, Theatre Movement Bazaar at The Broadwater
Robert Beuth, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moving Arts
Ellen Geer, Wendy’s Peter Pan, Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum
Playwriting
Shem Bitterman, The Civil Twilight, Plays with People and The Road Theatre Company
Kristen Adele Calhoun, Black Cypress Bayou, The Geffen Playhouse
Tom Jacobson, Crevasse, Son of Semele Ensemble and The Victory Theatre
Matt Lescher, Demolition, Pacific Resident Theatre
Evan Marshall, The Allstore, Theatre of NOTE
Oliver Mayer, Ghost Waltz, Latino Theater Company
Steve Yockey, Mercury, Road Theatre Company
Solo Performance
Robert Beuth, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moving Arts
Karen Hall, Delusions and Grandeur, The Broadwater
Veronica Osorio, Medicine Woman, Los Angeles LGBT Center
Karen Hall (“Delusions and Grandeur”) Hollywood Fringe. Photo courtesy of Karen Hall)
Two-Character Performance
Madelynn Fattibene and Erika Soto, Here Comes the Night, Zephyr Theatre
Leo Marks and Ann Noble, Crevasse, Son of Semele Ensemble and The Victory Theatre
Paul Turbiak and Darby Winn, Pascal & Julien, 24th Street Theatre
Ann Noble and Leo Marks in “Crevasse” (Son of Semele Ensemble and Victory Theatre Center) (Photo by Matt Kaminura)
Featured Performance
Alisha Elaine Anderson, Detroit ’67, Long Beach Playhouse
Billy Walker, Men in Suits, Playhouse West
Comedy Performance
Drew Droege, Psycho Beach Party, HorseChart Theatre at The Matrix theatre
Musical Performance
Darcy Rose Byrnes, Reefer Madness the Musical, The Whitley
Garret Forrestal, Million Dollar Quartet, 5-Star Theatricals
“A Doll’s House Part 2,” Beverly Hills Playhouse: Mia Christou and Lisa Robins (Photo by Joshua M. Shelton)
Leading Performance
Kate Berlant, Kate, The Pasadena Playhouse
Ron Bottitta, Fatherland, The Fountain Theatre
Mia Christou, A Doll’s House, Part 2, The Beverly Hills Playhouse
Taylor Gilbert, The Civil Twilight, Plays with People and The Road Theatre Company
Andy Robinson, Sukkot, 6th Act at The Skylight Theatre
Frederick Stuart, The Skin of Our Teeth, A Noise Within
Jayne Taini, The Sandwich Ministry, The Skylight Theatre
Jocelyn Towne, Nora, The Antaeus Company
Kimi Walker, Trouble in Mind, Actors’ Co-op
Mildred Marie Langford and Jocelyn Towne in (and as) “Nora” at The Antaeus Company (Photo by Jenny Graham)
Ensemble
Black Cypress Bayou, The Geffen Playhouse
Demolition, Pacific Resident Theatre
The Green Book Wine Club Train Trip, Loft Ensemble
H*tler’s Tasters, Rogue Machine
The Piano Lesson, A Noise Within
Musical Production
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Wayward Artist
Christian Henley, Aaron Jennings, Veralyn Jones and Kacie Rogers in “King Hedley II at A Noise Within (Photo by Craig Schwartz)
Production
King Hedley II, A Noise Within
Pirates Wanted! Last Call Theatre
Queen of the Angels: Melissa Chalsma and David Melville
Lifetime Achievement: Jose Luis Valenzuela
