Southern California – Better Lemons has announced the 2019 “Better Lemons Critics of the Year” Awards featuring 10 categories, with the winners selected by audience vote.
Ed Rampell from Hollywood Progressive received the “Fomenter of Revolution” Critic of the Year Award, Jill Weinlein from Onstage Blog was given the “Name Dropper” Critic of the Year title, and Lorenzo Marchessi from The Geek Authority was recognized as the “Say What?” Critic of the Year 2019.
The “Silver Tongue” Critic of the Year Award went to Vanessa Cate from Stage Raw, Ernest Kearney from The TVolution was honored with the “Director” Critic of the Year Award, and the “Up Late” Critic of the Year Award went to Eric Gordon from People’s World.
Shari Barrett from Broadway World earned the “Theatre Hound” Critic of the Year Award, while the “I Love LA” Critic of the Year Award was given to Paul Myrvold from Paul Myrvold’s Theatre Notes, and the “Enlightenment” Critic of the Year Award was accepted by Deborah Klugman from Stage Raw.
When the voting dust had settled, Steven Stanley from Stage Scene LA was honored as the overall Southern California’s 2019 CRITIC OF THE YEAR.
According to Better Lemons publisher Enci Box, “So much energy is put on attracting theater critics, reviewers and writers; we decided it was time to put the spotlight on them and to thank them for the work they do in celebrating Southern California’s creative community. This is the first time we have conducted a poll to select the best of the best, and we were overwhelmed by the response.”
Critics who register with Better Lemons, called “Registered Critics,” post their own review excerpts to the site’s production pages for shows running throughout Southern California. They also give each production a “Sweet,” “Sweet and Sour” or “Sour” LemonMeter rating.
In 2019, Better Lemons had 46 registered critics and 1200 registered productions. Out of these productions, 336 were recognized as “Sweet” by Southern California’s theater critics.
Better Lemons is Southern California’s only theater review site with a LemonMeter rating, and it is also Southern California’s #1 event calendar. Producers and publicists can register their productions for free on the site. Once a production has received a minimum of three reviews from audience members or critics, the listing will receive a LemonMeter rating and become eligible for the year-end “Best of Show Awards.”