Miami New Drama's 'Seven Deadly Sins' honored nationally – Theatrical Musings

Photo courtesy of Ernesto Sempoll

Mia Matthews and Gerald McCullouch play sparring siblings in All I Want is Everything, part of Miami New Drama’s Seven Deadly Sins.

By AARON KRAUSE

A creative, outdoor production that the nonprofit, professional company, Miami New Drama conceived and produced late last year while keeping audiences socially distant has won a national award.

The show, Seven Deadly Sins, triumphed in a new category from the annual Drama League Awards. Specifically, the production captured a Drama League Award in the category of “Outstanding Interactive or Socially-Distanced Theater.”

For Seven Deadly Sins, Miami New Drama Artistic Director Michel Hausmann commissioned seven high-profile, successful playwrights to pen a play about each of the seven deadly sins. Actors performed inside each space, behind glass. Meanwhile, audience members sat outside, socially distanced, and masked. They listened to the shows with ear phones. For the production, Miami New Drama divided audiences into groups of 12. Each group visited the seven settings on a rotating basis. The theater company extended the production, which drew sell-out crowds, multiple times.

In a pre-recorded acceptance speech, Hausmann said: “I want to congratulate the seven brilliant playwrights who came together with one goal in mind – to keep the spirit and hope of our community alive and show the resilience and power of theater. Seven Deadly Sins was our attempt at keeping the flame alive as our theatrical ancestors have done for us in moments of societal hardship.

“Over 100 inspiring theater professionals worked tirelessly over the better part of a year to make this dream a reality. We are so grateful to each and every one of you. This award belongs to all the amazing artists and technicians who made Seven Deadly Sins a light in times of darkness.”

One of those artists, cast member Jessica Farr, wrote on social media: “It was such an honor to be a part of this production during a time when we didn’t know if any of it was even possible. The resilience and ingenuity of the cast and crew made it all a reality and the results were nothing short of breathtaking.”

Now, Seven Deadly Sins is on its way to New York City. Specifically, it will begin performances on June 23 ahead of a June 28 opening in NYC’s Meatpacking District. While one of the playwrights, Miami New Drama co-founder Moisés Kaufman, will remain with the production, the other playwrights are new. For the New York production, Thomas Bradshaw will write a play about sloth, MJ Kaufman pride, Moisés Kaufman greed, Jeffrey LaHoste envy, Ming Peiffer wrath and Bess Wohl lust.

The Miami Beach production, which ran from November 2020 through January 2021, featured pieces by Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Moisés Kaufman, Rogelio Martinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Carmen Pelaez, and Aurin Squire.

The Drama League Awards have recognized outstanding achievements on and off Broadway since 1935.

In addition to Seven Deadly Sins, the nominees and winners, named on Friday, are as followed. The winners are in bold.

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL THEATER, INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTION
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels In America
Written by Tony Kushner
Directed by Ellie Heyman
Presented by amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research)

Belly of the Beast Directed by Lisa Rothe Written by Margaret Vandenburg

Daniel Dae Kim/3AD, in partnership with TodayTix and New York Theatre Workshop

Circle Jerk Conceived and Written by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley in Collaboration with Cat Rodriguez and Ariel Sibert Directed by Rory Pelsue Produced by Caroline Gart

Fake Friends

Disclaimer Written by Tara Ahmadinejad Directed by Jeff Wood & Tara Ahmadinejad Created by Piehole

The Public Theater

Don’t Stay Safe Book and Lyrics by Cheryl L. Davis, Music by Douglas J. Cohen Directed by Christina Franklin

Prospect Theater Company

Duchess! Duchess! Duchess! Written by Vivian J.O. Barnes Directed by Weyni Mengesha

Steppenwolf Theatre Company

GRIMMZ Fairy Tales Written by Christopher Parks, Rahsheem Shabazz, and Ron Lee McGill Directed by Christopher Parks

Children’s Theatre of Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)

Heroes of the Fourth Turning Written by Will Arbery Directed by Blanka Zizka

Wilma Theater

Last Gasp Written by Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw Directed by Lois Weaver

Split Britches

The Last 5 Years
Written and Composed by Jason Robert Brown Directed by Jason Michael Webb

Out Of The Box Theatrics

What Do They Call Us Created and Directed by Qween Jean

Ars Nova

Where Did We Sit on the Bus? Written by Brian Quijada Directed by Matt Dickson A digital creation by Satya Chávez and Matt Dickson

Actors Theatre of Louisville

Outstanding Digital Theater, Collection, OR Festival

Theater in Quarantine
Created by founder Joshua William Gelb and Katie Rose McLaughlin
Collaborators: Ian Axness, Eric Berryman, Chris Bell, Liza Birkenmeier, Heather Christian, Alex Falberg, Madeleine George, Sanaz Ghajar, Afra Hines, Sunny Hitt, Veronica Jiao, Raja Feather Kelly, Jon Levin, Johnny G. Lloyd, Nehemiah Luckett, Josh Luxenberg, Grace McLean, Lee Minora, Karen Olivo, Dan O’Neil, Erin Ortman, Gavin Price, Dito Van Reigersberg, Krit Robinson, Scott R. Sheppard, Matt Stevens, The Westerlies , Alex Weston, Ellen Winter and many others.

1MOVE: DES19NED BY… Created by Alan C. Edwards, Brittany Bland, Christopher Darbassie, Dominique Fawn Hill, Kameron Neal, Mika Eubanks, Nehprii Amenii, nicHi douglas, Nikiya Mathis, Qween Jean, Ramaj Jamar, Taylor Lilly, Teniece Divya Johnson, Teresa L. Williams, Twi McCallum, Ao Li, Chen-Wei Liao, Dina El-Aziz, Edurne Fernandez, Kimie Nishikawa, María Feuereisen, Megumi Katayama, Ntokozo Fuzunina Kunene, Omar Madkour, Reza Behjat, Riw Rakkulchon, Rodrigo Muñoz, Stefania Bulbarella, Wenzheng (Wen) Zhang, and Yee Eun Nam

Co-Curated by Dede Ayite, Stacey Derosier, Clint Ramos, Cha See, and Paul Tazewell

The Movement Theatre Company

AFO Solo Shorts (Round 1 and 2) Written, created, and directed by Veronica Barron, Beaudau Karel Banks, Eliza Bent, Ellarose Chary, Jody Christopherson, Jasmine Eileen Coles, Kendra Cui, Darian Dauchan, Toni Ann DeNoble, Tayna Everett, Gina Femia, Nela Fortunato, Raz Golden, Nathan Gebhard, Charles Gershman, Kathryn Grody, Brandon James Gwinn, Katie Melby, Matthew Paul Olmos, Erika Sheffer, Casey Alexander Smith, William Steinberger, Melissa Tien, Rhys Tivey, Emily Waters, Sybil Wigglesworth, Zonia, Tsang Lok Sze

All For One Theater

The Manic Monologues Originally Created by Zachary Burton and Elisa Hofmeister Virtual Experience Conceived and Directed by Elena Araoz

McCarter Theater Center in collaboration with Princeton University Health Services, The 24 Hour Plays, and Innovations in Socially Distant Performance at the Lewis Center for the Arts

The Work of Adrienne Kennedy: Inspiration and Influence
Written by Adrienne Kennedy (Sleep Deprivation Chamber by Adam P. Kennedy and Adrienne Kennedy) Directed by Raymond O. Caldwell, Timothy Douglas, Valerie Curtis-Newton, and Nicole A. Watson

Round House Theatre in association with McCarter Theater Center; Conceived by Nicole A. Watson

OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE OR SOCIALLY-DISTANCED THEATER
7 Deadly Sins
Written by Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Moisés Kaufman, Rogelio Martinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Carmen Pelaez, and Aurin Squire
Conceived and directed by Michel Hausmann
Greed directed by Moisés Kaufman
Wrath directed by Jade King Carroll
Miami New Drama

American Dreams Written by Leila Buck Directed by Tamilla Woodard Created and developed by Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard with Jens Rasmussen, in collaboration with Osh Ghanimah, Imran Sheikh, and the company

Working Theater

Carla’s Quince Created by The Voting Project (Ashley Alvarez, Galia Backal, Yadira De La Riva, Jorge Donoso, Estefanía Fadul, Michael León, María Peyramaure, Camila Pérez Santiago, and Christina Watanabe)

Directed by Estefanía Fadul

Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse Concept and Choreography: Adam W. McKinney Director: Daniel Banks App Design: Digital Ant Media Music by: Third Wind Productions/Maritri Garrett and David Winder Graphic Design: Troy Lambert Tintype Photography: Will Wilson Guest Artists: Edykah Chilome, Julienne Greer, Sedrick Huckaby, Jordan Jones, Opal Lee, Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. Associate Producer: Jiles King; Production Associate: NaTasha Thompson; Production Manager: Jamelyn Ebelacker; Production Assistant: Lauren Huynh; Sound Engineering: Michael Billow and Gregg Powers

A DNAWORKS Production

Package Play Created and Performed by Katie Farmin

Tricklock Company

A Thousand Ways (Part One) Created by 600 HIGHWAYMEN | Abigail Browde & Michael Silverstone

ArKtype/Thomas O. Kriegsmann, Executive Producer

Wild Thyme Written by Liz Duffy Adams Produced by West Hyler and Shelley Butler

Artistic Stamp

BEST AUDIO THEATER PRODUCTION
The Chonburi International Hotel and Butterfly Club
Written by Shakina Nayfack
Directed by Laura Savia
Williamstown Theatre Festival and Audible

G.O.A.T. Written by Ngozi Anyanwu Directed by Whitney White

Playing On Air

OUTTAKES Written by Qui Nguyen Directed by May Adrales

Playwrights Horizons

Prime: A Practical Breviary Written, Composed and Performed by Heather Christian

Playwrights Horizons

Tiger Style! Written by Mike Lew Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel

Huntington Theatre Company and WGBH Radio

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL CONCERT PRODUCTION
Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Produced by Stephen Sondheim, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Bill Curran, Raúl Esparza, John Gore, and Paul Wontorek
Directed by Paul Wontorek
Benefit for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty)

BREATHING FREE, a visual album featuring excerpts from Beethoven’s Fidelio, Negro Spirituals, and songs by Harry T. Burleigh, Florence Price, Langston Hughes, Anthony Davis, and Thulani Davis
Heartbeat Opera

Myths and Hymns (Chapters 1 and 2)
Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel
Conceived and supervised by Ted Sperling Directed by Greg Anderson, Sammi Cannold, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Lear deBessonet, Khristian Dentley, Doug Fitch, Anne Kauffman, and Ted Sperling

Presented by Mastervoices

Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical Conceived by The #RatatouilleMusical Community

Featuring Work by Danny Bernstein, Gabbi Bolt, Kevin Chamberlin, RJ Christian, Nathan Fosbinder, Emily Jacobsen, Sophia James, Katie Johantgen, Daniel Mertzlufft, Alec Powell, Blake Rouse and Jessica Siswick

Adapted for the stage by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley Directed by Lucy Moss

Presented by Seaview

2021 SPECIAL RECOGNITION DRAMA LEAGUE AWARDS Gratitude Award Honoree

Iris Smith

The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing Honoree
Liesl Tommy

Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater Honoree
Richard & Demi Weitz

Unique Contribution to Theater Award Honoree
The Actors Fund