Elly noms announced

There are already a couple of big winners after this year’s Elly nominations were announced on August 21. The Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance conducts the awards ceremony every year, awarding Ellys (named for the late Eleanor McClatchy, a well-known patron of the local stage) in an abundance of categories. First: Big Idea Theatre stands to win big, with a total of 26 nominations, including a fistful for its productions of The Underpants and Compleat Female Stage Beauty, both of which received “ravin’ Willie” reviews from SN&R. And Darryl Stroh from Runaway Stage Productions stands a pretty good chance of winning a choreography Elly, given that he’s got four (Curtains, Hairspray, Rent and Urinetown) of the five nominations in that category. The awards ceremony is set for September 25 at the Crest Theatre. For more information and to see the full list of nominees, visit the SARTA website at www.sarta.com.