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Baldwin Wallace University's nationally celebrated music theatre program just keeps on racking up the recognition.
On the heels of staging the sold-out, highly praised, academic premiere of "Kinky Boots," BW Music Theatre (BWMT) came up big in this year's Cleveland Critics Circle Theater Awards, which annually honor superior achievement by local theaters, writers, performers and technicians of productions staged by Cleveland-area professional theaters.
BW
talent
was
all
over
the
2019
awards
list,
winning
a
number
of
categories
for
staging
"Once"
in
partnership
with
Beck
Center
in
Lakewood,
Ohio.
"Once" garnered top prizes for Best Musical Production, Best Director - Musical (BWMT Director Victoria Bussert), Best Music Direction (BWMT Music Theatre Music Director Matthew Webb) and Best Ensemble in a Musical for the cast of talented BW students.
"I am very moved by all of the awards for 'Once' - especially Best Ensemble since that was all our students, with the exception of one child actor," said Bussert, who is also personally on a roll. Bussert recently won a 2019 Cleveland Arts Prize, the nation's oldest municipal arts award, and earned raves for her direction of a BWMT and Cleveland Orchestra collaboration on "South Pacific" in August.
The Cleveland Critics Circle Award committee voters also offered up a "special mention" for the academic premiere of "Kinky Boots," which was not eligible in the professional categories.
In
his
own
year-end
theatre
recognition,
Broadway
World
critic
Roy
Berko
heaped
blanket
praise
on
BWMT
including
"the
Collegiate
Premiere
of
'Kinky
Boots'
and
its
sensational
production
under
the
direction
of
Victoria
Bussert
with
Gregory
Daniels
(Choreography)
and
Mathew
Webb
(Musical
Direction).
As
well
as
their
continually
praised
Senior
Showcase
in
New
York,
where
students
earn
their
gateways
to
Broadway
productions,
and
their
production
of
'Once'
in
coordination
with
Beck
Center."
Earlier in the semester, OnStage, which placed BW Music Theatre as number one among the Best Bachelor of Music (B.M.)- Music Theatre Programs of 2018-19, produced a new list, The Top 30 College Musical Theatre Programs for 2019-2020, with BWMT again front and center.
Up
NextWhat's up next for the always high-flying BW Music Theatre? A return to Beck Center where "Once" wowed audiences and critics in early 2019.
In their ninth collaboration, BWMT and Beck will stage the 12-time Tony-nominated "The Scottsboro Boys."
The production will enjoy a limited engagement from February 7-23, 2020, in the Beck's Mackey Theater and tickets are already on sale.
