Nominees recently were announced for the 40th Ostrander Awards, honoring the best in local theater in the 2023-2024 season. The Rhodes Theatre Guild’s (RTG) production of Amélie garnered multiple nominations.
RTG was established in 2016 as a space for students to spearhead their own projects with the support of the college’s resources and facilities. In February and March of 2024, RTG presented the whimsical musical adaptation of the movie Amélie, in which an extraordinary young woman lives quietly in the world but loudly in her mind and covertly improvises small but surprising acts of kindness that bring joy and mayhem.
Here is a list of Ostrander Award nominations the production received:
Props Design in a Musical-Molly O'Connor
Set Design in a Musical-Abbie Seale
Lighting Design in a Musical-Melissa Andrews
Featured Performer in a Musical-Allen Osoinach
Outstanding Music Direction- Tammy Holt
Supporting Actor in a Musical-Javier Peña
Supporting Actress in a Musical-Kathryn Dressel
Lead Actor in a Musical-Kevin Lechner
Lead Actress in a Musical-Eliza Fleming
Outstanding Direction of a Musical-Aliza Moran
Choreography in a Musical, Amélie
Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical, Amélie
Outstanding Overall Production, Amélie
In addition to these nominations, Marisa Schultz, who was in RTG’s production of Neil Simon’s Fools was nominated as a Featured Performer.
Nominees will be honored at a ceremony on Aug. 26 at the Orpheum in downtown Memphis.
UPDATED Aug. 27, 2024-WINNERS ANNOUNCED
A round of applause goes out to the following members of the Rhodes College community who won Ostrander Awards:
Props Design, Div II: Molly O’Connor, Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild
Lighting Design, Div II: Melissa Andrews, Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild
Direction, Div II: Aliza Moran, Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild
Best Ensemble, Div II Musical: Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild, Directed by Aliza Moran
Leading Actress, Div I Musical: Cameron Crawford ’19, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Theatre Memphis
Best Ensemble, Div I Play: A Monster Calls, New Moon Theatre, Directed by Aliza Moran