Celebrating Award-Winning Theater

Theatre Palisades Hosts Annual Meeting and Awards Show

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Theatre Palisades hosted its Annual Meeting and Awards Show on Sunday evening, August 17, at Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club in Marina del Rey—with a program featuring preview scenes, musical numbers and reflections on the loss of Pierson Playhouse.

The playhouse—home to Theatre Palisades, Theatre Palisades Youth and Teen, and Theatre Palisades Actors’ Troupe—was destroyed in the Palisades fire. Despite this loss, programming for the theater groups has continued since January 7, taking place at venues like Paul Revere Charter Middle School, Westchester Playhouse and The Blue Door.

Theatre Palisades President Phil Bartolf began the evening by detailing the theater’s current financial situation, which he described as “very solid,” with a “quick settlement” received from insurance, which is being held for rebuilding efforts. Debris removal was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Bartolf said he anticipated a “capital campaign” of a “few million” would be needed as part of the rebuild process, as the insurance settlement covered the face value of Pierson Playhouse. In the interim, Theatre Palisades has been “nomadic,” Bartolf described, with the new board set to look into possibly renting a rehearsal and performance space while rebuild efforts are underway.

The theater has received a series of unsolicited donations following the fire, including from the Samohi Theatre and Long Beach Shakespeare Company.

A lifetime membership award was given to Cynthia Wright-Banks for assisting with the theater for 55 years, including navigating building the performance space on Temescal Canyon Road after the lot was gifted from Lelah and J. Townley Pierson.

“It’s about time,” Wright-Banks said when receiving the honor.

TP Board Member Hahnah Jackson then announced the incoming board, which includes Bartolf as president, Jackson as VP of administration, Richard Johnson as VP of building operations, Sherman Wayne as VP of production, Rich Little as secretary and Mitch Feinstein as acting treasurer.

General board members will be Michael Keith Allen, Jon Ganz, Nona Hale, Betsy Handler, Josh Harper, Manfred Hofer, Martha Hunter, Maria O’Connor, Maria Pavone, Holly Sidell, Firdosi Wharton-Ali and Wright-Banks.

The awards show portion of the evening—which was emceed by Hunter and Destin Bass—honored three performances that took place in 2024: “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” “Private Eyes” and “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

Wayne was brought up for a “special musical number,” “I Want to Linger” from “The Andrews Brothers,” led by Tasha Taylor and featuring a dozen performers, to celebrate his 90th birthday. He described working with Theatre Palisades as a “highlight of my life,” making “beautiful art.”

Ali Banks and Doug Green performed their annual show medley—parodying songs to highlight the plays and musicals being awarded—concluding with the audience joining to chant “we will see her standing proud again” in reference to Pierson Playhouse.

After a scene from “The Wisdom of Eve” and performance of “Take Me Or Leave Me” from “Rent,” Bartolf and Wayne honored Clayton Collins before he leaves for college in Michigan for his contributions to lighting design for various shows since he was 9 and “love of Theatre Palisades.” Collins described being at the playhouse at all hours hanging lights: “Thank you for trusting me,” he later said of his work.

Technical Awards were presented by Sara Kaner and Cara Kluver to Joanne Reich for Graphic Design for “Private Eyes,” Bass and Jackson for Costume Design for “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” and Susan Stangl for Sound Design, Collins for Lighting Design, and Wayne for Set Design for “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

Supporting Actor Awards—presented by Valerie Ruel and Celeste Keith—were given to Hunter for her role as Marjorie Baverstock and Brendan Serapiglia as Detective Michael Kelly in “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.” Presented by Ashley Hawkins and Hofer, Featured Actor Awards went to Kluver as Nikki Crandall in “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” and Anthony Galang as Michael in “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

“I’m usually a singer so I guess this [award] makes me an actor,” Galang said at the podium.

Lead Actor Awards were then presented by Hunter and O’Connor, with Kluver being awarded for her role as Lisa in “Private Eyes” and Bass as Jonathan Larson in “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

Kluver said that working with Theatre Palisades has been a “wonderful way to get back into theater” after she had taken a break, while Bass said of the role: “Jon will be with me for a lifetime.”

The Award for Direction was presented by Feinstein to Lindsay Johnson followed by the Award for Production, presented by Steven Frankenfield, to Hunter and Laura Goldstein—both for “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

The evening concluded with a raffle, featuring items like gift cards to Bacio di Latte and Labubus, and a closing performance of “Louder Than Words” from “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

The next Theatre Palisades play will be “The Wisdom of Eve,” which is set to open September 5 at The Blue Door in Culver City.