By Daily Press staff
The Santa Monica Civic Light Opera’s production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has received eight nominations for the NAACP Theatre Awards, marking a significant milestone in the organization’s evolution.
SMCLO’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” staged last summer, earned NAACP Theatre Award nominations for outstanding production, direction, ensemble, playwright, set, costumes, lighting and sound.
Nominations were made public earlier this month at a Los Angeles press conference called by the civil rights organization. NAACP Award winners will be announced at ceremonies at the Vision Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 21.
“We wanted to challenge the audience, and I guess we succeeded,” said Dr. Frank X. Ford, SMCLO artistic director, who also directed “Cuckoo’s Nest.”
SMCLO nominees include Dr. Ford, for best direction; Jo Oppenheimer Davis, for best costume design; Mike Goode, for best set design; Chuck Schuman, for best lighting design; Sean Phillips, for best sound design; and Dale Wasserman, for best playwright. The entire “Cuckoo’s Nest” acting company was acknowledged with a nomination for “Best Ensemble.”
“We’ve always believed that we put on some very special productions,” said Brett Fisher, SMCLO producer and managing director, “and we’re gratified that the NAACP has honored us with this recognition.”
Dr. Ford said he was pleased that Tessa Thompson — a Samohi alumna, SMCLO performer and former student of his — was nominated by the NAACP for best leading actress for her role as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” at the theatre at Boston Court.
The NAACP Award nominations were an occasion for Dr. Ford to reflect on his decades as a director. “From the day I started 36 years ago, I always believed in nontraditional casting,” he said. “I think a play happens in the imagination of the audience, in the communication between storytellers and audience members, and it has nothing to do with ‘looking’ like the part is allegedly supposed to look. A good actor can make us believe anything.”
The Santa Monica Civic Light Opera, a sponsored activity of the Santa Monica- Malibu Unified School District, serves as the educational partner to Samohi’s Theatre Arts Program, enhancing the student experience through mentoring by alumni and theatre professionals, as well as developing productions for the Humanities Center and Barnum Hall stages.
Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man,” the next SMCLO-Samohi show, will play with a production ensemble including full orchestra, chorale and marching band. Performances are March 3-12, 2005, at the newly restored Barnum Hall, which has recently undergone an $8.1 million renovation on the Samohi campus. Tickets are $20.
The SMCLO/Samohi season also includes bonus productions of Edward Albee’s searing drama, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” playing May 19-28, and the selected One-Act comedies of David Ives, playing June 3-4, both in the Humanities Center Theater. Tickets are $10-15.
“My Fair Lady” will be the season’s grand musical finale — an SMCLO production featuring alumni, working professionals, and accomplished high school students. “My Fair Lady” runs July 14-30. Tickets are $15-30.
Tickets for all remaining 2005 productions are available at the SMCLO box office in the Humanities Center Theater, by phone at (310) 458-5939, or on the web at www.smclo.org. Group discounts are available.
For more information about the Santa Monica Civic Light Opera, call (310) 458- 5939.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 22, 2005. Read the original PDF.