The Week in Review

Lucille Lortel Winners Announced: The winners of the Lucille Lortel Awards, which honor achievement Off Broadway were announced. Clint Ramos won for his gag-filled set design for the Public Theater production of Colman Domingo's comedy Wild with Happy. Ramos is also known as a costume designer. Jessica Pabst took the award for costume design for Samuel D. Hunter's play The Whale, produced at Playwrights Horizons. Among Pabst's challenges was making the actor Shuler Hensley look like he weighed 600 pounds. Scott Zielinski took the lighting design award for the New York Theatre Workshop production of Paula Vogel's A Civil War Christmas; Zielinski's lighting was critical to creating the many locations in the cinematic script. Leah Gelpe took the sound design award for Greg Pierce's Slowgirl, produced by Lincoln Center Theater. Pierce's play is set in the Costa Rican jungle, and Gelpe's sound effects helped to establish the right atmosphere. The big winner at the awards was the Signature Theatre revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. For the full list of winners, go to http://plasa.me/japsk.

Robert Brill Named Associate Artist La Jolla Playhouse: The set designer Robert Brill, a native of San Diego, has been named associate artist of La Jolla Playhouse. The theatre's artistic director, Christopher Ashley, says "the program aims to put resident artists right at the center of our decision-making and how we speak to the public. The plan is for the initiative to grow to the point that there are two or three resident artists at a time; the Playhouse has acquired nearby housing for that purpose, Ashley notes." Full story: http://plasa.me/x6qka.

Construction Starts on Stalled LA Mission College Performing Arts Center: The new performing arts center at L.A.'s Mission College, which was been mired in financial difficulties, is finally beginning, although it is far from trouble-free. It's a long, long story, so for the details, go to http://plasa.me/332np.

Las Vegas' Huntridge Theatre to be Renovated: The Huntridge Theatre, an art deco gem from 1944 that fell into disrepair and also suffered a roof collapse in 1995, is now going to be renovated. Key quote: "Since then, the structure -- most recognizable by its art-deco design and 75'-high tower -- has sat vacant and, apparently, fallen into massive disrepair. 'It's a complete mess in there,'" Choudhry says. "'The good news is, we've got a good infrastructure to work with, so there's no need to tear any big piece of it down. But it's going to be a massive amount of work.'" For the full story: http://plasa.me/nbf43.

Eugene V. Wolsk, RIP: The Broadway producer and general manager Eugene V. Wolsk died May 2. He was 84. In a career of 35 years, he was associated with many distinguished productions, including Luther, The Impossible Years, The Lion in Winter, Mark Twain Tonight!, George M!, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, the musical The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Sticks and Bones, That Championship Season, the famous Public Theater Much Ado About Nothing, The Sunshine Boys, The Wiz, Sly Fox, Steaming, and Mastergate. For more, go to http://plasa.me/r06tm.

Nazi Tannhauser Booed by German Audience: Apparently, you can still shock a European opera audience. A new production of Tannhauser in Dusseldorf, Germany, earned boos from the audience for its depiction of a Nazi concentration camp. The panicked opera company has decided to replace it with a concert staging, saying in a statement: "We are reacting with the utmost concern to the fact that a few scenes, particularly a very realistic depiction of a shooting scene, obviously led to great stress for numerous visitors. After considering all the arguments, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot justify such an extreme effect of our artistic work." For the full story, go to: http://plasa.me/xo7q6.

Man Killed by Sound Gear in Moscow: In yet another production-related death, a man who was constructing a stage for a protest rally against President Vladimir Putin was killed when a column of loudspeakers fell on him. Not many of the details are known, but the rest of the story can be found at: http://plasa.me/uciwb.