Chicago Sun-Times: Unlike Broadway’s annual Tony Award nominations, which more often than not are seen as the “great box office hope” for currently running productions, Chicago’s Equity Jeff Awards celebrate outstanding artistic achievement in productions that have already run their course. Their glory lingers primarily in the memory of all those who saw them.
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Having worked in Chicago all summer, I got the chance to see, hear about, and even work on some of the productions nominated for Jeff awards. I also got the opportunity to speak to actors who were nominated for awards or who had worked on shows that had been nominated for awards. The overwhelming consensus is that this was an outstanding year for Chicago theatre, and one that allowed people from all walks of life to be recognized for their work. Diversity was a topic that came up a lot, seeing as this was a particularly diverse season of theatre in Chicago, with many plays and musicals that got nominations having casts with one or multiple persons of color. Between Riverside and Crazy, a show that I spent countless hours working on, is centered on an African American ex-cop who is trying to keep his home and keep his family together, played by Eamonn Walker who received a nomination for a leading actor award thanks to his masterful turn in the play. His work was particularly outstanding, but the entire cast deserves awards for their tireless devotion to the work, even in times of intense tragedy. This speaks to how strong the theatre community is, and especially how strong the Chicago community is, seeing as every night people would go on stage and do challenging productions while gunshots rang out on the South Side, night after night.
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