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Celebrating excellence and achievement in Southern California theatre, the 1999 Los Angeles Theatre League Alliance Ovation Awards were presented Monday night, Nov. 8, at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Top honors went to Reefer Madness at Hudson Backstage Theatre.

Also among the winners were such theatre stalwarts as Christopher Plummer and Carolee Carmello.

Celebrities who joined the festivities included Annette Bening, Alfred Molina, Sharon Lawrence, David Hyde Pierce, Paul Stanley, Morgan Fairchild, Garry Marshall, Carol Channing, Crystal Bernard, Scott Wolf, Portia De Rossi, Faith Ford, Brian Beacock, Marilyn McIntyre, David Dukes, Susan Sullivan, Lindsey Korman, and more.

This marks the 10th anniversary for these peer-judged, competitive awards.

Reefer Madness took top honors with five Ovations, including Best Musical at a small theater.

Summer and Smoke at the Fountain Theater and Fosse at the Ahmanson Theater captured three awards each. Summer and Smoke took Best Play in a small theater and Collected Stories at the Geffen Playhouse took Best Play in a large theater. West Side Story at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center won Best Musical in a large theater.

The 1999 Board of Governors Awards for Lifetime Achievement were presented to Jerome Lawrence and Robert Fryer. The James A. Doolittle Award for Leadership in Los Angeles Theatre was presented to Charles Kenis and Audrey Skirball Kenis. For only the second time, the Community Outreach Award was bestowed, this time on the Los Angeles Poverty Department "for its unique use of theatre to express the realities, hopes, and dreams of people who live and work on L.A.'s skid row."

The show was produced by long-time TLA board member Farrell Hirsch and directed by Michael Michetti. Sponsors of the 1999 Ovation Awards were Kappa Studios, KPMG, the Los Angeles Times, and Pacific Bell. The Ovation Awards are administered by the Theatre League Alliance, a nonprofit association of over 150 theatres and producers that represents, promotes and supports the Southern California theatre community.

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