This was local theater at its most varied.
Riverwalk Theatre started its season in New York, in the depth of the AIDS era. It ended it in the ocean, with a giddy sponge and his wet friends. In between, it visited pay toilets.
And all three of those shows did well in the LSJ’s annual Thespie Awards.
It was a big year for Riverwalk, with wins for best play (“Angels in America”) and best musical (“Urinetown”), plus the show with the most individual Thespies (“The SpongeBob Musical,” with nine).
Others also did well, with representatives from seven groups receiving Thespies. The professional Williamston Theatre won nine, including ones for director, actor, actress and supporting actress.
Lansing Community College also drew praise for a major shift: For this past season (and upcoming ones), it made its shows free. It also went for broader audience appeal, complete with Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and cosplay.
The Thespies are the Lansing State Journal’s awards for local theater. The first year, in 1979, they were chosen by theater critic Bob Wyckoff; since then, they’ve been chosen by a committee. (Wyckoff died, recently as did former committee member Jan Lockwood.)
When a professional wins an award, the committee can also choose a non-professional winner. Among the key winners were three Riverwalk shows:
“Angels in America,” an epic story against the backdrop of AIDS. It won for best play, supporting actor (Heath Sartorius) and special effects (Ric Sadler and Bob Gehrs) and for best non-professional director (Bob Robinson) and actor (Luka Pawsek).
“Urinetown,” a satire set in a world where pay toilets are mandatory. It won for best musical and supporting actress, with Bryan Farnham coming close for both his direction and choreography.
“The SpongeBob Musical,” based on a kids’ cartoon about cheery undersea folks. It drew Thespies everywhere.
In the musical categories, “SpongeBob” won for director (Marcus Fields), actor (Michael Palmer), featured actor (Janus Hoang) and featured actress (Elise Griffiths, who did some impressive tap-dancing, no easy task when your character has four legs). And for its choreography by Reyna Martinez, Lauren Mudry and Meghan Laskos.
In the general categories, “SpongeBob” won for its costumes (Camara Lewis), sound (Farnham, again) and scenography (Rachel Daugherty).
There was also a special award for Riverwalk’s lobby, which immersed people in the undersea world.
Other special awards went to Ny’kieria Blocker, for a superb season that brought her close to acting awards in both “SpongeBob” and “First Date,” and to the LCC transformation.
LCC made all of its shows free and stretched for a younger audience. It did include some classics (“As You Like It” and “Crime and Punishment”), but also did “Puff” (with the Harry Potter characters), “The Lightning Thief” (based on a young-adult novel) and “Cosplay.”
Also, the 15th annual Robert Busby Award went to Tom Klunzinger. He has written more than 50 shows, including at least 10 that were produced locally. Local records show him directing 11 and acting in at least 37, playing, among other things, a king, a prince, a count, a dean, a judge, a cardinal, a monseigneur and a minister, plus Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, a vampire-hunter and a crabby critic type.
He has also been key to theater awards, starting the Pulsars and joining the Thespies committee. This year, he went to almost all of the 38 eligible shows, despite the fact that, with pulmonary fibrosis, he’s been in a wheelchair and requires oxygen.
He was on this year’s Thespie committee, but not involved with the Busby voting. The committee also had Kathy Booth, Cele Friestater, Mark Gmazel, Julie Neff, Lance Norman and Liane Zimny. Tim Donal, Jane Zussman and Mark Zussman also participated; Mike Hughes chaired, but didn’t vote.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Riverwalk Theatre dominates in LSJ’s 2025 Thespie Awards; Tom Klunzinger gets Busby Award
Reporting by Mike Hughes / Lansing State Journal
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