Focus contributor, William Smythe, shares an ode to the amazing local theater community and the 2024 Ostrander Awards
A cavalcade of celebrities fills the lobby. Everyone dons finery—the binary thrown out the window. If you look good in a suit or better in a dress, nobody cares what gender you are; great style is all that matters here at the 40th Ostrander Awards held at the Orpheum Theatre.
Michael Donahue of the Memphis Flyer snaps photos beside the cocktail bar, where shrimp and cake adorn a table. But my eyes are on the trays of prosciutto and mojito melon balls dancing through the crowd. Will Ryder, 2024 winner of Focus’ Entertainer of the Year, and I made a simple joke to each other before the ceremony began.
Goldie Dee, winner of Best Supporting Actor in a Division II Performance, descends the stairway like a star ready for her close-up. That grand ole stairway is every diva’s friend—each nominee taking a turn to get photographed along the banister.
Goldie wasn’t the only queer winner, however. Friends of George’s swept the awards, too, winning many awards, including one for Hair and Wig. One of their members, Ty Phillips, won Sound Design. And finally, the entire company won Best Ensemble for their production Out in the Woods.
Iza Bateman, a former Focus cover story, was nominated for Best Stage Design in five separate performances and two categories. The Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Michael Detroit, summed up the evening’s awards well in his speech. He thanked every theater company, from Evergreen and New Ballet to Playhouse and the Quark, saying how the arts scene in Memphis keeps each other afloat.
“When one of us wins, all of us win,” he stated, adding his appreciation for the diversity of Memphis’ theater scene to resounding applause.
As I got up once in a while to either relieve myself or refresh my drink, Michael’s words sang well in the lobby. A playground of talent, a cafeteria of ideas, every person I passed was a variety of flavor and expression. I cannot wait to see what amazing plays arise from them all—our lovely theater family.
