CLICK HERE to read Jennifer's complete article about the 2015 Zoni Awards.
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| Krystal Pope, Tim Shawver, Beth Anne Johnson, Trisha Ditsworth, Miguel Jackson, Cassie Chilton and Gene Ganssle perform the opening number for the 2015 AriZoni Adult Ceremony |
"The AriZonis...last night celebrated their twenty-fifth year with formal ceremonies (one Youth, one Adult) at Tempe Center for the Arts. Forty two theatres from across the greater Phoenix Valley participated in an evening that mixed as only Arizona can, professionalism and glamour with down-home sincerity and earnest. ...This year's ceremonies...cleverly borrowed the logo and spoofed a number with newly Zoni-tailored lyrics from the 2005 Broadway musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." During the Adult Ceremony, the central characters from Desert Foothills Theater's "Dreamgirls" cast, Hale Centre Theatre's "My Fair Lady" and Theater Works' "Follies" from Peoria recreated numbers that were moving examples of the palpable, living art that the Phoenix Valley consistently produces. The lengthy list of awardees, too, is an impressive testament, both to the diversified depth and cultural breadth the community is culling....the Zonis last night provided a human element that make connecting to a vibrant community much more natural and appreciable. Some of the acceptance speeches and presenters noted with refreshing candor personal anecdotes or community challenges...David Vining and Claude Pensis received Outstanding Contribution Awards with very individualized introductions. Included were specific ways in which these men helped build "something from nothing" in the Valley...When Johanna Carlisle received Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Contracted Musical for her work in Phoenix Theatre's "Mary Poppins," the Arizona factor was further exemplified. She tearfully thanked the community of attendees not for noticing her outstanding talent, but for helping her "through the worst summer of my life" in the wake of a personal tragedy. Even the genuine sentiment in Ron May's public, impromptu explanation to a local theatre critic's question about why he was chosen to direct the award winning production of "Buyer and Cellar" was an endearing example. As he accepted his Best Director honor, he quipped a wry, "That's why!"...The drive for excellence and the acknowledgement that very really human heartbeats fuel it... That, in a phrase, characterizes the story that the 2014-15 AriZoni award ceremony told."
CLICK HERE to read Jennifer's complete article about the 2015 Zoni Awards.
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