For over 40 years, the Elliot Norton Awards have served as a beacon of recognition for theatrical excellence in Greater Boston.
Joyce Kulhawik, a former WBZ-TV arts and entertainment anchor, has been a prominent figure in the awards' history. Now, as president of the Boston Theater Critics Association, she takes on the role of host for this prestigious event, often referred to as "Boston's Tony Awards."
"This is a night when we say 'we see you, we hear you, you lift us up,'" Kulhawik stated, emphasizing the importance of celebrating the contributions of theater artists. "For this one night, we want to honor all the intangibles that you bring to Greater Boston."
This year boasts over 140 nominations across nearly two dozen categories, highlighting achievements both on stage and behind the scenes.
"Every single night, our theater artists bring to the stage realities that we may not be familiar with," Kulhawik remarked. "They encourage understanding, connection, empathy by showing us who we are. They shed light on the human condition, if you will. And they also entertain us and lift us up and make us feel connected."
Now in its 42nd iteration, the awards pay homage to Elliot Norton, a theater critic whose influence spanned nearly fifty years in Boston.
"It's a legacy we carry on in his name and appreciating his standards of excellence," Kulhawik noted. "We acknowledge the entire theater community. There were 120 productions onstage this past season."
From pre-Broadway runs like "The Queen of Versailles," featuring Kristin Chenoweth, to national tours with renowned performers and intimate black box theaters, Kulhawik asserts that every production enhances the Boston theater landscape.
"We are a place where creative work originates," she said. "We have Pulitzer Prize winners, Tony Award winners. We have amazing talent in this town."
This year's nominees include several plays from the Ufot Family Cycle, a two-year city-wide festival showcasing nine plays about a Nigerian-American family across generations.
"The writing has been extraordinary. The performances remarkable and it's reflected in a lot of our nominations this season," Kulhawik explained. "It has been a really amazing thing for Boston to embrace work like this and to be a breeding ground for work like this."
Experiencing this vibrant theater scene doesn't have to strain your wallet.
"These are affordable places to see theater and there are even venues where you can enjoy great performances for a pay-what-you-can model. Doors open, anybody can come in, just immerse yourself," Kulhawik encouraged. "It's very hard to pull off phenomenal theater and allow you to suspend disbelief. But when you do that, when the caliber of the acting is phenomenal and it all comes together and it's more than the sum of its parts, there is almost no more gratifying, uplifting experience."
Reflecting on his legacy in a 2000 interview at age 97, Norton expressed satisfaction with his impact: "Some of the work I've done has paid off. These people have come to love the theater. And I love the theater. I'm grateful to them," he shared.
The awards ceremony is set for June 2 at the Huntington Theater, where the Boston Theater Critics Association will also present a theater arts education grant aimed at nurturing future talent.
Emmy Award-winning journalist Paula Ebben co-anchors WBZ-TV News at 5:30 p.m. She also serves as an anchor for CBS News Boston and contributes to various newscasts, including WBZ-TV News' "Eye on Education" reports.
