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04 26 05

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Show Time at the Municipal

David Lee Simmons

Backstage photos by David Richmond
Stage photos and Candids by Earl Perry
Shooting assistant to Mr. Richmond, Scott Edwards

Jazz Fest producer/director Quint Davis and master of ceremonies Harry Shearer helped announce the Neville Brothers as Entertainers of the Year.

With a combination of novel performances, legendary honorees and diverse winners, the 18th annual Big Easy Entertainment Awards put New Orleans stars on full display. The winners and honorees for achievement in music and theatre were announced on Monday, April 18, in the awards' new home in the Municipal Auditorium.

On the theatre side, the team that produced Smokey Joe's Café and Little Shop of Horrors won a total of five awards, with Brandt Blocker and the Jefferson Performing Arts Society taking Best Musical and Blocker also receiving Best Director of a Musical and Best Musical Director honors. Other multiple theatre award winners included Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré and Running With Scissors.

Accordionist Lawrence Ardoin joined the Ardoin family tribute to Music Heritage Award winner Bois Sec Ardoin.

The Neville Brothers were honored as Entertainers of the Year. The venerable group also was honored for Best Rhythm & Blues Artist, while its Walkin' in the Shadow of Life won for Best Album. The band performed onstage in a rousing finale with special guest Irma Thomas, who was honored with an award for Lifetime Achievement in Music.

Other honorees were Bob Bruce of NORD Theatre (Lifetime Achievement in Theatre) and Bois Sec Ardoin (Music Heritage Award). Master of ceremonies Harry Shearer presided over the event, while Honorary Music Chairman George Porter Jr. joined Honorary Theatre Chairman Ryan Rilette of Southern Rep in handing out the awards.

Earl Perry

The cast of the multiple-award winning Little Shop of Horrors performs.

Mark Smith, the director of entertainment industry development for the state of Louisiana, received the Ambassador of Entertainment Award for developing business stimulated by the Louisiana Motion Picture Incentive Act, which he helped to pass. This year's Business Recognition Award honored longtime Big Easy Entertainment Awards supporter, Harrah's New Orleans Casino, for its development and promotion of a new entertainment venue, the Earl Turner Theatre.

Guests were treated to performances by such nominees as Amanda Shaw, the Imagination Movers teaming with the Soul Rebels, and Theresa Andersson with the Panorama Jazz Band, as well as Susan Cowsill, C.C. Adcock, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, and Quintron. Musical-theatre performances were provided by the casts of Boobs! The Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, and Smokey Joe's Café.

Cajun fiddle phenom Amanda Shaw showed why she deserved the Best Female Performer award.

Attendees finished the evening with the annual Celebration Bash, with music from Bonerama. This event benefits The Foundation For Entertainment Development & Education, which funds projects and programs that acknowledge the importance of the performing arts to the culture and economy of New Orleans, with a focus on education and professional training in the performing arts. The sponsors were Southern Comfort, John Jay, Gambit Communications, Mardi Gras Productions, Harrah's New Orleans Casino and Coleman E. Adler & Sons, WGNO ABC 26 and WB 38.

SPECIAL AWARDS

The youngest of the performing Nevilles, Ian, joined his elders for the jam celebrating the Neville Brothers winning the Entertainers of the Year honor.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC
Irma Thomas

MUSIC HERITAGE AWARD
Bois Sec Ardoin

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THEATRE
Bob Bruce

BUSINESS RECOGNITION AWARD
Harrah's New Orleans, Earl Turner Theatre

ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR
The Neville Brothers

AMBASSADOR OF ENTERTAINMENT
Mark Smith, Director of Entertainment Industry Development, Louisiana Department of Economic Development

MUSIC AWARDS

Mark Smith, the director of entertainment industry development for the state of Louisiana, was named the Ambassador of Entertainment.

BEST BRASS BAND
Dirty Dozen Brass Band

BEST TRADITIONAL JAZZ ARTIST
New Orleans Jazz Vipers

BEST CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ARTIST
Maurice Brown Quintet

BEST GOSPEL CHOIR
Franklin Avenue Baptist Church Choir

BEST GOSPEL ARTIST
Bishop Paul Morton

BEST FUNK BAND
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk

BEST RHYTHM & BLUES ARTIST
The Neville Brothers

BEST RAP/HIP-HOP ARTIST
Juvenile

BEST DJ/ELECTRONICA ARTIST
Quintron

NORD Theatre’s Bob Bruce was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatre.

BEST BLUES ARTIST
Sansone, Krown & Fohl

BEST ROCK ARTIST
World Leader Pretend

BEST ROOTS ROCK ARTIST
C.C. Adcock

BEST ZYDECO ARTIST
Geno Delafose

2004 BEST CAJUN BAND
BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet

BEST WORLD MUSIC/REGGAE ARTIST
007

BEST COUNTRY/FOLK ARTIST
Jeff & Vida

BEST LATIN ARTIST
Otra

Gambit Weekly publisher Margo DuBos and Gambit Communications Chairman Clancy DuBos (right) with Harrah’s Casino New Orleans General Manager Dan Vita.

MALE PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown

BEST FEMALE PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Amanda Shaw

BEST EMERGING GROUP
Big Blue Marble

BEST ALBUM
Neville Brothers
Walkin' in the Shadow of Life

THEATRE AWARDS

Director Ryan Rilette with the cast of Best Drama winner Intimate Apparel: Carol Sutton, Troi Bechet, Karen-Kaia Livers and Lara Grice

BEST MUSICAL
Smokey Joe's Café
(Jefferson Performing Arts Society)

BEST DRAMA
Intimate Apparel
(Southern Rep Theatre)

BEST COMEDY
The Glass Mendacity
(Krewe des Sept)

BEST DIRECTOR (COMEDY OR DRAMA)
Richard Read & Flynn De Marco
Bad Seed and Sordid Lives
(Running With Scissors)

BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Brandt Blocker
Little Shop of Horrors (Brandt Blocker Presents) and Smokey Joe's Café (Jefferson Performing Arts Society)

Gambit Weekly editor Michael Tisserand and American Routes host Nick Spitzer honored Bois Sec Ardoin (center) with the Music Heritage Award.

BEST MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Brandt Blocker
Little Shop of Horrors (Brandt Blocker Presents) and Smokey Joe's Café (Jefferson Performing Arts Society)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Jaune Buisson
Little Shop of Horrors (Brandt Blocker Presents) and Smokey Joe's Café (Jefferson Performing Arts Society)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Cecile Casey Covert
Boobs! The Musical
(All Kinds of Theatre)

BEST SET DESIGN
Bill Walker
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine
(Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré)

Rebecca Delery and Cristine Barona with John and Anne Burr

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Jonathan Foucheaux
Little Shop of Horrors (Brandt Blocker Presents) and Smokey Joe's Café (Jefferson Performing Arts Society)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A CHILD
David Bologna
Oliver! and Disney's Beauty and the Beast
(Jefferson Performing Arts Society)

BEST ACTOR (COMEDY OR DRAMA)
Brian Peterson
Bad Seed
(Running With Scissors)

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and film producer Al Salzer presented Louisiana’s director of entertainment industry development, Mark Smith, with the Ambassador of Entertainment Award.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jerry Lee Leighton
A Few Good Men
(Fred Nuccio & Tari Hohn Lagasse)

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Ricky Graham
The Mikado
(Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Luis Q. Barroso
Little Shop of Horrors
(Brandt Blocker Presents)

BEST ACTRESS (COMEDY OR DRAMA)
Diane Shortes
Boston Marriage
(Drama!)

Jeff & Vida won for Best Country/Folk Artist.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Maureen Brennan
The Glass Mendacity
(Krewe des Sept)

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Savannah Wise
Disney's Beauty and the Beast
(Jefferson Performing Arts Society)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Amanda Zirkenbach
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine
(Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré)

Maurice Brown won for Best Contemporary Jazz Artist.

BEST ORIGINAL WORK FOR THEATRE
To Flee, Flee This Sad Hotel
Kathy Randels
(ArtSpot Productions)

BEST UNIVERSITY PRODUCTION
Hallowed Ground (Tulane University)