MEDIA THEATRE WINS 16 2016 BROADWAY WORLD AWARDS FOR 'BEST OF PHILADELPHIA THEATRE'

The Media Theatre is the winner of 16 2016 Broadway World Awards for “Best of Philadelphia Theatre”. The Media Theatre, for the second consecutive year, swept major categories such as Best Musical, Best Play, Best Director, and every category for acting.

Jesse Cline, the Artistic Director for Media Music Theatre Company which is the professional music theatre organization housed at The Media Theatre, received his fourth win for Best Director. “These honors are a testament to the great work being done here on State Street in Media,” he said. “We are happy to be a large part of the Philadelphia theatre community.”

The nominations were announced back in November for productions which were produced between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016. The Media Theatre landed 49 nominations from the esteemed online theatrical magazine, and is now the winner of 16 Awards for 2016. Broadway World has headquarters in NYC and regional offices throughout the USA, giving up to the minute reports on all that is Broadway, Off-Broadway, and for each major city's theatre district and community.

After nominations were announced, Broadway World opened the voting up in each region to public voting. Members of each theatre community cast their votes as well as theatre patrons. The awards are very similar to the nationally televised People's Choice Awards, as the public chooses the winner in each category.

Gunar Daniels, the winner of the 2016 Broadway World Award for Best Actor in A Musical, as he flies through the air in The Media Theatre production, which also received Best Musical, Best Director of A Musical, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress as well as Best Ensemble.

With the accolades from the 2016 Broadway World Philadelphia Awards, The Media Theatre maintains its position as one of Philadelphia's most talked about and appreciated live theatre venues, as the heralded work of Media Music Theatre Company presented extremely popular and critically acclaimed productions last year such as "Billy Elliot" and "To Kill A Mockingbird", which were the two shows receiving the most wins for Media or any other theatre in the region. “Billy Elliot: The Musical” received six Broadway World Awards, with the play “To Kill A Mockingbird” receiving a total of seven.

The Media Theatre was nominated alongside other professional theatres in the Philadelphia/ Wilmington region including Walnut Street Theatre, Bristol Riverside Theatre, People's Light and Theatre Company, and The Arden Theatre.

Since 2012, The Media Theatre has won a total of 72 Broadway World Awards, cementing its status as one of Philadelphia’s premier theatres.

For the first time, one of its 2016 Broadway World Awards is in the category of Best New Work, which is for an original show having received its first production on The Media Theatre stage. The honor went to a popular production in its Children’s Series, “Peter Pan And Wendy”, which has original music by composer and lyricist Ben Kapilow. Kapilow is the theatre’s summer resident music director, heading up vocal and music during Camp Media Theatre and The Vocalist singing competition. The script is by Kate Herzlin.

The Media Theatre was nominated alongside other professional theatres in the Philadelphia/ Wilmington region including Walnut Street Theatre, Bristol Riverside Theatre, People's Light and Theatre Company, and The Arden Theatre.

The current production at The Media Theatre is Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, which is on stage January 25 through February 19 as part of its Broadway Series.

The Media Theatre won 2016 Broadway World Awards in the following categories:

Best Musical-- Billy Elliot

Best Play-- To Kill A Mockingbird

Best New Work---Peter Pan And Wendy: A New Musical

Best Director of A Musical-- Geoffrey Goldberg, Billy Elliot

Best Director of A Play-- Jesse Cline, To Kill A Mockingbird

Best Actor in A Musical---Gunar Daniels, Billy Elliot

Best Actor in A Play---Bob Stineman, To Kill A Mockingbird

Best Actress in A Musical---Elisa Matthews, Bridges of Madison County

Best Actress in A Play---Jolie Jaffe, To Kill A Mockingbird

Best Supporting Actor in A Musical---JD Triolo, Billy Elliot

Best Supporting Actor in A Play---Kelly Briggs, To Kill A Mockingbird

Best Supporting Actress in A Musical---Susan Wefel, Billy Elliot

Best Supporting Actress in A Play----Megan Rucidlo, To Kill A Mockingbird

Best Ensemble of A Musical---Billy Elliot

Best Ensemble of A Play---To Kill A Mockingbird

Best Special Event---Kelly Briggs: Broadway and Beyond

For tickets to “Romeo and Juliet” or any of The Media Theatre’s upcoming Broadway Series or Children’s Series productions, call 610-891-0100 or visit mediatheatre.org