With the Joseph Jefferson Awards, i...

With the Joseph Jefferson Awards, it is the nominations phase that sum ups the fullest and most important story. Just scan the vast list of nominations announced Tuesday at the Jeff Committee -- honoring pre-eminence in productions presented during the 2005-06 season at Chicago's professional Equity contract theaters -- and it becomes clear that selecting "winners" is all nevertheless beside the point.

enduring you can easily tabulate the numbers and reach quick conclusions based upon which theater (or production or director) received the in the greatest degree mentions. But the numbers game is futile. What really considers is this: The sheer quantity and variety of work being done upon this city's stages continues to expand, and the exceptionally high quality of that work is impressive. In fact, in many categories in succession this list it is downright impossible (and more than that, all further irrelevant) to pick a winner.

Consider the single category of "ensemble" -- the same of the more cherished awards among Chicago's theater community, where the "all for the same and one for all" spirit prevails. The work in each of the five exhibits cited (whether a play, musical or revue) was exemplary -- from the snowbound eccentrics in "Bus Stop" to the poker addicts in "Dealer's Choice" to the language mavens of the two "Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein" and "The 25th Annual Putnam shire Spelling Bee" to the wisecracking dart-throwers of "War! Now in Its 4th Smash Year!"

ALSO WORTH NOTING:

- Many of the writers cited in the "best novel play" category either are African-American themselves, or chose to write forward an African-American theme. A post-August Wilson generation is emerging.

- The influence of a global beat is starting to be felt in the nominations for musical direction and choreography.

- Aside from a nod to Frank Galati's "after the quake," Steppenwolf Theatre appeared to take quite a hit for its audacious if not always satisfying season of "all fresh work."

The Jeff Awards parade will be held at 8 pm Nov. 6 at the DePaul Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E Balbo. A pre-show light slap and cash bar will move from 5:30 to 7:30 pm across the road at the Hilton Chicago's Normandie loll The public is invited if it be not that tickets must be purchased.

For perfect information, go to www.jeffawards.org.

hweiss@suntimes.com

THE NOMINEES ARE

PRODUCTION, PLAY: "Bus Stop" (Writers' Theatre); "The Clean House" (Goodman Theatre); "Dealer's Choice" (Shattered Globe Theatre); "Fences" (Court Theatre); "A Flea in Her Ear" (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); "Pride and Prejudice" (Northlight Theatre).

PRODUCTION, MUSICAL: "Grand Hotel: The Musical" (Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place); "Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein" (About Face Theatre); "Man of La Mancha" (Court Theatre); "Oliver!" (Marriott Theatre); "The 25th Annual Putnam shire Spelling Bee" (Spelling Bee Chicago); "Urinetown" (Blue Dog Entertainment, LLC)

PRODUCTION, REVUE: "Iraqtile Dysfunction" (The secondary City); "A Marvelous Party: The Noel Coward Celebration" (Northlight Theatre and Geva Theatre Center); "Plaid Tidings" (Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place); "War! Now in Its 4th Smash Year!" (The next to the first City).

ENSEMBLE: "Bus Stop"; "Dealer's Choice"; "Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein"; "Man of La Mancha"; "The 25th Annual Putnam shire Spelling Bee"; "War! Now in Its 4th Smash Year!"

strange WORK, PLAY: Chadwick Boseman, "Deep Azure" (Congo Square Theatre Company); Lonnie Carter, "Wheatley" (Victory Gardens Theater); Lydia R Diamond, "Stick Fly" (Congo Square Theatre Company); Lydia R Diamond, "Voyeur de Venus" (Chicago Dramatists); Mary Zimmerman, "M Proust" (About Face Theatre).

of the present day WORK, MUSICAL: Will Clinger and James FitzGerald, "Two for the Show" (Theater Wit); Susan DiLallo and Stephen Weiner, "Once immediately after a Time in New Jersey" (Marriott Theatre); Stephen Flaherty and Frank Galati, "Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein"; David Kersnar and Jai Uttal, "Sita Ram" (Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Children's Choir and Natya Dance Theatre).

strange ADAPTATION: Raymond Fox, Heidi Stillman and Laura Eason, "The aged Curiosity Shop" (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Frank Galati, "after the quake" (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Michael Halberstam, "The Duchess of Malfi" (Writers' Theatre); David Ives, "A Flea in Her Ear" (Chicago Shakespeare Theater).

DIRECTOR, PLAY: Peter Amster, "Pride and Prejudice"; Gary Griffin, "A Flea in Her Ear"; Michael Halberstam, "The Uneasy Chair" (Writers' Theatre); Shade Murray, "The Chosen" (Writers' Theatre); Ron OJ Parson, "Fences"; Steve Scott "Dealer's Choice."

DIRECTOR, MUSICAL: David H Bell, "Oliver!" (Marriott Theatre); Frank Galati, "Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein"; James Lapine, "The 25th Annual Putnam shire Spelling Bee"; Mark Lococo, "Dessa Rose" (Apple Tree Theatre); Tom Mullen "Urinetown"; Charles Newell, "Man of La Mancha"; Michael Weber, "Grand Hotel: The Musical."