Happy New Year—and Happy Awards Season. Chicago’s own version of the People’s Choice Awards, the BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards, kicked things off early for 2011 (or provided a coda on the past year, depending on how one looks at it) at a special ceremony at The Call nightclub on December 29, hosted by BroadwayWorld Chicago correspondent Paul W. Thompson. Among the winners of the “Broadys” (which are awarded based on fan votes tabulated online) were Fred Anzevino, Brenda Didier, and Jeremy Trager for direction, choreography, and performance, respectively, in Theo Ubiqueske’s production of Chess. Other winners were Writers Theatre ’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire; Drury Lane Oakbrook ’s much-praised production of Ragtime; Circle Theatre ’s production of The Philadelphia Story; and Jesus Christ Superstar at Theatre at the Center . A complete list of winners is available at the BroadwayWorld website.

Terry Teachout, the peripatetic theatre critic for The Wall Street Journal, continued his habit of showering love on Chicago and other Midwest theatre in his best-of-2010 list. Profiles Theatre , Remy Bumppo , Steppenwolf Theatre , TimeLine Theatre Company (named “Company of the Year” by Teachout), and Barbara Gaines of Chicago Shakespeare all got plaudits (the latter for her opera debut with Verdi’s Macbeth at the Lyric), as did American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

A few hits from last year are continuing into 2011. Black Ensemble Theater keeps the latest incarnation of Jackie Taylor’s The Other Cinderella on the boards through January 23. The Scooty and JoJo Show presentation of Alien Queen (which brings together the unholy—and perhaps inevitable—alliance of Ridley Scott’s “Alien” franchise with the music of Queen) gets three more outings this month at Circuit Nightclub on January 8, 15, and 22 at 8 p.m. The Magic Cabaret takes a breather, then returns Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. at the Greenhouse Theater beginning on January 19.

And also in the category of “returning hits,” Blewt! Productions brings back The Nairobi Project—created by Kenyan spammer/playwright Victor Gido and touching somehow on Tu B’Shevat (Jewish Arbor Day), homosexuality, and Dumbledore. It will go up in a six-week remount at Annoyance Productions at the end of February—see the website for details.

Brett Neveu’s The Earl, which bloodied up the stage at A Red Orchid Theatre five years ago in a six-month run, gets another turn at bat (or crowbar) February 2-23, presented by new outfit The Inconvenience in association with AROT. Danny Goldring returns in his original role as a B-movie icon whose violent on-screen shenanigans inspire three brothers to routinely bludgeon the crap out of each other in an intricate backyard game.

If that’s a little too strong for your tastes, perhaps the Auditorium Theatre ’s annual presentation of Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah will be more soothing. It runs as a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. January 15 and 16 with tenor Rodrick Dixon, soprano Alfreda Burke, and alto Karen Marie Richardson.

A Japanese-American civil rights hero gets his due in Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi, presented by Silk Road Theatre Project as part of Millennium Park’s “In the Works” series January 13-15 at the Pritzker Pavilion. Hirabayashi was one of only three Japanese-Americans who resisted Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which placed thousands of innocent American citizens in internment camps solely on grounds of race and national origin. His conviction was only overturned by the Supreme Court in 1988. Jeanne Sakata penned this tribute to Hirabayashi, directed by Jessica Kubzansky and starring Ryun Yu. Tickets are available at www.millenniumpark.org. In other Silk Road news, the company won the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company Grant, making them one of 10 companies selected in 2010—the first year that the 53-year-old organization, which also awards the Tonys, considered companies outside of New York. (Yes American Theatre Wing, there IS theatre outside of New York—you’ve been importing it for years.) SRTP gets $10,000 to apply to general operating expenses. And SRTP’s show from last season, The DNA Trail: A Genealogy of Short Plays about Ancestry, Identity, and Utter Confusion, gets a staged concert reading at University of Southern California on January 22

Ten Chimneys Foundation announces the 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship winners, who will join their peers in intensive master classes conducted by Olympia Dukakis at the bucolic home of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin. James Pickering, longtime associate of Milwaukee Rep and actor/director Austin Pendleton, longtime ensemble member with Steppenwolf Theatre , are among the honorees. In related news, the foundation has put out word that those famous “ten chimneys” are in need of some extensive repairs, so if you have any extra holiday cash rattling around, consider making a donation. (And if you’ve not visited the estate yet, make that a resolution for 2011—it truly is a treasure trove for fans of American theatre.)

Pendleton’s Steppenwolf comrade Rondi Reed returns as a series regular to the CBS comedy “Mike & Molly” as Mike’s mother, Peggy.

Some ch-ch-changes in personnel for 2011: New Leaf Theatre names Eleanor Hyde as managing director—Hyde moves up/over from her previous New Leaf post as director of special partnerships. She also has worked with Emerald City Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare , and The Hangar Theatre of Ithaca, NY. Meantime, Anthony Guerrero has stepped down as executive director of Hubris Productions in order to focus on completing his MBA at Roosevelt University. He will continue to work with the company as a consultant and will remain on the board of directors. For the immediate future, no one will replace Guerrero. Jacob Christopher Green stays on as artistic director, with Guerrero’s job being performed by various company members. Hubris will hire a new marketing and development director soon.

Longtime publicist Michelle Wilmoth departs her position at Margie Korshak Inc. and Chicago for dryer pastures. She’s heading to Las Vegas to work at Kirvin Doak Communications, promoting theatrical ventures in Sin City.

The League of Chicago Theatres named four new board members: Aurelia Fisher, producing director of About Face Theatre ; Diana Martinez, president of Second City International; Jan Kallish, executive director of Victory Gardens ; and Les Coney, executive vice president of Mesirow Financial. The League also announced that it is partnering with several other community organizations to co-sponsor a live televised debate for Chicago mayoral candidates at ABC-7 on February 17 at 7 p.m. (We’ll see how many are still in the race by then!)

Do you have some late holiday presents to buy? Dave Awl, former member of The Neo-Futurists , has released the revised and expanded second edition of his social-media guide, Facebook Me! There will be a party at the Neo-Futurarium on Thursday, January 13, at 7:30 p.m., including an onstage discussion with Awl, Christopher Piatt of “The Paper Machete” and Rachel Claff of The Neo-Futurists and BoyGirlBoyGirl, a Q and A session, book signing, and refreshments.

And longtime local fringe favorite Michael Martin of “Verbatim Verboten” fame (the long-running occasional exploration of off-guard celebrities, politicos, CEOs, and other movers and shakers who didn’t realize they were being taped) has released three of his “celebrity obsession” monologues (“Justine Bateman,” “Quentin T Do Amateur Night at De Apollo,” and “Hinckley on Foster” in one volume entitled And Thass de Trut’Ah Will Nevah Lie ‘Bout. Martin lives in New Orleans now, but returns frequently enough that we can still gladly call him one of our own. You can check out ordering information at his Facebook link .

What’s more fun on a cold winter’s night than bowling? Candelight! NightBlue Theater sponsors its second “Candlelight Bowl” at Orland Park Bowl, 8601 W. 159th Street in Orland Park, January 22 from 9 to 11:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person or $150 per lane (six bowlers per lane) and include a buffet dinner with prizes and raffle items.

Or if you prefer something more genteel, Moving Dock offers “A Winter Evening” benefit on Friday, January 28, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Fine Arts Building’s Curtiss Hall at 410 S. Michigan, 10th floor. The conceit is that you’re at a salon in 19th-century St. Petersburg, listening to classical music, where Lydia Avilova, Chekhov’s mistress, will appear in Dawn Arnold’s solo show The Lydia Etudes. Tickets are $40 per person and can be ordered online, or call 773/327-1572.

After the holiday sloth, everyone urges you to “Move!”—and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago gets in on the action with a benefit of that title at the Park West on January 29, 7 p.m. to midnight. A sneak peek of the work in the company’s upcoming March engagement at the Harris Theater, as well as the chance to learn some steps with company members, are included in the $150 admission. “Creative cocktail attire is de rigueur.” Call 847/866-6779 or visit giordanodance.com for reservations.

In other dance highlights, The Dance COLEctive celebrates 15 years under the leadership of founder Margi Cole with three premieres January 20-22 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Tickets online. Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre celebrates Black History Month with their sixth annual “Jubilation” concert at the Athenaeum, Feb. 18-19, which encompasses pieces inspired by spirituals, Miles Davis, and contemporary Chicago-based ragtime composer Reginald Robinson.

Links Hall brings back the steam-punk ballet “Coppelius,” created by Corpo Dance and Chris M. McCray. This prequel to “Coppelia” sold out the December run. You can catch the remount January 14-15 and January 21-22.

And legendary Broadway dancer/choreographer Ann Reinking and Melissa Thodos of Thodos Dance Chicago premiere their one-act ballet collaboration, “White City: Chicago’s Columbia Exposition of 1893” on February 19 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie and at the Harris on March 4. (And yes, notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes, made famous in Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, figures into the piece.) Thodos hosts a benefit with Reinking on February 5 at the Chicago Cultural Center, beginning at 6 p.m. Cocktail or vintage dress is suggested, and tickets are $175-$250 online or at 312/266-6255.

Openings of note: this weekend marks the kick-off of the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival . In other comedy news, John Leguizamo brings in the out-of-town tryout of his latest, Ghetto Klown, to the Royal George February 1-12, immediately before its Broadway run. (Leguizamo has long roots in Chicago, dating back to the old Goodman Theatre studio, where he presented his first hit, Spic-o-Rama.)

If your taste runs more to the poetic, then Sonnet Festival 2011 might fill the bill. Vintage Theatre Collective hosts this evening of works inspired by Shakespeare’s sonnets at Strawdog Theatre on Saturday, January 15, 8-11 p.m.

The most venerable fringe festival in Chicago, the Rhinoceros Theater Festival , runs January 14-February 13 at Prop Thtr with a dizzying assortment of new plays and solo pieces, curated by the Curious Theatre Branch . And if terror is your bag, then Wildclaw Theatre has a vampire thriller for you in Carmilla, adapted by Aly Renee Greaves from Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic (which predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years). It runs at the Storefront January 13-February 20. In associated events, Wildclaw sponsors a screening on January 19, 6:30 p.m., at the Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Cultural Center of the 1971 low-budget chiller Let’s Scare Jessica to Death and also hosts a panel on “Women in Horror” at the Cassidy on February 7 at 7 p.m.

A folkie favorite gets his due in Prine: A Tribute Concert at Viaduct Theater January 14-February 6. Prop Thtr , Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis and Here Today Enterprises bring together some of the most talented folk musicians in the Midwest—including Tim Grimm, Megon McDonough, Tim Brickley, Bobbie Lancaster, Jan Lucas-Grimm and Michael Shelton—in this salute to Maywood’s favorite son, John Prine.

Chicago Dramatists sponsors a party at G Boutique, 2131 N. Damen, in conjunction with its world-premiere production of Aline Lathrop’s Bordello. On January 21, 6-8 p.m., ladies get complimentary refreshments and bra fittings as well as a chance to meet and greet Lathrop and the cast of her drama about life in the legalized brothels of Nevada.

Got a solo you want to share with the world? Lifeline Theatre is taking submissions for the 2011 “Fillet of Solo Festival,” running July 21-August 7 and curated by Lifeline artistic director Dorothy Milne (also a member of the Sweat Girls, the long-running female solo collective—if that’s not a contradiction in terms) and former Live Bait Theater artistic director Sharon Evans. (Live Bait was home to the festival for most of the last 15 years.) Deadline is February 14, and submissions must include a script, resumes for the writer/performer and proposed director, and technical requirements. Send your submission to: dorothy@ lifelinetheatre.com.

I’m ending this column on a sad note: Cliff Doerksen, film critic and all-around Renaissance man of letters (he’d hate me for saying that, but it’s true) passed away at age 47 on December 17. It’s impossible for me to choose a favorite among Cliff’s many astonishing essays, though I’m partial to his James Beard Award-winning cover story for the Reader on the history of mince pie and his exploration of the film version of William Gresham’s carnival noir classic, Nightmare Alley. Reader critic J.R. Jones has a good round-up of Cliff’s work. Do yourself a favor and go through them all—more than once. I had the pleasure of working with Cliff at the Reader, and though I undoubtedly gave him plenty of reasons to treat me as an intellectual inferior (as most people in a room with Cliff would be), I remember him as gracious and devastatingly funny. My condolences to his family and many, many friends.

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