Announcing the 24-25 T. Earle Award Winners

TUSCALOOSA, AL – Theatre Tuscaloosa held the 29^th annual T. Earle Johnson Awards Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 24 at the Bean-Brown Theatre at Shelton State to celebrate the 2024-25 winners.

Each year, Theatre Tuscaloosa holds its version of the Tony's: The T. Earle Johnson Awards, which is lovingly shortened to "The T. Earles." This program strives to recognize excellence demonstrated by Theatre Tuscaloosa performers, technicians, volunteers, patrons, sponsors, and contributors.

Audience members are encouraged to vote for the performance-related categories following the summer musical each season. Over the years, this program has grown with new categories and awards being added to recognize more and more people who invest their time, treasure, and talent to make Theatre Tuscaloosa the amazing organization it has become.

The service and volunteer award winners included:

●       David Jones - Paul K. Looney, “Our Ox is in the Ditch” Award for supporting the technical side of many of this season’s shows, including helping install lighting for “Anastasia.”

●       Jackson Shackelford - Newcomer of the Year for appearing in “Anastasia” as the understudy for Dmitry (for which he went on twice) and Gleb.  

●       Harley Sabbagh Kelley - Jake Leigeber Volunteer of the Year Award for going above and beyond the call of duty.

●       BankFirst - Patron of the Year Award for their extraordinary contributions to the theatre.

●       Therrin Eber - Doug Perry Outstanding Service to the Theatre Award for his resourcefulness in finding equipment to make “Anastasia” shine beautifully on stage.

●       Colleen Barkey - Charlie Dennis “Bear It” Award for Technical Service for her service in the costume department during “Anastasia.”

The acting award winners included:

●       Ernie Turley - Outstanding Featured Performance in SecondStage for his role in “Ghost Stories at the Drish”

●       Norquina Rieves - Outstanding Supporting Performance in SecondStage for her role in “Ghost Stories at the Drish”

●       Nicholas Pappas - Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play for his role as “Accompanist (Manny)”  in “Master Class”

●       Courtney Dover - Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical for her role as “Odette in Swan Lake” and “Tatiana Romanov” in “Anastasia”

●       Natassia Perrine - Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play for her role as “Sharon the Soprano” in “Master Class”

●       Adam Miller - Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Musical for his role as “Vlad” in “Anastasia”

●       Averie Bonneville - Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play for her role as “Bev” in “Graceland”

●       Autumn Fuller Bentley - Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical for her role as “Anya” in “Anastasia”

A new category was added to the T. Earles this year in honor of understudy performers. Named for an understudy who took on a lead role with a single night’s notice, the Cole Cabiness “Waiting in the Wings” Certificate honors the immense effort put in by those hardworking and little-recognized individuals. This certificate does not count towards All-Star Cast status, and current All-Star Cast members are eligible for this category.

The recipients of this certificate are:

●       Anna Clay Adams – “Master Class”

●       Bridget Bingham – “The Addams Family”

●       Averie Bonneville – “Asleep on the Wind”

●       Courtney Dover – “Anastasia”

●       Ellen Foxx – “The Addams Family”

●       Joseph Hardin – “Asleep on the Wind”

●       Alexa-Grace Lindley – “The Addams Family”

●       Preston Lumpkins – “The Addams Family”

●       Jackson Shakelford – “Anastasia” (2 roles!)

●       George Thagard – “Master Class”

●       Meredith Vaughn – “Anastasia”

●       Shenika Williams – “Graceland”

Ernie Turley was inducted into the All-Star Cast. Inductees must have received three prior T. Earle Awards. Once inducted, they are no longer eligible to be nominated for future awards. Honorees receive an All-Star Cast medal and are acknowledged on a plaque in the Bean-Brown Theatre. Members of the All-Star Cast serve as mentors and ambassadors to new actors, technicians, and volunteers, and their votes are given extra weight in future T. Earle awards.

More details about the categories and the history of the T. Earle Johnson Awards are available at www.theatretusc.com or 205.391.2277. 

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Theatre Tuscaloosa is a 501c3 not-for-profit community theatre located on the Martin Campus of Shelton State Community College.  Theatre Tuscaloosa has been enriching the greater Tuscaloosa community since 1971 through quality theatrical productions and educational outreach.