The 2024-2025 Silver Palm Awards Announced

The Silver Palm Awards were established to honor outstanding contributions to the South Florida professional theater community. Fashioned after the Obie Awards, the Silver Palms seek to honor new and exciting offerings of talent and skill ranging from performance, to design, to more unique, out of the box concepts and creations of theatrical excellence.

Twenty-one judges attended performances from Miami to Jupiter from September 2024 to August 2025.  Judges were responsible for planning and scheduling visits to see productions on their own time and had to contact theaters directly to reserve tickets.

A celebration is planned on October 27, 2025, at the Union Kitchen and Bar in Wilton Manors to honor the nominated artists.  Ticket information to follow.

The following are the nominees for this year’s Awards:

Ronnie Larsen–The Sound of Music by the Plays of Wilton created a new form of theatre in the round from the inside out. Ronnie Larsen has a knack for thinking outside the box, and he reached his zenith with his innovative, free, swivel chair production of The Sound of Music in Richardson Park. Ronnie made great use of the historic house, both inside and out, the lush grounds, outbuilding, and especially the gazebo, directing his large cast to perfection without the audience having to crane their necks to see the musical unfold all around them. It was a triumph.

Abbey Alder– Maria in The Sound of Music by the Plays of Wilton.  Abbey, a local, reliable and gifted ensemble member – who has always put her heart and soul in every part, no matter how small – was pulled out of the chorus line and allowed to shine! In portraying Maria, Alder proved herself to be a true triple-threat star.

Gina Montet-Exciting New Work, Dangerous Instruments at Palm Beach Dramaworks: Gina Montet’s play exposes the problems with how mental illness is treated by examining the hoops a young mother must jump through to get her genius young son the help he needs in a carousel of catch-22 situations. Watching her story play out was a visceral experience. The failure of discovery and how to conquer it.

Margaret Ledford– Outstanding Direction of Dangerous Instruments at Palm Beach Dramaworks: Kudos to Margaret for bringing this powerful truth to the stage.

William Hayes-The Dresser in The Dresser. This season’s production of The Dresser was the second time I saw William Hayes play this role at PBD, and his performance was memorable the first time, mesmerizing the second time. His growth in the role and as an actor was on full display. He brought so much heart and pathos to the role in a truly heartbreaking performance.

Gage Calenius-Astounding performance in The Last Yiddish Speaker at Theatre Lab. Gage played a character who could be sweet and romantic and then turn on a dime to do his rather nasty job.  Very interesting to watch.

Iain Batchelor-Actor and puppeteer in The Impossible Task of Today at Theatre Lab. A master class on acting. As a man barely able to function after losing his wife in a mass shooting, Batchelor’s rawness in every scene, his willingness to be completely open and vulnerable, barely containing the pain just beneath every moment, was one of the best performances of the season.

Nicole Perry-Performance and choreography in The Impossible Task of Today at Theatre Lab. Nicole Perry played The Dark, a shadowy figure who haunts, comforts, and tortures the main character, a man who lost his wife in a mass shooting. Her beautiful, choreographed dance performance was undeniably one of the most riveting in recent years, giving soul and depth to a flawless production.

Stephen Trovillion-For his outstanding performance as George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Trovillion gave a full-throttle performance of extremes. He both mined the considerable humor in the role and emphasized the character’s volatile streak of cruelty. George’s dark, passive-aggressive humor underscored the character’s underlying emotional turmoil.

Michel Hausmann–Lincoln Road Hustle, produced by Miami New Drama. Best ability to juggle actors and audiences in a complex series of scenes in storefronts and outdoor settings. Great characters in an involved plot that all came together in the end.

Caleb Scott-Best dog as man impersonation in Bad Dog at Miami New Drama. Scott transformed himself so realistically and incredibly into the character of a dog. His sounds and movements as “Buddy” were profound.

Seth Trucks became physically and emotionally the character of Michal in The Pillowman at Zoetic Stage. Seth has been doing thoughtful, interesting work on South Florida Stages for years, but as the developmentally challenged brother in The Pillowman, he was a revelation. His performance was heartbreaking, funny, and ultimately, hauntingly beautiful.  Absolutely his best work to date, and one of the best performances of the season.

Stuart Meltzer-For the best new way of looking at The Pillowman and the reimagining of Fiddler on the Roof, both at Zoetic Stage.  Meltzer brought the audience into the harrowing story of The Pillowman by staging it in the round.  In Fiddler, he winnowed the large cast of this classic musical down to the bare bones, using puppets to fill in smaller roles. His unique storytelling brought Fiddler on the Roof to life in a new way, while still holding fast to the show’s tradition.

Ryan Crout-musical director and breakout character performance as Nostradamus in Something Rotten at Slow Burn Theatre.  Crout, who is also the production’s musical director, portrayed Nostradamus with the right mix of eccentricity and an everyman quality that reinforced the character’s humor. With unruly gray hair and a gray beard, Crout looked unrecognizable. Double duty and excellent at both.

Michael Leeds-director of A Delicate Balance at Island City Stage. Michael Leeds’ intelligent direction, did not feel like the three hours it ran. Rather, the production proceeded at a pace that seems just right; it did not speed by and neither did it crawl. Impactful pauses, smart staging, and attention to detail highlighted Leeds’ direction.

Patti Gardner- actor in A Delicate Balance at Island City Stage. Gardner portrayed the role of Agnes. With her endless pontificating, as the glue that, in her mind, singlehandedly brings a modicum of order to chaos, she loves the sound of her own patrician voice, even if it falls on deaf ears.

Michael Gioia-actor in All My Sons at New City Players. Gioia, who has elevated shows in smaller companies for years, inhabited Joe’s pride in the world he has built and his love for his family.  Yet, Gioia alerted you that there’s something inside keeping him antsy. As the anxiety built, Gioia depicted someone who has almost convinced himself that his rationalizations were the truth.

Rita Cole-actor in The Confederates at New City Players. Cole’s performance was very nuanced; a professor walking a fine line between supporting students and being threatened by them. Being black enough but not black enough. Being a supporter of other women but not a supporter of other women.

Mallory Newbrough-as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Newbrough’s take on the famous “Adelaide’s Lament,” where she balanced humor with vulnerability as she expressed her underlying resentment over Nathan’s refusal to commit to her, was brilliant.  Newbrough allowed herself and the audience to be thoroughly possessed by Miss Adelaide.

Laura Turnbull-Lifetime achievement award as actress in All My Sons, New City Players, Lost in Yonkers, Palm Beach Dramaworks, and Anastasia, Slow Burn Theatre.  In All My Sons, Turnbull never disappoints.  Her portrayal of a mother walking a tightrope of hope and grief was stellar and the centerpiece of this production.

Special Award:

Brevo Theatre Company-Best new theatre company for their co-production of Fat Ham with  Island City Stage and Gablestage.