Kensington Arts' 'Spider Woman' Wins 5 Community Theater Honors

The Kensington Arts Theatre was among the winners at the sixth annual Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH), with the troupe taking home two of the top awards for its production of the musical "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

Andy Izquierdo was honored as outstanding actor in a musical for his work as Valentin, a Marxist revolutionary who is tossed into a South American prison. Craig Pettinati was named outstanding director in the musical category.

The troupe received three other awards for the production. Pam Mueller won for outstanding choreography and Amy Martin won for outstanding musical direction. Kevin Boyce and Jenna Ballard also won for outstanding light design for the musical, which featured challenging dream-like segments.

Judges evaluated 95 productions -- 25 musicals and 70 plays -- staged last year by 25 community-based theater companies in suburban Maryland, northern Virginia and the District. The awards were announced Sunday night at Alexandria's Birchmere hall at a gala that featured selections from the nominated musicals and drew almost 500 members of the theater community.

"Kiss of the Spider Woman" is a grim and gritty tale that studies the relationship between two men sharing a prison cell, eventually becoming a tale of the healing power of the imagination. The production received 15 nominations in a variety of artistic and technical categories. Izquierdo's co-star, Diego Prieto, was nominated for his work as Molina, Valentin's flamboyant cell mate.

Prieto received the only standing ovation at the gala after his moving performance of the ballad "She's a Woman," which Izquierdo acknowledged in his acceptance speech. "After seeing Diego performing, I have no idea how I got this," he said, holding up his trophy.

Rockville Musical Theatre also won an award, as Liz Weber picked up a trophy in the outstanding cameo category for the group's production of the musical "Pippin."

Silver Spring Stage, Rockville Little Theatre and Montgomery Playhouse had nominations in a variety of categories but were denied any awards.

In Virginia, Herndon's Elden Street Players and the Reston Community Players won top honors, with Elden Street taking the trophy for outstanding play and the Reston troupe winning outstanding musical honors. For both groups, it is a return to the top spots in approval from members of the Washington area's local theater community, after each company was almost shut out last year. The Elden Street Players won nine awards, eight for "The Weir," its play based on story-telling at an Irish pub. The Reston Community Players won eight, all for its production of the musical "Disney's Beauty and the Beast."

"Someone told me it was impossible to overproduce community theater," said Reston producer Rick Schneider. "But that's exactly what we set out to do from the very beginning, to make 'Beauty and the Beast' a big show, with everything over the top."

A total of 28 awards were given to theater groups in the Washington area, most of them from Montgomery, Fairfax and Arlington counties.