Lesley Abrams wins Mac for Best Actress in Beowulf Alley's "Frozen."

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What a year. In 2006, Tucson theater companies brought us mythology (Rogue Theatre's "Endymion"), soul-stretching jazz (Arizona Theatre Company's "Ella"), shattering true-life stories (Invisible Theatre's "The Exonerated), glorious hats (ATC's "Crowns"), Shakespeare (quite a bit of Shakespeare, actually, in different guises), baseball (IT's "Rounding Third"), murder (Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes . . . Oh, so much murder). And a musical tribute to dead people (Arizona Onstage's "Elegies"). Talk about theatrics. The Old Pueblo is blessed with local theater companies committed to staging productions that make us laugh, cry, think, and even sing along. While quality was high this year, as in the past, a few were so accomplished and thrilling that we can't get them out of our minds. It is those that we award our 2006 Mac Awards, named after the late Mary MacMurtrie, who spent much of the last century turning Tucson children into actors, directors, stage technicians and audiences that appreciate heart, honesty and intent as well as excellence.

Best Actor

Stephen Frankenfield displayed keen comic timing and some pretty classic double-takes in Live Theatre Workshop's production of "Arsenic and Old Lace."

Joseph McGrath took a play that had potential for pure pretension, Wallace Shawn's "The Fever," and gave an honest and convincing portrayal in the one-man Rogue Theatre production.

Jeff Steitzer's Malvolio in ATC's "Twelfth Night" burst with hilarious self-importance and deeply-felt pain.

Mark Capri's Holmes in ATC's "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure" was straight out of Central Casting.

We hate doing this — it seems like a cop-out — but we don't see a way around it: We can't give this award to one person. It must be presented to the ensemble cast of ATC's "Jitney," which gave vivid life to the August Wilson characters in the run-down Pittsburgh jitney station. All but one was of the male persuasion. They are: James T. Alfred, James Craven, Abdul Salaam El Razzac, Bus Howard, Chuck Patterson, Jacinto Taras Riddick, Adolphus Ward and Brian Anthony Wilson. Julia Pace Mitchell was the lone woman. It was a powerful, painful, invigorating piece of theater, thanks largely to this stellar cast.

s Best Drama

Invisible Theatre's "Exonerated," based on the true-life tales of death-row inmates who were exonerated, was a haunting production.

Beowulf Alley's "Frozen," about a serial killer, was harrowing and moving and a brave play for this small theater to do.

Beowulf Alley also produced "Fiction," a language-rich play about a woman who discovers she's dying and insists on reading her husband's diary before she goes. The play, a bit ragged around the edges, was given a fine, thoughtful production.

But nothing compares to the theatrical experience of Arizona Theatre Company's production of August Wilson's "Jitney." Seeing the play was like a trip to inner-city Pittsburgh, sitting down in a run-down cab station, and feeling the heartbeat of the people who have lived and breathed those streets, that life. For that, we award "Jitney" the 2006 Mac for Best Drama.

Best Actress

Brenda Withers' perfect androgyny in ATC's "Twelfth Night" allowed her to switch from woman to man and back to woman and left little doubt that either sex could be quite easily taken by her.

Carlisle Ellis' college professor in Borderlands Theater's production of the bilingual "Desire" was astounding for a number of reasons: She spoke no Spanish, her co-star no English, she spent much of the time dressed in just a slip, and she was on stage constantly. She was unflinching in her vivid portrayal.

Tina Fabrique's Ella Fitzgerald in ATC's "Ella" not only sang with deep, deep soul, her fine acting allowed her to embody the spirit of the great jazz singer.

Jodi Rankin was a stitch as Miss Skillon, a royal busybody, in Live Theatre Workshop's farce "See How They Run."

Alida Gunn's turn as Abby, a young woman outlined in pain and charm in Beowulf Alley's "Fiction," marked a big step forward for this young, talented actress.

Kate FitzGibbons has a keen comedic timing and bosomy flounce that perfectly suited her ditzy sexpot Hedy La Rue in Arizona Repertory Theatre's "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

And Diane Thomas in Arizona Onstage Production's "Elegies" had the audience in tears with her interpretation of "Anytime (I Am There)," written by playwright William Finn at the request of a dying young mother for her children.

But of all the performances this year, it's Lesley Abrams in Beowulf Alley's "Frozen" that sticks with us. Especially the opening moments, when she has a paralyzing breakdown with sobs that came from so deep within her that they shook her, and shook the audience as well. Her entire performance was riveting, and for that we present her with the 2006 Mac for Best Actress.

s Best Comedy

Live Theatre Workshop filled us with giggles with its productions of "See How They Run," a British farce with the most improbable situations, and "Caught in the Net," a lightweight but delicious comedy about a man with two wives.

Also lightweight, but impossibly gorgeous, was Arizona Theatre Company's production of "Twelfth Night," set in the rock 'n' rolling 1950s. Against all odds, it worked beautifully.

But it's Beowulf Alley's production of Anton Chekhov's "Four Farces" that we give the 2006 Mac for Best Comedy. Director Stephen Elton transported the Russian tales to this country, placing one in the jazz age, another in the Wild West, another in mid-America. We still giggle at the memory of one character sauntering into a room looking like a Marshal Dillon clone, and announcing his name: Grigory Stepanovich Smirnoff. A comedy that has such echoes of laughter deserves the Mac.

s Best Musical

Arizona Repertory Theatre did a cartoony creation with its "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." It was a perfect treatment of the play, which was a fun trip back to the days when women wore high heels and tight tops, and "hubba-hubba" was central to conversations between men.

Arizona Theatre Company's "Ella" had a thin script but was a deliriously wonderful production thanks to its star, who gave Fitzgerald's music immediacy.

But it is to Arizona Onstage Production's "Elegies" that we give the 2006 Mac for Best Musical. The only thing connecting the all-song script was death, the set was minimal, costumes even more so, but the play overflowed with heart and powerful emotion, thanks to a cast that committed itself completely to giving full life to the songs and the characters.

Best Director

Eva Tessler served as director, choreographer and translator in Borderlands' "Desire" — and she didn't fall down on any of those jobs.

Jon Jory's reimagined Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" was a frolic at the beach for the Arizona Theatre Company production, and the result was a play that looked as luscious as the story was improbable.

Kevin Johnson's direction of Arizona Onstage's "Elegies" was eloquent and sensitive without ever becoming sentimental.

Brent Gibbs directed Invisible Theatre's "Exonerated" with restraint, which made the production even more powerful. And Stephen Elton took a complex play, "Frozen," and made it smooth and understandable.

Lou Bellamy, who directed "Jitney," moved us to tears with the rich-with-real-life production of the August Wilson play. His painfully honest, raw direction translated into one of the most powerful theatrical experiences on Tucson stages in many years. The 2006 Mac for Best Director is his.