As awards shows go, the inaugural Orange County Theatre Guild Awards Monday made a fine debut. The 375-person-capacity Samueli Theater at the Segerstrom Center of the Arts was full; the Michael Serna-directed show sped by in about 90 minutes; the hired gun performers, hosts Deanna Anthony and Chris Chatman, may not have known they were in Orange County let alone any of the nominees, but they sold the hell out of all it; and while two shows dominated (the Chance Theater’s “Fun Home,” winning five musical awards, and the Maverick Theater’s “The Crucible” winning six play awards) 20 of 84 nominees won awards in 16 categories.
But the evening was bigger than that.
Not so big that a slap would have made international news, but big enough for the approximately 400 people in the seats and behind the stage. Monday night was the first night in far too many nights that the Orange County theater community felt whole. It was the largest gathering of that community since the pandemic started — if not the largest in at least 15 years. Representatives of nearly every producing entity in the county attended, many of them presenting, from big dogs like South Coast Repertory’s artistic director David Ivers, to Tucker Boyes, a company member of the 7-year-old Alchemy Theater Company, which is still looking for a permanent home.
And just as important, after nearly two years of few to no shows to be in, or to watch, Monday’s awards ceremony gave theater people the opportunity to do something they do really well: dress up.
But the evening was bigger than that.
