Greater Boston Stage Company Nominated For 19 IRNE Awards

The Greater Boston Stage Company has been nominated for 19 awards by the Independent Reviewers of New
England (IRNE), the highest number of nominations for GBSC ever. The IRNE Awards recognize the work of the previous year’s actors, directors, choreographers, designers and companies across the full spectrum of large, mid-size, small, and fringe theater companies.

GBSC’s Season 18 holiday offering, She Loves Me, led with seven nominations: Ilyse Robbins for Best
Director of a Musical, Sam Simahk for Best Actor in a Musical, Aimee Doherty for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, Jared Troilo for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, Brendan Callahan for Promising Young
Performer, Brynna Bloomfield for Best Set Design, and Gail Astrid Buckley for Best Costume Design.

Dames at Sea, the Season 18 opener, followed closely with six nominations: Steven Ladd Jones for Musical
Director, llyse Robbins for Choreography, Ephie Aardema for Best Actress in a Musical, Shana Dirik for Best
Supporting Actress in a Musical, Taavon Gamble for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, and the entire
production was nominated for Best Musical.

Gabriel, the tense tale of wartime intrigue and romance set in WWII which ran in April and May of 2017,
earned five nominations. These nominations are bittersweet as the great stage actor and friend of GBSC,
Thomas Derrah, passed pre-maturely not long after the production closed. Nominated for Gabriel are: Weylin
Symes for Best Director of a Play, Georgia Lyman for Best Actress in a Play, Thomas Derrah for Best Actor in
a Play, Marissa Simeqi for Promising Young Performer, and the entire production was nominated for Best Play.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, the Season 17 closer where “Giulia” cooked a full meal for her guests on
stage, received one nomination for Kerri Jill Garbis for Best Solo Performance.

“We’re extremely proud of all of our actors, designers, directors, MDs, and choreographers for being
nominated, but are especially thrilled that both Marissa and Brendan have been nominated for IRNE Awards," said Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes. "Brendan’s work in She Loves Me was beautiful and for Marissa to go head to head in scene work with the inimitable Thomas Derrah was phenomenal to watch. For years now, we have been committed, through our Young Company comes to Mainstage program, to providing age-appropriate performance opportunities for our student actors in our professional Mainstage productions.

"We think these IRNE award nominations are a testament to the incredible talent of these young performers and to our dedication to providing exceptional education and performance opportunities here at Greater Boston Stage Company. We are thankful that the IRNE committee is recognizing the great talent of Thomas Derrah. He was a very special actor. In one review of Gabriel, the critic called him a ‘chameleon.’ Tommy truly inhabited each role he approached. And he approached the role, the work, and the people around him with great honesty, joy, and kindness. He was simply a delight to have in the rehearsal room and on-stage and he is sorely missed.”

The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards were founded by Beverly Creasey of the Journal
Newspapers and Larry Stark of Theater Mirror in 1995. Each year, the IRNE Awards recognize the extraordinary wealth of talent in the Boston theatre community.

The 22nd Annual IRNE Awards Ceremony is a free event that will be held on Monday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Ballroom of the Holiday Inn at 1200 Beacon Street in Brookline, MA. For more information, visit
www.ireneawards.com.