“Brothers Size” – Tarell Alvin McCraney
Role: Elegba
DFW Critics Choice 2015
Jubilee Theatre, 2015
Directed by Tre Garrett
Every September the print and online theater critics of Dallas and Fort Worth eat chicken and brownies together and hash over the previous year’s productions on local stages. (The “season” for voting purposes runs from September 1 to August 31.) We think it’s a nice thing to do, recognizing the best individual and ensemble performances, direction, design and writing. Winners get nothing but their names in print and our gratitude for making live theater a joy.
Among this year’s recipients’ list, note that for the first time we’ve combined men and women in the performance category. If 17 winners in that group seems excessive – imagine the acceptance speeches if we did this as a real ceremony – keep in mind that many of us critics see about 200 shows a year and that doesn’t even include every production at universities, community theaters, children’s theaters and other small companies. That’s a lot of great acting to winnow down to one list. Several actors on the final vote were nominated for roles in more than one show, so that carried weight. If there is one standout among all the acting winners, it has to be busy Dallas actor Jenny Ledel, who had a spectacular year of great work in wildly different roles in comedies, contemporary dramas and Shakespeare at Kitchen Dog Theater and Second Thought.
