2016 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees Announced

Four theater artists will be honored by the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee during the presentation of its 2016 Awards in a luncheon ceremony to be held November 7, 2016. In honor of the late Jane Hewes, who worked on the Hewes Awards for 50 years, the 2015 ceremony was postponed and will be combined with the 2016 ceremony this fall. The 2015 honorees were announced earlier this year.

The 2016 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees are:

Mimi Lien (John, Signature Theatre Company) - Scenic Design
Ann Roth (Shuffle Along, Broadway) - Costume Design
Mark Barton (John, Signature Theatre Company) - Lighting Design
Peter Nigrini (Dear Evan Hansen, Second Stage) - Notable Effects (Projection Design)

Three of the four have received Henry Hewes Design Awards in the past. Mark Barton will receive his first Henry Hewes Design Award. For the 2016 honors, 84 theater artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 63 productions presented during the 2015-2016 New York theater season. (A complete list of 2016 nominees follows this awards announcement.)

These annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off Off Broadway, recognizing not only the traditional categories of scenic design, costume design and lighting design, but also "Notable Effects," which encompass sound, music, video, puppetry, and other creative elements. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee considered more than 200 productions when making its nominations.

Andrew Ondrejcak and David Zinn led all artists with three nominations each for their design work. Ten other designers received two nominations each for their work during the 2015-2016 season. The Off Broadway production of "Signature Plays," a compilation of work at Signature Theatre Company, garnered four nominations, the largest number among all productions. Seven productions received three nominations each and twelve productions received two nominations each.

The 2015 Henry Hewes Design Award Honorees, who will also receive their awards on November 7, are:

Riccardo Hernandez (The Invisible Hand, NY Theatre Workshop) - Scenic Design
Paul Tazewell (Hamilton, The Public Theater) - Costume Design
Howell Binkley (Hamilton, The Public Theater) - Lighting Design
Nevin Steinberg (Hamilton, The Public Theater) - Notable Effects (Sound Design)

The HHDA Committee named honorees in four categories: scenic design, costume design, lighting design and notable effects. As of the 2016 awards, the Committee has bestowed 298 honors on 192 artists representing 208 productions.