Sierra Stages receives 10 Elly Award nominations

On Sunday, Sierra Stages received 10 Elly Award nominations for two of our productions over the past year — Lend Me A Tenor, directed by Diane Fetterly and Old Explorers, directed by Robert Rossman and Stephen Wellman.

Sierra Stages, one of Nevada County’s local community theatre groups, has received 10 Elly Award nominations for two of its productions over the past year.  Sierra Stages’ production of “Lend Me A Tenor” received six nominations, including overall production in the comedy category. Individuals receiving nominations for “Lend Me A Tenor” include Diane Fetterly (direction), Robert Rossman (leading actor), Frances Boero (supporting actress), Pamela Hodges (set design), and Ardith Gray (costume design).  Sierra Stages’ production of “Old Explorers” received four nominations, including overall production in the comedy category.  Individual nominations include Robert Rossman (direction and leading actor), Stephen Wellman (direction), and Rod Lewis (lighting design). 

The annual Elly Awards are presented by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) and honor outstanding achievements of community theatres and artists in the Sacramento area.  The Elly Awards are named for the late Eleanor McClatchy, who was a devoted patron of the local arts.

“We are honored that two of our four productions over the past year were nominated for Elly Awards,” said Peter Mason, president of the Board of Sierra Stages, adding that “the nominations are recognition of the incredibly talented theatrical community in which we live, with so many wonderful actors, directors, designers and technical folks.” 

Sierra Stages, a nonprofit tax-exempt organization, is now in its third season of presenting live theatre in western Nevada County.  Its next production will be the hilarious Tony Award-winning musical comedy, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, playing from October 6-22 at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center in Nevada City.  The group recently finished a successful run of the musical comedy, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at the Nevada Theatre.  Previous productions include Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” (which was nominated for three Elly Awards in 2009-2010), Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “A Grand Night for Singing” and the Sondheim revue “Marry Me A Little”.

Information about Sierra Stages and all of its productions may be found at SierraStages.org or by calling (530) 346-3210