Marquee Theater Journalists Association Reveals Nominees for 2026 Norbay Awards

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The awards program will honor technical craft, performance, and production at theaters across the North Bay region.

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The Marquee Theater Journalists Association has announced the nominees for their 2026 MTJA Norbay Theater Awards for the 2025/2026 seson.

The Association was originally formed by a group of Sonoma County-based theater journalists in 2015 with the intent of developing a critically-based awards program to acknowledge outstanding work done by the local theater community. It held Awards ceremonies from 2016 though 2020, then went dormant during the COVID pandemic. It was revived in 2025 in collaboration with the North Bay Bohemian and held its renamed MTJA Norbay Theater Awards ceremony in September of 2025.

There are a total of 18 categories of awards for technical craft, performance, and production. The MTJA was the first awards program in California to eliminate gender distinction in the performance categories and will continue to recognize outstanding supporting and lead performances in three genres - comedy, drama, and musical. The Association also recognizes the work of the Stage Director and Stage Manager in its Outstanding Production categories.

Changes to the program this year include the addition of an Outstanding Ensemble category and an Outstanding Specialty Production category that will be inclusive of productions 'outside the box' of the three standard play divisions.

Sonoma and Napa County productions in the 2025-2026 season attended by members Harry Duke, Cari Lynn Pace, Caitlin Strom-Martin, Beulah Vega, and Barry Willis qualified for Award consideration. Nominations and recipients are determined by ranked-choice voting of the membership.

This year's Awards will be presented at a gathering of the theater community on Sunday, October 18, at The California in Santa Rosa from 6:00pm - 8:00 pm. Admission is free and all supporters of local theater are invited.

Here are the nominees for the 2026 MTJA Norbay Theater Awards:

Donnie Frank, My Fair Lady, Cinnabar Theater Donnie Frank, Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company Adriana Gutierrez, It's a Wonderful Life, Spreckels Theatre Company Mae Heagerty-Matos, Bad Seed, 6th Street Playhouse Barbara McFadden , Peter & Alice, Lucky Penny Productions

Robin DeLuca, A Night with Janis Joplin , Sonoma Arts Live April George, The Secret Garden, Cinnabar Theater Eddy Hansen, Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company Noah Hewitt, Marjorie Prime, 6th Street Playhouse Missy Weaver, Woody Guthrie 's American Song, Mercury Theater

Peter Crompton, The Secret Garden, Cinnabar Theater Eddy Hansen, Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company Eddy Hansen, It's a Wonderful Life, Spreckels Theatre Company Bruce Lackovic, Bad Seed, 6th Street Playhouse Barry Martin , Peter & Alice, Lucky Penny Productions

Rob Broadhurst , Revenge of the Rebobs!, Lucky Penny Productions Jessica Johnson , Featherbaby, Spreckels Theatre Company Jessica Johnson , Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company Thomas Leukens, A Night with Janis Joplin , Sonoma Arts Live Marisa Whitmore, My Children! My Africa!, The 222

Rob Broadhurst , Revenge of the Rebobs!, Lucky Penny Productions Craig Burdette, The Drowsy Chaperone, Lucky Penny Productions Aja Gianola, A Night with Janis Joplin , Sonoma Arts Live Lucas Sherman, Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company Brett Strader, My Fair Lady, Cinnabar Theater

Malia Abayon, A Christmas Story, 6th Street Playhouse Christian Arteaga, My Fair Lady, Cinnabar Theater Alex Gomez, The Drowsy Chaperone, Lucky Penny Productions Alex Gomez, Godspell, Lucky Penny Productions Karen Miles, Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company

The Comedy of Hamlet, Santa Rosa Junior College Directed by Reed Martin / Stage Management by Kai Clark

Hello, Dolly!, Santa Rosa Junior College Directed by Gina Alvarado / Stage Management by Dianne Harrison

Into The Woods, Napa Valley College Directed by Tia Madison

Ride the Cyclone, Santa Rosa Junior College Directed by Sarah Wintermeyer / Stage Management by Marsh Jackson

All in Favor, Montgomery High School Student Production Directed by Chris Schloemp / Stage Management by Ethan Magers

La rondine, Mercury Theater Opera Directed by Ellie Lichenstein / Stage Management by Ingrid Emming

Shirley Valentine, Sonoma Arts Live Solo Production Directed by Sharon Winegar / Stage Management by Loryn Hatten

X, SRJC Theater Student Production Directed by Jaden 'Moose' Frank / Stage Management by Marsh Jackson

The Christians, Cinnabar Theater The Homecoming, Roustabout Theater The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Mercury Theater Ride the Cyclone, Santa Rosa Junior College We are proud to present..., Left Edge Theatre

John Craven , Bad Seed, 6th Street Playhouse Rosie Frater, It's a Wonderful Life, Spreckels Theatre Company Jonathan Graham, The Outgoing Tide, Cloverdale Performing Arts Center Mary Gannon Graham, Bad Seed, 6th Street Playhouse Tanya Marie, Laundry and Bourbon, The 222

Isiah Carter, We Are Proud to Present..., Left Edge Theatre Tamar Cohn, Marjorie Prime, 6th Street Playhouse Sandra Ish, Bad Seed, 6th Street Playhouse Nic Moore, It's a Wonderful Life, Spreckels Theatre Company Andrew Patton , The Christians, Cinnabar Theater

Bad Seed, 6th Street Playhouse Directed by David Lear / Stage Management by April George

The Christians, Cinnabar Theater Directed by Nathan Cummings / Stage Management by Elise Clark

The Lifespan of a Fact, 6th Street Playhouse Directed by Libby Oberlin / Stage Management by Areya Rowan

Marjorie Prime, 6th Street Playhouse Directed by John Browning / Stage Management by Kasey Vannoy

My Children! My Africa!, The 222 Directed by Robert Parsons / Stage Management by Sheila Devitt

Dana Hunt, Bootycandy, Left Edge Theatre Lexus Fletcher, Bootycandy, Left Edge Theatre Sheila Licherie, Home, I'm Darling, Sonoma Arts Live Mercedes Murphy, Featherbaby, Spreckels Theatre Company Tim Setzer, Sherwood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Cinnabar Theater

Gina Alvarado/Matt Cadigan, Featherbaby, Spreckels Theatre Company Chelsea Jennings Bell, Eureka Day, Raven Players Jonathen Blue, Bootycandy, Left Edge Theatre Kevin Bordi, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Mercury Theater David Yen, Sherwood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Cinnabar Theater

Bootycandy, Left Edge Theatre Directed by Serena Elize Flores / Stage Management by Lindsay John

Eureka Day, Raven Players Directed by Steven David Martin / Stage Management by Jenna Vera Dolcini

Featherbaby, Spreckels Theatre Company Directed by Skylar Evans / Stage Management by Cecelia Hamilton-Lee

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Mercury Theater Directed by Keith Baker / Stage Management by Cecelia Hamilton-Lee

We are proud to present..., Left Edge Theatre Directed by Skylar Evans / Stage Management by Shanay Howell

Sam Coughlin, Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company HarriettePearl Fugitt, A Christmas Story, 6th Street Playhouse Beckett Hepp, The Secret Garden, Cinnabar Theater Nora Summers, A Christmas Story, 6th Street Playhouse Tim Setzer, My Fair Lady, Cinnabar Theater

Daniela Innocenti Beem, Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company Serena Elize Flores, Hands on a Hardbody, Spreckels Theatre Company Libby Oberlin, A Night with Janis Joplin , Sonoma Arts Live DC Scarpelli , The Drowsy Chaperone, Lucky Penny Productions Violet Spears, The Secret Garden, Cinnabar Theater

The Drowsy Chaperone, Lucky Penny Productions Directed by Daren A.C. Carollo / Stage Management by Jeff Arriaga

Into the Woods, Spreckels Theatre Company Directed by Sheri Lee Miller / Stage Management by Maggie Davis

A Night with Janis Joplin , Sonoma Arts Live Directed by Carl Jordan / Stage Management by Loryn Hatten

Revenge of the Rebobs!, Lucky Penny Productions Directed by Barry Martin / Stage Management by Jeff Arriaga

The Secret Garden, Cinnabar Theater Directed by Jane Erwin / Stage Management by Elise Clark

This Association looks forward to giving the community an opportunity to gather and celebrate all the hard work done by North Bay theatre artists in the 2025/2026 season at their event in October.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/Marquee-Theater-Journalists-Association-Announces-2026-Norbay-Theater-Awards-Nominees-20260918)._