Taken from Gay Chicago Magazine
 

THE 1999 "AFTER DARK" AWARDS
by After Dark Staff

 What a year. People talk about 1939 as being Hollywood's "golden year," and we have no doubt that the 1998-99 theatre season in Chicago will be remember in much the same way. It was an embarrassment of riches. Never has there been such a wealth of excellence displayed by the Chicago theatre community, and coming up with the final list of this year's "After Dark" Award recipients made us feel like Meryl Streep. We might as well have started called each other "Sophie," because that's just how we felt at times during our annual meeting. We clung to our "babies," crying, "No, I can't choose."

But decided we did. Gay Chicago Magazine reviewed 202 productions during 1999 "After Dark" Awards season, which ran from August 1, 1998 to July 31, 1999. Every production we reviewed was eligible, and we saw so many wondrous things this year that it was a long, often heated process that led to this year's recipients. We began with 252 nominations, and, somehow, after several new pots of coffee, we arrived at this year's list of 58 recipients.

The 1999 "After Dark" Awards were presented on Monday, October 11, at the Black Orchid, 230 W North Avenue on the third floor. The evening began with an hors d'oeuvre and cash bar reception at 6 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m. This year's event was once again a benefit for Season of Concern. 

It is our great pleasure to recognize and give our thanks to the 1999 "After Dark" Award recipients:

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION

"ONE FLEA SPARE"
NAKED EYE THEATRE COMPANY
For its inaugural production, the Naked Eye Theatre Company meticulously staged Naomi Wallace's psychological study of class conflict and conduct. Director Jeremy Cohen was in firm control of Wallace's poetic work and guided this disturbing story and its players with a haunting grandeur. The work was as hot as the 90+ degree days when it was produced, and the erotically charged electricity on stage had you running for a cold shower.

"THE PROPHET OF BISHOP HILL"
CHICAGO DRAMATISTS
David Rush's historical telling of events that shaped lives under the spell of religious leader Eric Janson received a riveting treatment by Chicago Dramatists. Director Russ Tutterow fervently staged this powerful story, and when placed on a captivating ensemble, incredible life was brought to the Bishop Hill, Illinois citizens. The production was awash with strong human emotion as we witnessed the crumbling of what Janson thought was the perfect utopian society.
 

JOHN W. SCHMID AWARD NEW WORK/ADAPTATION

DAVID RUSH
"THE PROPHET OF BISHOP HILL"
CHICAGO DRAMATISTS
David Rush's telling of the fanatical religious leadership of Eric Janson during the founding of Bishop Hill, Illinois was powerfully depicted in his historical drama. By incorporating a series of reenactments and factual data and setting it against the trial of Janson's assassin, Mr. Rush unfolded his narrative with humanistic magnificence.
 

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE

KIRSTEN FITZGERALD
"A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN"
CIRCLE THEATRE
Sensual and earthy, Kirsten Fitzgerald's performance in "A Moon for the Misbegotten" had a spine of steel. In the New England of Eugene O'Neill, the ground is stony and tough. Ms. Fitzgerald captured that essence in her depiction of a hardscrabble farm daughter and instilled it with a heart of aching, raw vulnerability.