And the winner is...

Townie AwardYesterday the 2012 Tony Award Nominees were announced.  Presented by Kristin Chenoweth & Jim Parsons the nominees probably included some of your favorite productions, your favorite stage actors, your favorite Broadway tunes of the last year. Countless hours of hard work and preparation preceded that moment when, during the live webcast, the names were made public.  There were  hours of writing, set-building, rehearsals; hours spent making sure theater seats didn’t squeak, that lighting was just right, that the bar was stocked with wine, that tickets were printed, that ads were created and placed; sofas were tracked down and delivered to the stage and placed just so; costumes were designed and constructed; hair and make-up were conceived and painstakingly applied; there were hours invested to insure that the footprints of last night’s patrons were nowhere to be seen; programs were proofed, proofed and proofed some more.  Besides all that (and way more), there is then still all the effort and care that is part of the mix to create an evening of theater and thanks for those being honored for superlative efforts in presenting the preceding theater season. Whew!

The Bard himself reminded us “The whole world is a stage.”  Like the Tony Awards on Broadway, the Townie Awards have also been created to pay homage.  Not just to the thespians who tread the boards regularly at the Firehouse but to those in our community who have played an exemplary role in the theater that is our day-to-day lives.   Sometimes the individual efforts make front-page news and sometimes the deeds are of a more quiet nature… but all are heroic.

The excitement is mounting. There have been many hours of hard work and preparation to create a night of fun to honor all the Townies who make our lives in the Port City and environs a little more full, a little more rewarding.  This Saturday, May 5, the envelopes will be taken upstage and the waiting will finally be over with the words ”and the winner is…..”

We still don’t know who will take home the 2012 Townie Awards but we do know that the evening of fun, frivolity and festivity has come about because of the countless number of hours that have gone into the creating and planning that such a gala event involve.

We thank co-chairs Cyndi Barry Rubenfeld and Louis Rubenfeld, Firehouse Director of Development Beth Falconer and all the Way-Off-Broadway Committee members:  Maureen Daley, Jackie Guilmette, Amy LeJeune, Esther Sayer, Susan Signori, Ray Tiezzi, Lisa Wetenkamp, Christine Williams and Deborah Yameen.  That the evening will unfold for all of us at a relaxed, leisurely pace that will afford us a few hours of relief from the stress of our “day jobs” is thanks to your efforts, your attention to detail, and your dedication to keeping the arts alive on the North Shore.

And of course we thank ALL the Townies -- whoever you may be and for whatever small acts of kindness, both seen and unseen, you have bestowed.