3 Rockville Community Theater Companies Nominated For 10 WATCH Awards

ROCKVILLE, MD — When the nominations for the 2022 Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) Awards were announced on Sunday, productions from three Rockville community theater companies received a combined total of 10 nominations.

Each year, WATCH presents awards recognizing outstanding artistic and technical achievements in community theater in the Washington, D.C. region.

For this year's awards, WATCH drew its nominations from 98 productions — 38 musicals and 60 plays — from the combined 2020/2022 performance seasons. A list of all the nominations is available online.

The WATCH Awards will be presented Sunday, March 19, at 7 p.m., during a ceremony at the Birchmere, which is located at 3701 Mount Vernon Ave. in Alexandria. Tickets are available for $20 via Ticketmaster or at the Birchmere box office.

For its productions of "A Raisin in the Sun," Moon Over Buffalo," and "She Stoops to Conquer," the Rockville Little Theatre received the five following nominations:

• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play – Lezlie T. Hatcher as “Lena Younger” – "A Raisin in the Sun"
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play – Tom Howley as “George Hay” – "Moon Over Buffalo"
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play – Andrea Spitz as “Charlotte Hay” – "Moon Over Buffalo"
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play – Jennifer Georgia – She Stoops to Conquer• Outstanding Set
• Painting in a Play – Nancy Carlin – "She Stoops to Conquer"

Rockville Musical Theatre's production of "Legally Blonde" received three nominations:

• Outstanding Choreography – Hayley North – "Legally Blonde"
• Outstanding Properties in a Musical – Jessie Krupin – "Legally Blonde"
• Outstanding Set Decoration in a Musical – Mark Hamberger & Jessie Krupin – "Legally Blonde"

For its productions of "Iolanthe" and "The Pirates of Penzance," the Victorian Lyric Opera Company was honored with two nominations:

• Outstanding Cameo in a Musical – Michael Galizia as “Private Willis” – "Iolanthe"
• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical – Stacey Hamilton – "The Pirates of Penzance"