Nominees chosen for Omaha arts awards

The Blue Barn Theatre's “Reefer Madness: The Musical,” indie rockers Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies, and four triple nominees in visual arts lead the list of candidates for the fourth annual Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards.

The awards cover the arts in the Omaha area from Sept. 1, 2008, to Aug. 31, 2009. One nominee in each category is chosen by the public online, while jurors in performing arts, live music and visual arts choose the rest. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony Jan. 17.

Among music nominees, Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies racked up five: artist of the year, album of the year, best folk/roots/bluegrass, best alt-rock/indie and best singer-songwriter.

Other top music nominees included It's True, with four; and the Black Squirrels and Cursive, with three each. All three groups will compete with Hoshaw for artist of the year. Also nominated in that category: Little Brazil.

Album of the year nods went to Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies for their self-titled album; the Black Squirrels for “Paying for Your Pleasure”; Cursive for “Mama, I'm Swollen”; Matt Cox for “My Last Dollar”; and Matt Whipkey for “Instant Heart.”

Whipkey also was nominated for best singer-songrwriter. Cox is a nominee in the folk/roots/bluegrass and blues categories.

In performing arts, “Reefer Madness” earned 11 nominations, including best musical, director of a musical (Susan Clement-Toberer), lead actor (Paul Hanson) and actress (Jenn Witt) in a musical, music director (Mitch Fuller) and choreographer (Roxanne Nielsen).

Other leading nominees among stage musicals included Creighton University's “West Side Story,” with 10; the Omaha Community Playhouse's “Bat Boy: The Musical,” with eight; and Papillion-La Vista Community Theatre's “South Pacific,” with seven.

Top comedy nominees were SNAP Productions' “Compleat Female Stage Beauty,” with eight; SNAP's “Speech & Debate,” with six; the University of Nebraska at Omaha's “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” with four; and the playhouse's “Stones in His Pockets,” with three.

A tight race among dramas includes the Blue Barn's “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?” and F-Troupe's “The Pillowman,” with four nods each. Three nominations went to “Wit” at the Blue Barn and “The Seafarer” at the Brigit St. Brigit Theatre.

The playhouse earned 21 nominations, while SNAP totaled 20 and the Blue Barn 18.

The Omaha Theater Ballet earned four nominations, while the Creighton Dance Company and Omaha Modern Dance Collective were triple nominees.

Among visual artists, Jamie Burmeister, Wanda Ewing, Larry Ferguson and Renee Ledesma Hoover were all triple nominees. Ferguson and Ewing are best 2-D artist nominees, along with Watie White, Nolan Tredway and Claudia Alvarez. Hoover and Burmeister are among best 3-D nominees, along with Jess Benjamin, Iggy Sumnik, Julie Conway and Susan McGilvrey.

Contact the writer:

444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com