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PHILLY.COM philly.com Philly Inquirer phillyinquirer C2 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER TUESDAY, OCT. 25, 2016 Transformation, resilience, and hilarity in drag Barrymores Continued from CI Popera, produced in conjunction with an also-unlikely outsider, Opera Philadelphia. Scott McPheeters won the leading actor in a musical award as the transgender Warholite Candy Darling, while Malgorzata Kasprzycka won for supporting actress in a musical playing Andy Warhol's mother. "Awards make me feel funny inside," said choreographer Jenn Rose, who won for Black Nativity and whose acceptance speech was partly in the form of a street-style dance. Among theater companies, the top winner was Theatre Exile, which garnered five awards for The Invisible Hand, an Ayad Akhtar play that, in keeping with the company's history of no-comfort-zone subject matter, concerned an American banker held for ransom by radical Muslims in Pakistan, with reversed sympathies in a collision of reli j.

By Bill Chenevert FOR THE INQUIRER Kudos to the Arden's Terry Nolen for green-lighting an absurdly delightful drag play like The Legend of Georgia McBride, a stomp-your-feet, snap-your-fingers, clap-your-hands, sing-along joy. In the midst of the ugliest presidential election imaginable, Georgia McBride, as director Emmanuelle Delpech puts it in her program notes, is a warmhearted celebration of the American dream and the power of transformation. At Cleo's, a dive bar near Panama City, Americana takes two forms: an Elvis impersonator named Ca Jennifer Childs won for her role as an aging rock star in 1812 Productions' musical "I Will Not Go Gently." markgarvin gious and economic ideals. The play won for overall production of a play, director Matt Pfeiffer, leading actor Maboud Ebra-himzadeh, supporting actor J. Paul Nicholas, and sound sey and drag queens.

Nolen saw playwright Matthew Lopez's The Whipping Man take shape at the Arden in 2011. Lopez has a thing for staging transformative experiences, and, here, the main character, Casey, is the one who must rely on transformation and resilience to pay the bills, keep the lights on, and provide for his pregnant wife. When his Elvis impersonations can't bring home enough bacon, and the cousin of the bar's owner storms into town with a drag act that puts people in the seats, the only way Casey sees to survive is to put on a dress. Dito van Reigersberg (left), Matteo Scammell in "Legend of Georgia McBride." markgarvin Lighting Design: Ryan O'Gara, Man of La Mancha (Bristol Riverside Theatre). Sound Design: Michael Kiley, The Invisible Hand (Theatre Exile).

Original Music: Josh Tortora, He Who Gets Slapped (Philadelphia Artists' Collective). ChoreographyMovement: Jenn Rose, Black Nativity (Theatre Horizon). Music Direction: Will Brock, Black Nativity (Theatre Horizon). Ensemble in a Play: The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning (Inis Nua Theatre Company). New PlayMusical: R.

Eric Thomas, Time is on Our Side (Simpatico Theatre). F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist: Bi Jean Ngo. Virginia Brown Martin Philadelphia Award: Time is on Our Side (Simpatico Theatre). June and Steve Wolfson Award for Evolving Theater Company: Azuka Theatre Victory Foundation Award for Outstanding Theatre Education Program: 1812 Outreach (1812 Productions).

Lifetime Achievement Award: Sara Garonzik. Production of a Play: The Invisible Hand (Theatre Exile). Production of a Musical: The Secret Garden (Arden Theatre Company). Direction of a Play: Matt Pfeiffer, The Invisible Hand (Theatre Exile). Direction of a Musical: Matthew Decker, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Arden Theatre Company).

Leading Actor in a Play: Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, The Invisible Hand (Theatre Exile). Leading Actress in a Musical: Jennifer Childs, Will Not Go Gently (1812 Productions). Supporting Actor in a Play: J. Paul Nicholas, The Invisible Hand (Theatre Exile). Supporting Actress in a Play: Jaylene Clark Owens, An Octoroon (Wilma Theatre).

Supporting Actor in a Musical: Jake Blouch, See What I Wanna See (11th Hour Theatre). Supporting Actress in a Musical: Malgorzata Kasprzycka, Andy: A Popera (Bearded Ladies Cabaret). Scenic Design: Kuke Hegel-Cantarella, Auctioning the Ainsleys (Peoples Light). Outstanding Costume Design: Maria Jurglanis, Sense and Sensibility (People's Light). The Legend of Georgia McBride Through Dec.

4 at Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. Second St. 215-922-8900, Ardentheatre.org. Sara Garonzik was designer honored with the Michael Kiley. 2016 Lifetime Luck is al- Achievement Award, ways part of winning awards, though Exile's producing artistic director, Deborah Block, admitted that a company whose mandate is to push boundaries is just as likely to come up short.

As for the volatile subject matter of The Invisible Hand, she said its primary strength was not telling audiences what to think. "You don't do this for awards," said Kevin Glaccum, producing artistic director of Azuka Theatre, which won the June and Steve Wolfson Award for an evolving theater company. "Nobody makes enough money at this." But the awards are a particular boon for attracting audiences to Norristown's Theatre Horizon, which had three wins for Black Nativity, a loosely scripted Langston Hughes creation that sets the Christmas story in Africa, though this one was set partly in post-Katrina New Orleans. Awards went to Rose, the ensemble, and music director Will Brock. "We live in a complex society, and theater is an important place to work out its changing values," said Erin Reilly, Theatre Horizon artistic director.

Producing Black Nativity was a must for her, she said, in a Montgomery County community that is 40 percent African American. A more unconventional win went to Ashley Izard, named outstanding leading actress in a play for the Quintessence Theatre Group production of Samuel Beckett's absurdist Happy Days, in which her character was buried up to her waist. "Surreal" was her reaction, without a hint of irony. Not that tradition was shunted The results are delicious on a number of levels. For one, Matteo Scammell as Casey is outrageously fit, shows a lot of skin, and his in-and-out-of-drag quick changes are easy on the eyes.

It's fun, too, to watch a masculine man reject heels, makeup, and a wig on principle, yet eventually embrace the art of drag, not only because it supports his family, but also because femininity becomes a mind-set he can wear with pleasure. His teacher is Miss Tracy Mills (the owner's cousin), played by Dito van Reigersberg who, offstage, is famous as Martha Graham Cracker, filling the room at L'Etage on South Sixth Street as a hairy, unconventional queen who sings as if her life depends on it. Miss Mills, however, is a different kind of queen: She lip-synchs, she doesn't sit on as many laps or hit on as many patrons as other girls (that we can see), and she doesn't work alone. One night, when Miss Mills' partner has one too many, Casey becomes Georgia McBride, and a star is born. The small cast works with a brilliantly simple tri-fold set, with a pop-kissed score and eye-popping costumes.

Many of the Arden audience may never have been to a drag show, but Georgia takes them there, and they love it. You had to remind yourself at the end that you didn't have to tip the girls. People's Light won two design awards, for Auctioning the Ainsleys for scenic design and Sense and Sensibility for costume design, while the Philadelphia Artists' Collective won for outstanding original music in He Who Gets Slapped. After 35 years of running the Philadelphia Theatre Company and presenting major new works by Terrence McNally and Anna Deavere Smith, Sara Garonzik was given the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. She estimated that she had spent about 15,000 hours in darkened auditoriums, and had to admit that the community seems to be best when struggling.

"What is right about us?" she asked. "We don't stop and we don't fail." E3 dstearnsphillynews.com. aside. The Secret Garden, a long-popular story of an orphaned girl resettling in Yorkshire, was acclaimed for eloquent use of video, and was named for outstanding overall production of a musical at the Arden Theatre. Also, Arden's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales won an award for Matthew Decker for outstanding direction of a musical.

Jennifer Childs won best actress in a musical for a role she wrote for herself, in 1812 Productions' I Will Not Go Gently, about an aging rock star named Sierra Mist who is on an often-embarrassing comeback tour. The 11th Hour Theatre's production of the ambitious See What I Wanna See won Jake Blouch the trophy for outstanding supporting actor in a musical. ADVICE He doesn't want to have sex with her or anyone TIRDAD DERAKHSHANI A. (ffiderakhtOO CAROLYN HAX carolynhax Big-screen news Mel Gibson's image rehab is complete: The director's big comeback flick, Hacksaw Ridge, will be honored with a directing prize Nov. 6 at the Hollywood Film Awards.

The WWII epic starring Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, and Teresa Palmer opens Nov 4. Suicide Squad's 'Walking Dead9 dread Some viewers are outraged by the horrific deaths of two beloved characters on Sunday's Season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead. Fans are threatening to boycott, while sensitive viewers are disgusted by the violence. (I won't name the two, for folks yet to watch.) Exec producer Greg Nicotero digs fans' response. "We have done something to affect these people in a way they don't necessarily know how to process," he said Monday.

This season's brutal losses took the show in a brave new direction, he said. "Six seasons in, we've never seen fear on Rick's face," he said of star Andrew Lincoln's character. "This is something we've never seen before someone who broke Rick." Paris' Kardashian future Nevermind its status as one of the greatest cities in civilization: According to Paris' chief of police, the City of Lights won't have a future if the Kim Kardashian robbery isn't solved and the evildoers brought to justice. Is the Kardashian Kabal really that powerful? "It's important because of the implication: Is Paris secure?" top cop Christian Sainte tells Vanity Fair. He said the bad publicity could sink Paris' economy.

It'd be another big blow after last year's terrorist attacks that cost the city nearly $1 billion in tourism revenue. Will he solve the case? "I'm very confident," says Sainte. Mel Gibson in Australia at a "Hacksaw Ridge" showing hate you guys at your company, you guys get paid so much money." Or "Don't complain." Believe me, I never complain about my life to him. What he does not know is that I have a potentially fatal health condition that's not obvious from outside. I live with pain and fatigue every day and I'm barely holding on to my job, because I can't do as much as most employees, and fighting depression.

In short, my life is far from this lucky one he has decided I have. I have no desire to share my health condition with him, but would like him to stop these comments. Any advice? Answer: You can't make childish, bitter andor entitled people into mindful ones with the flick of a well-chosen phrase. A brush with death is no guarantee, either, apparently. You can make your case to your own satisfaction, though.

"You're assuming a lot," "Appearances can deceive," and "I wish it were that simple" with follow-up questions brushed off are not only pointed, they're true. He is, they can, and you do. E3 tellmewashpost.com. Chat with Carolyn Hax online at noon Fridays at www.washingtonpost.com. Carolyn Hax is on leave.

This column originally ran March 18, 2013. Question: Although we've had sex before, my boyfriend of two years has zero interest in sex with me or anyone else. He just doesn't feel the need (we used to have sex often, before the relationship was committed). This makes me feel unwanted, unloved, and incredibly self-conscious and paranoid. He has been to therapy (I am also in therapy), but his psychiatrist flat-out told him she didn't know how to help him, so he stopped going.

He turns down every other suggestion I make to try to overcome this issue, and talking about it leads to his anxiety and my tears. Yet, he says that he loves me and that he would spend the rest of his life with me if I could be happy. I need affection, and I want children. The choice I have in front of me is this: Spend the rest of my life with the love of my life, but childless and sexless, or spend the rest of my life without the love of my life, which feels like dying (even though I know it isn't). Answer: The sexless, child- less marriage will give you pain for his or your lifetime, or the rest of the marriage whichever ends first.

The breakup with "the love of my life" will give you pain until you find less-frustrating sources of love and companionship. I suspect your recovery speed will be in direct proportion to your willingness to let go of the idea that he (and the attendant rejection, paranoia, and tears) is truly right for you. Question: I have an acquaintance who has gone through a major health crisis in the last year we didn't know if he was going to make it. But he bounced back like a miracle. I am truly happy for him.

Only one problem: Whenever he sees me, he now goes into a barrage of comments about how lucky I am, in a way that feels hostile. I am totally sympathetic and can honestly deal with it if he just goes on about how hard life is we've all been there. But he always adds this twist: "Oh, I Margot Robbie, 26, will join James Corden, Domhnall Gleeson, and Rose Byrne on the cast of a live-actionanimated adaptation of Peter Rabbit, Variety says. Madea beats Jack Readier Tyler Perry's comedy Boo! A Madea Halloween tops the weekend box-office chart with a draw of $27.6 mil, according to studio estimates. It beat out Tom Cruise's actioner Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which is at No.

2 with $23 mil, while Ouija: Origin of Evil is in third place with $14 mil. E3 tirdadphillynews.com 215-854-2736.