Carbonell Awards Set for Nov. 14

Lauderhill Performing Arts Center

(PRESS RELEASE)_(South Florida – May 17, 2022) Jeff Kiltie, board president of the Carbonell Awards, South Florida’s Theatre & Arts Honors, today announced that the 45th annual awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 14 at 7:30 pm at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center at 3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill, FL 33311.
 
“Although we held a virtual awards ceremony in mid-2020, this will be our first live, in-person event since April 2019,” says Kiltie. “Everybody’s favorite ‘Theatre Prom’ is back—and we’re looking forward to a truly joyous celebration at our new and larger location so that more friends, fans, family members, and theater lovers can join us.”
 
“Working with the Carbonell Awards is sure to be an exciting, creative, artistic adventure, and the City of Lauderhill is extremely pleased to be a part of the process,” says Desorae Giles-Smith, Lauderhill City Manager. “We are proud that the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center is the venue of choice for an organization that highlights and encourages the performing arts throughout South Florida. We can’t wait to celebrate with everyone at this year’s in-person event.”

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Several hundred actors, musicians, performers, writers, directors, techies, 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®.
 
Fantel Music, the acclaimed South Florida producer of both live and virtual music and theater presentations, has been hired to produce the Carbonell Awards Ceremony this November, just as they did the virtual event in 2020. The wife-and-husband team of Caryl Fantel (music director, event producer, pianist, teacher, composer)  and Roy Fantel (drummer, percussionist, teacher, video-audio producer) have successfully developed, directed or produced numerous concerts, shows, and staged events throughout South Florida.
 
At this year’s entertainment-packed Carbonell Ceremony, awards will be presented in 20 competitive categories. A variety of Special Awards including The George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts honoring an individual (or team) who has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region, and the new Vinnette Carroll Award honoring an individual, theater or organization for significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in South Florida theater, will also be presented.
 
This will be the first Carbonell Awards under a new, more transparent process that replaced the previous two-tier judging system. Judges are now assigned primarily—but not exclusively—to their home counties thus maintaining the regional integrity of the awards. In addition, Judges will be utilizing a scoring rubric in evaluating on-stage and back-stage achievements, adapted from the highly respected ariZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence.
 
In addition, the Carbonell Awards added more than a dozen new judges from Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, including a number of BIPOC and multi-cultural judges.
 
At the awards ceremony on November 14, the Carbonells will present nominated musical theater performances from the recently completed theater season, as well as a preview snippet of live performances from current or upcoming productions.
 
As a result of this change, the awards ceremony will not only celebrate the excellence of recent productions, but it will also be a valuable opportunity to promote and sell tickets for current or upcoming shows. At the same time, smaller/newer/BIPOC professional theaters can take advantage of this performance opportunity to showcase their talent to the entire South Florida theatrical community.
 
The 2022 Jack Zink Scholarship winners, event sponsorship information, and how to purchase tickets to the Carbonell Awards Ceremony 2022 will be announced soon. The list of this season's Carbonell nominations and special award recipients will be announced at the conclusion of this season's evaluation period at the end of September. ​