2015 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees Announced

Four theater artists will be honored by the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee during the presentation of its 2015 Awards in a luncheon ceremony to be scheduled for the coming fall. All honors for the 2015 awards were earned by artists working Off Broadway, marking the first time in the history of the awards that a Broadway production was not honored. Riccardo Hernandez (The Invisible Hand, New York Theatre Workshop), Paul Tazewell (Hamilton, The Public Theater), Howell Binkley (Hamilton, The Public Theater), and Nevin Steinberg (Hamilton, The Public Theater) will be honored with 2015 Henry Hewes Design Awards. Three of the four are first-time Henry Hewes Design Award honorees. Howell Binkley was previously honored in 2006 for his lighting design for Jersey Boys. For the 2015 honors, 66 theater artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 49 productions presented during the 2014-2015 New York theatre season. The 2016 honorees will be announced this summer.

These annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off Off Broadway, recognizing not only the traditional categories of scenic design, costume design, and lighting design, but also "notable effects," which encompass sound, music, video, puppetry, and other creative elements. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee considered more than 200 productions when making its nominations.

Scott Pask led all artists with four nominations for Broadway scenic designs. Sascha van Riel received nominations in three categories for her work on The Evening, a co-production of New York City Players, The Kitchen, and Performance Space 122. Seven other designers received two nominations each for their work during the 2014-2015 season. The Off Broadway production of Hamilton and the Off Off Broadway production of The Evening led all other productions with four nominations each. Five productions received three nominations each and ten productions received two nominations each.

The HHDA Committee named honorees in four categories: Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Notable Effects. As of the 2015 awards, the Committee has bestowed 294 honors on 191 artists representing 205 productions.

Originally known as the Maharam Awards at their inception in 1965, the Hewes Awards were later known as the American Theatre Wing Design Awards in honor of the Wing's generous sponsorship. They were renamed in 1999 for noted critic Henry Hewes, who created the awards and served as a board member of the American Theatre Wing until his death in 2006 at age 89.

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee includes theater critics Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair; Dan Bacalzo; David Barbour; David Cote; Glenda Frank; Helen Shaw; and Michael Sommers.

2015 Henry Hewes Design Awards honorees:

Scenic Design
Riccardo Hernandez
The Invisible Hand (New York Theatre Workshop)

Costume Design
Paul Tazewell
Hamilton (Public Theater)

Lighting Design
Howell Binkley
Hamilton (Public Theater)

Notable Effects
Nevin Steinberg (sound design)
Hamilton (Public Theater)

2015 Henry Hewes Design Awards Nominees (2015 Honorees in bold):

Scenic Design Nominees:
Andrew Lieberman The Wayside Motor Inn
Arnulfo Maldonado Generations
Beowulf Boritt On the Town
Brett J. Banakis D Deb Debbie Deborah
Brett J. Banakis Big Love
David Korins Hamilton
David Rockwell On the Twentieth Century
David Rockwell You Can't Take It With You
David Zinn Fun Home
Derek McLane Into the Woods
John Lee Beatty The Country House
Kevin Depinet The Iceman Cometh
Michael Yeargan The King and I
Mimi Lien The Oldest Boy
Rachel Hauck And I and Silence
Riccardo Hernandez The Invisible Hand
Santo Loquasto A Delicate Balance
Sascha Van Riel The Evening
Scott Pask The Visit
Scott Pask It's Only A Play
Scott Pask Airline Highway
Scott Pask Finding Neverland
Vicki R. Davis The Fatal Weakness
Walt Spangler Dying for It
Walt Spangler Between Riverside and Crazy

Costume Design Nominees:
Andreas Vargas The Fatal Weakness
Ann Roth A Delicate Balance
Becky Bodurtha This Lingering Life
Candice Donnelly Indian Ink
Catherine Zuber Gigi
Catherine Zuber The King and I
Emilio Sosa Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, and 3)
Gregg Barnes Something Rotten
Jane Greenwood You Can't Take It With You
Jess Goldstein On the Town
Kaye Voyce The Wayside Motor Inn
Paul Tazewell Hamilton
Kaye Voyce The Evening
Susan Hilferty Posterity
Suzanne Bocanegra Let Us Now Praise Susan Sontag
Tom Piper Tamburlaine, Parts I and II
Vanessa Leuck Disenchanted!
William Ivey Long On the Twentieth Century

Lighting Design Nominees:
Bradley King d I and Silence
Brian MacDevitt A Delicate Balance
Brian MacDevitt This Is Our Youth
Christian DeAngelis The Fatal Weakness
Christopher Akerlind The Last Ship
Donald Holder The King and I
Howell Binkley Hamilton
Japhy Weideman The Visit
Japhy Weideman The Oldest Boy
Jason Lyons On the Town
Jen Schriever Bright Half Life
Jen Schriever I'm Looking for Helen Twelvetrees
Maruti Evans James Dickey's Deliverance
Natasha Katz The Iceman Cometh
Sascha Van Riel The Evening
Tyler Micoleau The Wayside Motor Inn

Notable Effects Nominees:
Asa Wember (Sound Design) brownsville song (b-side for tray)
Bray Poor (Sound Design) 10 Out of 12
Clint Ramos (Production Design) Bootycandy
Darrel Maloney (Projection Design) Found
David Evans Morris and Kristin Marting (Production Effect) Trade Practices
David Valentine (Puppet Design) Six Rounds of Vengeance
Fitz Patton (Sound Design) Airline Highway
Ien DeNio (Sound Design) James Dickey's Deliverance
John Gromada (Sound Design) Lives of the Saints
John Narun (Projection Design) What I Did Last Summer
Kevin O'Donnell (Sound Design) Big Love
Leah Gelpe (Sound Design) The Invisible Hand
Nevin Steinberg (Sound Design) Hamilton
Roger Hanna and Price Johnston (Projection Design) Donogoo
Sascha van Riel and Zack Tinkelman (Visual Effect) The Evening
Tom Lee (Puppet and Object Design) The Scarlet Ibis