Michael McKeever & Stuart Meltzer Return as Producer / Director
(South Florida – April 18, 2024) Gary Schweikhart, board president of the Carbonell Awards, South Florida’s Theatre & Arts Honors, today announced that the 47th annual awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 11 at 7:30 pm at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center at 3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill, FL 33311.
Hundreds of actors, musicians, performers, writers, directors, back-stage technicians, producers, reviewers, designers, specialty artists, and diehard theater fans are expected to attend the glittery, entertainment-packed event that is South Florida’s version of Broadway’s Tony Awards®.
At this year’s Carbonell Ceremony awards will be presented in 20 competitive categories, along with up to seven Special Awards including the prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts. Also, this year’s Jack Zink Memorial Scholarships will be presented to three talented high school graduates: Alexandra Dreszer from Miami-Dade County, Lillian Jones from Palm Beach County, and Morgan Brooke Wilder from Broward County.
The talented and dynamic team that are once again producing, writing, and directing this year’s Carbonell Awards Ceremony are:
Michael McKeever, the award-winning playwright, actor, and designer, whose plays (Daniel’s Husband, Mr. Parker, The Code, Suite Surrender, 37 Postcards, Stuff, Melt, etc.) have been produced around the world. He has been honored with numerous Silver Palm and Carbonell Awards, including in 2023 for Outstanding New Work, Play or Musical for American Rhapsody. A recipient of the prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in 2019, McKeever is co-founder of Zoetic Stage.
Stuart Meltzer, the founding artistic director of Zoetic Stage, has received 20 Carbonell Award nominations, winning numerous times for Best Director and for Best New Work for his play The Goldberg Variations. Among his award-winning productions as director are Next to Normal (2023), Sweeney Todd and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (both in 2019), Wrongful Death and Other Circus Acts (2018), Passion (2017), Clark Gable Slept Here (2015), and more. He is also the recipient of six Silver Palm Awards.
The team of McKeever and Meltzer has previously produced and directed numerous Carbonell Award Ceremonies, including last year’s highly praised production and six times between 2010 and 2016.
Tickets for the 2024 Carbonell Awards Ceremony will be $40 each (including a $7 service charge).
About The Carbonell Awards: The Carbonell Awards fosters the artistic growth of professional theater in South Florida by celebrating the diversity of our theater artists, providing educational scholarships, and building audience appreciation and civic pride by highlighting achievements of our theater community. More than 20 professional theater companies in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties participate in the awards process every year. The Carbonell Awards also celebrate the accomplishments of local artistic leaders by presenting several Special Awards.
Along with New York’s Drama Desk and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Awards, the Carbonell Awards are among the nation’s senior regional arts awards and predate others, including Washington, D.C.’s Helen Hayes Awards. The Carbonell Awards are named after Manuel Carbonell, an internationally renowned sculptor, who designed the original solid bronze and marble award in 1976, the signature trophy that is given annually to Carbonell Award winners. Over the last nearly 50 years, the Carbonell family has donated more than $250,000 in awards. For more information, please visit www.carbonellawards.org.
Photo Credits: Chris Headshots
