Ten years ago the first-ever award ceremony was held honoring the best of theater productions, performances and creative work in the Twin Cities. Created by Scott Mayer, the awards—dubbed the Ivey Awards, after a popular, though long-gone watering hole/gathering place of the theater community. In the past ten years, the Iveys have become an occasion for raucous celebration and mutual bestowing of praise. This year's awards were presented last week at a two-hour long ceremony held at the Historic State Theater in downtown Minneapolis.

The Iveys are unique in that there are only two recurring categories: Emerging Artist and Lifetime Achievement. Otherwise, each year, the panel that selects honorees determines whether to honor productions, individuals, ensembles, or any other slice of the art theater-making. There are no announced nominees. The result is a program that is truly spontaneous, heartfelt, and free of commercialism. Tiny, little seen shows that have long since closed are as likely to be recognized as splashy work by major producers.

The 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented jointly to Michael Robins and Bonnie Morris, for 40 years as co-producing directors of Illusion Theater. During that time, Illusion has commissioned or developed over 350 plays, including one Pulitzer nominee (Miss Evers' Boys) and two that were made into feature films (Miss Evers' Boys, and The Velocity of Gary), and launched the Fresh Ink Festival (now in its 28th year) to support script development, the ten year old Lights Up! Series, and a raft of educational and training programs.

The Emerging Artist honoree was certainly the least surprising award of the evening. Tyler Michaels, who opened the award program reprising his radiant portrayal of the Emcee with "Willkommen" from Theater Latte Da's acclaimed production of Cabaret, has also been praised over the past year for roles in The Little Mermaid and the current Hello, Dolly!, both at Chanhassen Dinner Theater, and in My Fair Lady at the Guthrie. His name was on the top of everyone's list.

The program, directed by Michael Matthew Ferrell, was a joyous mix of giving out Ivey awards, and performances from some of the past year's highlights. After opening with "Willkommen," other performances were "Men-Struation," a segment from the comedy troupe Brave New Workshop's winter offering A Snowplow Named Desire; "Mrs. Housel: A Suicide Suite," from the play Archival Revival presented by Freshwater Theater; a preview of Park Square Theatre's production of The Color Purple, coming January 2015, with Regina Maria Williams singing "Push da Button"; and for a finale, from the just-closed Guys and Dolls at Bloomington Civic Theatre, a rousing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat."

Aside from the official entertainment and the playful banter between co-hosts Christina Baldwin and Randy Reyes, two of the Twin Cities brightest theater luminaries, the show was practically stolen by actor-playwright-humorist Ari Hoptman, who listed the many corporate and philanthropic sponsors interspersed with a hilariously undecipherable Germanic patois.

Another highlight was a parade of over-sized puppets representing the nine previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by the appearance on stage of seven of those nine past honorees. Seeing assembled on one stage these titans of Twin Cities vibrant theater scene was a lump-in-the-throat moment. The puppets were the work of Heart of the Beast Theater, which earlier in the evening had received an Ivey Award of its own.

One aspect of the surprise nature of the award announcements was that many of the honorees were sitting up in the balcony, causing longish delays for them to get to the stage, usually out of breath, to receive their Ivey. Perhaps the balcony seats can be reserved for those who—like myself—are there as spectators and to cheer on our theater heroes, with not a flea's chance of being called to the stage.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul are justifiably recognized for their richly talented and industrious theater community. However, most of the 69 theater companies from whose work the 2014 Ivey Awards were selected, operate on shoestrings, with little glamour or glitz. On this one night each year the community can dress to the nines, party till the cows come home, and celebrate the joy and wonder of their cumulative energy and output. Well deserved, and well done!

2014 Ivey Awards were presented to:

Lifetime Achievement: Michael Robins and Bonnie Morris, co-producing directors of Illusion Theater

Emerging Artist: Tyler Michaels

Productions Cited for Overall Excellence:

• Cabaret, Theater Latté Da
• Ordinary Days, Nautilus Music-Theater

Production cited for Intellect and Emotional Intensity: Rose, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company.

Individual Achievement:

• Sally Wingert, for performances in Rose, The Receptionist (Dark and Stormy Productions), Cabaret, and Tribes (Guthrie Theatre)
• Anne Byrd, for direction of The 39 Steps, Yellow Tree Theatre
• Nathan Cousins and Tristan Tiff for performances in The 39 Steps, Yellow Tree Theatre
• Seraphina Nova, playwright, for Dogwood, Candid Theater Company
• Eduardo Sicangco, set and costume design for Cinderella, Children's Theater Company
• Sandy Spieler and Julie Boada, properties design for Between the Worlds, Heart of the Beast Theater

Achievement as an Ensemble: Driving Miss Daisy, at Jungle Theatre.

- Arthur Dorman

Also see the season schedule for the Minneapolis - St. Paul region