The Bard’s famous expression holds special meaning for this year’s Artsies, the community’s recognition of excellence in Richmond-area theater. “All the World’s a Stage” is the theme for the 12th annual Richmond Theatre Critics Circle awards. The theme highlights the freedom of professional theater artists (local and otherwise) to travel between markets.
This year’s celebration will be held Sunday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. at the November Theatre.
It will be hosted by two popular Richmond actors with years of noteworthy experience in different markets, Bianca Bryan and Jerold Solomon.
Bryan already had a long résumé of successful appearances in New York, before she commuted to Richmond for her Artsy-nominated role in Barksdale’s 2008 production of “A Clean House.” Since then, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role in Quill’s “Assassins” and Best Actress in a Play for TheatreLAB’s “Grounded” during the 2016-17 season. Last year, she was awarded an Artsy for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Firehouse Theatre’s “Wings.” She was last seen playing Mrs. Lovett in TheatreLAB’s production of “Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
Solomon had racked up numerous roles both in Richmond and on national tours before landing a spot in the cast of the Tony Award-winning 2008 Broadway revival of “South Pacific,” which ran until 2010. He returned to Richmond and won an Artsy for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Virginia Rep’s production of “The Whipping Man” (2014-15 season). He also was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for Virginia Rep’s production of “Dreamgirls” and Best Actor in a Play for “The Mountaintop,” produced by Cadence Theatre in partnership with Virginia Rep. Solomon is currently playing the title role in Virginia Rep’s production of “The Wiz.”
All proceeds from Artsies ticket sales support the Theatre Artist Fund of Greater Richmond. The event is open to the public and formal attire is encouraged, but not required (it is a theatre crowd, after all). Tickets are $20 for orchestra seating and $25 for balcony. Tickets go on sale September 1 through Virginia Rep’s website or (804) 282-2620.
The event afterparty will once again be sponsored by University of Richmond’s Modlin Center for the Arts. Specifics along with additional event details will be released later this summer.
The members of the RTCC include Claire Boswell (Style Weekly), Tony Farrell (Richmond Times-Dispatch), Rich Griset (Style Weekly), Julinda Lewis (RVArt Review), and Jerry Williams (Sifter/WRIR-FM). RTCC members and Theatre Alliance Panelists must have seen at least two-thirds of the locally-produced shows during the season in order to vote in the award nomination process.