Bain Boehlke and Wendy Lehr, hosts of the Iveys on Monday night. Photo by David Brewster

Popularity doesn't seem an issue for the Ivey Awards. The State Theatre appeared mostly full on Monday night and the applause for Wendy Lehr's Lifetime Achievement Award indicated a strong pulse and genuine affection in the crowd. Good for that.

But for the first time in six years, the ceremony Monday night felt inert. And that Ivey way of picking honorees, which has mostly worked in the past, left some questions hanging on Tuesday morning.


First of all, two hours is at least 30 minutes too long. Rather than step on any toes, I'd just suggest that few of the entertainment pieces were solid gold and that opportunities to trim were legion. Secondly, if Bain Boehlke and Lehr are your hosts, then use them! After an early appearance, these two great personalities disappeared for almost an hour. A wasted opportunity.


Lastly, how 150 evaluators could see 1,000 performances (according to the Iveys press material) and leave "The Seafarer" at the Jungle last December on the cutting room floor is beyond me. Or any of the actors in that production — particularly Allen Hamilton or Stephen Yoakam. For that matter, how does Yoakam's work in "Virginia Woolf" slip through the cracks? Torch's "Dancing at Lughnasa" triumphed last January and there wasn't a whisper Monday night. Randy Reyes did yeoman's duty in Mu's "Yellowface" and the Guthrie's "M. Butterfly" but apparently didn't make the cut.
Could you have handed out a few more lava-lamp trophies Monday? Yes, and cut back on the entertainment to make it fit.


But this is the system the Iveys has used and I must admit that the quirky approach (no categories, no nominees) usually doesn't bother me. For some reason, this year....


What worked? Recognizing John and Sage Cowles was welcome and overdue; Lehr's honest emotion at being selected and the crowd's response raised a lump in even the hardest throats; the kids who did "Tomorrow" were charming; Kalere Payton and Katie Guentzel really expressed in their halting words what it means to be recognized by a theater community.


The Iveys certainly have the love of the theater community. People get decked out and seem to love being there. Scott Mayer should get the Lifetime Achievement Award one of these years for pulling this event together and working as hard as he does to secure the sponsors who make it possible. If you didn't care for the little commercial break Monday night, then pony up some bread yourself.


That said, it's time for the Iveys board to take a frank assessment on what works, what doesn't and how you can tweak around the edges. It can be better than this.

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