The Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum met Saturday, and Lawson Taitte rolls out their lists of people and shows worth citing. He notes that now-defunct Nouveau 47’s On the Eve — which is coming back, courtesy of Theatre 3 — was the big winner, while WaterTower Theatre was the big loser, comparatively speaking, although Uptown Players is also notable by its absence. Special mentions went to the late Jerry Russell, Stage West founder, and Jeff Swearingen and Bren Rapp with Fun House Theatre and Film, for their innovative youth theater.

Here’s the full list:

Direction:

Jeffrey Schmidt, On the Eve (Spacegrove Productions and Nouveau 47), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Theatre Three) and Enron (Theatre Three)

Regan Adair, In a Forest Dark and Deep (Second Thought Theatre)

Tim Johnson, The Chairs (Kitchen Dog Theater)

Cheryl Denson, The Most Happy Fella (Lyric Stage)

T.J. Walsh, The Taming of the Shrew (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)

Jim Covault, The Taming of the Shrew (Stage West)

Susan Sargeant, Children of a Lesser God (Contemporary Theatre of Dallas) and Lydie Marland in the Afterlife (WingSpan Theater Company at the Festival of Independent Theatres)

Jeff Swearingen, Daffodil Girls, Inspired by David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross (Fun House Theatre and Film)

Matthew Posey, Dreams of Slaughtered Sheep (Ochre House)

Joel Ferrell, Gruesome Payground Injuries (Second Thought Theatre)

Jonathan Fielding, The True Story of the Tragic Life and Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana, The Ugliest Woman in the World (Amphibian Stage Productions)

New play or musical:

On the Eve by Shawn and Seth Magill and Michael Federico

Dreams of Slaughtered Sheep by Matthew Posey

Daffodil Girls by Jeff Swearingen

Fly By Night (Dallas Theater Center) by Kim Rosenstock, Bill Connolly and Michael Mitnick

Touring production:

Anything Goes (Lexus Broadway Series)

The Book of Mormon (Lexus Broadway Series)

Traces (Lexus Broadway Series)

Underneath the Lentel (Patrick O’Brien at the WaterTower Theatre’s Out of the Loop Fringe Festival)

Actor:

Bruce DuBose, An Iliad (Undermain Theatre)

Raphael Parry, The Chairs (Kitchen Dog)

Gregory Lush, On the Eve and Penelope (Undermain Theatre)

David Coffee, Fly By Night

Jac Alder, Freud’s Last Session (Theatre Three)

Chris Hury, The Taming of the Shrew (Stage West)

Montgomery Sutton, Gruesome Playground Injuries

Max Hartman, RX (Kitchen Dog Theater)

Ashley Wood, Children of a Lesser God

Alex Organ, The Most Happy Fella and Fly by Night

Actress:

Jenny Ledel, Becky Shaw (Kitchen Dog Theater) and On the Eve

Marianne Galloway, Children of a Lesser God

Martha Harms, RX, On the Eve and The Lucky Chance; or, The Alderman’s Bargain (Echo Theatre)

Rhonda Boutte, The Chairs

Tina Parker, RX

Amber Nicole Guest, The Most Happy Fella

Barbara Wood, Knock Me a Kiss (Jubilee Theatre)

Allison Pistorius, The Taming of the Shrew (Stage West)

Kennedy Waterman, Daffodil Girls

Ensemble:

On the Eve 

The Taming of the Shrew (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)

Jailbait (Dallas Actor’s Lab)

Creative contribution:

Score, Home by Hovercraft, On the Eve

Music and sound design, Bruce DuBose and Paul Semrad, An Iliad

Sound design, John Flores, Gruesome Playground Injuries

Set design, Timothy R. Mackabee, The Odd Couple (Dallas Theater Center)

Set design, Scott Osborne, The Chairs

Set design, Bob Lavallee, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (Theatre Arlington) and Gruesome Playground Injuries

Design team, The Taming of the Shrew and Julius Caesar (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)

Design team, Dreams of Slaughtered Sheep

Costume design, Ryan Matthieu Smith, The Lucky Chance

Special citations:

The late Jerry Russell, founder of Stage West, for his lifetime contributions to the North Texas theater community as an actor, director, producer and advocate

Jeff Swearingen and Bren Rapp with Fun House Theatre and Film, for their innovative youth theater and dedication to the future of the craft

The participating critics were:

ArnoldWayne Jones, Dallas Voice
Lawson Taitte, The Dallas Morning News
M. Lance Lusk, Liz Johnstone, and Lindsey Wilson, FrontRow/D Magazine
Elaine Liner, Dallas Observer
Martha Heimberg, Turtle Creek News/TheaterJones
Lauren Smart, CultureMap Dallas
Kris Noteboom, TheaterJones
Punch Shaw, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Alexandra Bonfield, Critical Rant
Mark Lowry, TheaterJones/Fort Worth Star-Telegram