A grand night for Walnut St. and Arden

The Arden Theatre Company's production of

Caroline, or Change

, and the Walnut Street Theatre's

Of Mice and Men

led the 13th annual Barrymore Awards last night as outstanding musical and play, respectively, each capturing three awards.

The Walnut Street Theatre, returning to the Barrymores after not participating since 2002, led with five awards overall in a ceremony where the honors were spread around to more than a dozen shows. There were no sweeps, no oddball surprises.

For the first time, the gala (red carpet and all) was a black-tie dinner, attended by 850 people at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wanamaker Building.

Actors Greg Wood and Chris Faith hosted the show, Wood coming out in a Phillies cap and offering the first of the evening's shout-outs to the team.

The awards acknowledge excellence in the past season of Philadelphia theater. The top awards honored two very American shows, each evoking the way it felt to be alive in the past.

The Walnut's Of Mice and Men, the stage adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic novella about two ranch hands in California, won not just top play but outstanding direction, by Mark Clements, and lighting design, by Sherry Hicklin.

"I just got my green card this week," Clements, who is British, told the crowd in his speech, "and so if you'll have me, I'll be back again."

Caroline, or Change is the Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori musical about the relationship between an African American maid and the Jewish family she works for in civil rights-era Louisiana. In addition to outstanding musical, the show's Joilet F. Harris, in the title role, won for actress in a musical, and Rosemarie E. McElvey won for costume design.

Harris, just back from a trip to Kenya and Saudi Arabia, thanked Caroline director Terrence J. Nolen for believing in her since the day 14 years ago "when I wrote at the bottom of my audition form, 'I'm fierce.' "

More than 100 professional productions from the Philadelphia region were in the running this year. Nominations came from the Barrymore's 40-person nominating committee, and the winners were voted on by 11 theater-community judges.

11th Hour Theatre Company, a small, adventurous group just in its third season, snagged two awards for The Bomb-itty of Errors, a rap version of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors: Rob McClure as outstanding actor in a musical, and the cast for outstanding ensemble in a musical.

Other awards went to Susan Riley Stevens as outstanding leading actress in a play for her performance in Act II Playhouse's production of Theresa Rebeck's play Bad Dates. Outstanding leading actor in a play went to John Campion, in the title role of Wilma Theater's Galileo.

"My only regret," Campion said, paraphrasing John Barrymore, "is that I can't sit out front and watch me."

Harry Philibosian was honored as supporting actor in a play for his performance as Shelly Levine in Theatre Exile's Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet's now-classic story about real estate con artists, and the show's cast won as outstanding ensemble in a play. The award for supporting actor in a musical went to Dave Jadico, in Mum Puppettheatre's The Fantasticks.

Honors for supporting actress in a play went to Charlotte Northeast, in InterAct's Skin in Flames. Dee Hoty was named outstanding supporting actress in a musical in the Prince Music Theater's Stormy Weather: Imagining Lena Horne.

Charles Abbott won as outstanding director of a musical for 42nd Street at the Walnut.

Philadelphia Theatre Company's Nerds://A Musical Software Satire, won for both outstanding new play and original music, by Hal Goldberg. In accepting, Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner, who wrote the book and lyrics, consulted their BlackBerries, and Allen-Dutton said, "This is for all the nerds who are locked in their lockers now."

The award for outstanding music direction went to Aaron Cromie and Mat Wright, for Mum Puppettheatre's The Fantasticks.

Multitalented multitasker Jorge Cousineau won two prizes: sound design, for People's Light and Theatre's The Giver, and set design for 1812 Productions' The Four of Us.

Performer and scenic designer Matt Saunders took home the honor (and $10,000) of the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist, and philanthropist Carole Haas Gravagno won the Lifetime Achievement award.

Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre:

Outstanding production, play:

Of Mice and Men

, Walnut Street Theatre.

Outstanding production, musical: Caroline, or Change, Arden Theatre Company.

Director of a play: Mark Clements, Of Mice and Men (Walnut).

Director of a musical: Charles Abbott, 42nd Street (Walnut).

Music direction: Mat Wright and Aaron Cromie, The Fantasticks (Mum Puppettheatre).

Leading actor, play: John Campion, The Life of Galileo (Wilma Theater).

Leading actress, play: Susan Riley Stevens, Bad Dates (Act II Playhouse).

Leading actor, musical: Rob McClure, The Bomb-itty of Errors (11th Hour Theatre Company).

Leading actress, musical: Joilet F. Harris, Caroline, or Change (Arden Theatre Company).

Supporting actor, play: Harry Philibosian, Glengarry Glen Ross (Theatre Exile).

Supporting actress, play: Charlotte Northeast, Skin in Flames (InterAct Theatre Company).

Supporting actor, musical: Dave Jadico, The Fantasticks (Mum Puppettheatre).

Supporting actress, musical: Dee Hoty, Stormy Weather (Prince Music Theater).

Set design: Jorge Cousineau, The Four of Us (1812 Productions).

Lighting: Shelley Hicklin, Of Mice and Men (Walnut).

Costume design: Rosemarie E. McKelvey, Caroline, or Change (Arden).

Sound design: Jorge Cousineau, The Giver (People's Light & Theatre Company)

Original music: Hal Goldberg, Nerds://A Musical Software Satire (Philadelphia Theatre Company).

Choreography: Karen Getz, Hair (Prince).

Outstanding new play: Nerds://A Musical Software Satire, book and lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner, music by Hal Goldberg (Philadelphia Theatre Company).

Outstanding ensemble acting in a play: Glengarry Glen Ross (Theatre Exile).

Outstanding ensemble acting in a musical: The Bomb-itty of Errors (11th Hour).

New collaboration approach: Brat Productions and the rock bands Toothless George, Allison Polans, Danny Mackane, and Devin Greenwood for Three Chord Fiction.

Education excellence: Walnut Street Theatre.

College scholarship award: Caitlin Reed.

Memorial scholarship award: Shoshana Katz.

Emerging artist: Matt Saunders.

Lifetime achievement: Carole Haas Gravagno.

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