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• Best Small Theater Company (3 Comments)
  Bootstraps Comedy Theater
  Comedy is their middle name. This 3-year-old theater company, founded by drama grads from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, has built a fine following as the go-to group for a great big laugh. In their mission statement, founders Matt and Kim Lyle vow to use comedy to "break... More >>
• Best Young Actress (1 Comment)
  Pam Covington
  At 15, this Hockaday School 10th-grader already has played the great trifecta of young girls' roles: Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. She's a star in major productions at Dallas Children's Theater, where she also volunteers... More >>
• Best Scene Stealer
  B.J. Cleveland
  Theatergoers who know his work smile when they see B.J. Cleveland's name in the program. Something about his moonfaced mug just glows, and when he's really on, he could light up a five-state area. Now in his 25th season as artistic director at Theatre Arlington, Cleveland has acted in 362 roles... More >>
• Best Theater Director
  René Moreno
  Actors love working with him and die-hard theatergoers know that when René Moreno is directing, chances are the results will be intensely entertaining. Comedies, dramas, musicals—the guy has a deft touch with every genre. This past season saw him helming Albee's Who's Afraid of... More >>
• Best Opening Night Goodies
  Uptown Players
  When Dallas theaters schedule coinciding opening nights, as they frequently do, Uptown Players' wily producers know critics and in-the-know theatergoers will be in their seats at the KD Studio Theatre not just for the newest Uptown play but for the cuisine after the curtain calls. Free for... More >>
• Best Shows With Strings Attached
  Kathy Burks' Theatre of Puppetry Arts
  For almost 35 years Kathy Burks has designed and produced puppet shows that make high art of non-human figures brought to life with strings, rods and hands. From a collection of puppets and marionettes that goes back to the early 1900s, Burks and her expert puppeteers make the characters so real... More >>
• Best Stand-Up Comedian
  Six years ago, Paul Varghese made his stand-up debut at a comedy writing class showcase at the Addison Improv. This July, Varghese worked a much bigger room: national television. Featured on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, Varghese brought his wonky-smart comedy to the masses. His thirst for... More >>
• Best Comedy Champions (1 Comment)
  Linda Stogner and Jan Norton's Backdoor Comedy Showcase
  For stand-up comedians, stage time trumps all, including spouses, children, international incidents and most major sporting events. There's nothing more important than the opportunity to make drunk people laugh. It's about gaining experience, about learning what makes the masses guffaw. Nobody... More >>
• Best Drag Show (1 Comment)
  The Rose Room at Station 4
  Boys will be boys, but at The Rose Room, they'll be girls too. And these "girls" are the jewel in the crown of Station 4, one of the largest gay dance clubs in the country. Located on the upper level of the mega-disco, the cast of The Rose Room is the crème de la crème of America's... More >>
• Best Gay-merican Idol
  Voice of Pride competition
  The popular summer TV show may be called America's Got Talent, but an argument could be made that Dallas Has Got Talent too. And it's onstage at the annual Voice of Pride competition, now in its fourth year. Open to members of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community over age 21, the... More >>
• Best Intimate Jazz Jam
  Gezellig, Tuesday nights
  Jazz gets better and better in Dallas all the time, with a number of new clubs springing up and Brooklyn Café on South Lamar Street holding down the fort. But there's still nothing quite like Tuesday nights at Gezellig. The club always puts a good trio onstage on Tuesdays, but half the... More >>
• Best Theater
  Contemporary Theatre of Dallas
  When the curtain first went up at this church-turned-playhouse off Lower Greenville six years ago, some were quick to sneer that it was merely a vanity project for owner, founder and resident leading lady Sue Loncar. But it didn't take long for audiences and critics to start appreciating CTD for... More >>
• Best TV Newscast
  WFAA News 8 at 10 p.m.
  We've romanced other newscasts in the past. KTVT-Channel 11 has had some strong reporting in recent years. But we have to come back to News 8 at 10 for four reasons (in alphabetical order): Harris, Heinbaugh, Reaves and Shipp. Everybody in the market, news professionals and viewers alike, all... More >>
• Best TV News Anchor
  Tracy Rowlett, CBS 11 News
  Reading the news ain't easy. Just ask Katie Couric. Good thing the local CBS affiliate has the master news reader behind the desk, at least until July 2008 when Tracy Rowlett is due to retire. Unlike Couric, Rowlett can read a TelePrompTer without looking like a nervous hostage. He's more than... More >>
• Best Daily Newspaper Column
  "Metro Politics" by Gromer Jeffers
  The Dallas Morning News
  Couple problems here. "Metro Politics" really isn't a column. It's a little explanatory title that the News puts over stories by Gromer Jeffers, local political reporter. And Jeffers isn't supposed to be considered a columnist. But the larger truth is that Jeffers is a better columnist than any... More >>
• Best Angst-Ridden Republican
  Rod Dreher, columnist
  The Dallas Morning News
  Soon the formerly conservative Rod Dreher will find himself to the left of our very own Jim Schutze. Dreher's leftward lurch began when he came out of the closet as an environmentalist. Then he penned a column admitting that his support for the invasion of Iraq was a total mistake. He would... More >>
• Best City Council Member (1 Comment)
  Angela Hunt, District 14
  Come on, admit it. For sheer guts alone, you have to hand it to freshman city council member Angela Hunt, who stood up to the entire bunch on the Trinity River toll road issue. What makes Hunt the best council member is not so much the position she took on that river thing, but that she had the... More >>
• Best Park Building
  Big Thicket Recreation Building, White Rock Lake East Lawther toward the Mockingbird Lane end of the lake, across from the Corinthian Sailing Club
  The Big Thicket Recreation Building, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, is a classic example of "WPA Rustic" architecture, made of natural materials and designed to meld handsomely into a natural setting. It was in pretty tough shape a few years ago when Home Depot and the... More >>
• Best Literary Festival (1 Comment)
  Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference
  This summertime gathering (in Grapevine, of all places) brings writers, editors, agents and journalists to one of the premier literary events in the nation. Last year, Gay Talese, arguably the greatest living magazine scribe, was keynote speaker. This year's stars included three-time Nobel Prize... More >>
• Best Public Library
  Allen Public Library
  If you want to convince your kids that reading is cool, bring them here. Opened in 2005, this sleek $11.6 million library is 54,000 square feet of books, computer labs and auditorium. The "Teenscape" room is identified by a light blue neon sign, and at the entrance to the children's library... More >>
• Best Gay-la Event
  Black Tie Dinner
  Dallas' annual Black Tie Dinner is not only one of the most successful sit-down charity dinners in America, it is the largest event of its kind. Established in 1982, the nation's leading gay and lesbian fund-raising dinner has grown from a modest first event, which had 140 guests and raised... More >>
• Best New Dallas Playwright
  Matt Lyle, Bootstraps Comedy Theater
  Some playwrights want to be the next Chekhov or Albee. Matt Lyle, 29, just wants to be the guy who writes the plays that make you laugh out loud. He's been doing that for the past few years in his role as resident playwright and founding artistic director of tiny Bootstraps Comedy Theater. With... More >>
• Best Gay-borhood Bar
  Illusions
  Tucked away on an unassuming stretch of Maple Avenue (at Throckmorton Street) perches a nightclub that, while modest of appearance, has heaps of heart. Although the club prides itself on diversity and inclusion, it's mainly a welcome watering hole for gay boys, gay gals and their friends and... More >>
• Best Reason to Walk
  LifeWalk
  Why not walk a few miles, raise funds for a worthy organization and have a blast doing it? That's exactly what participants in this annual event say. Now in its 17th year, LifeWalk is the largest fund-raising event for Aids Arms Inc., whose purpose is to assist individuals in accessing the... More >>
• Best High Heels for High Drag
  Off Price Shoes
  OK, Off Price Shoes isn't really a store for drag queens, but because they specialize in fabulous feminine footwear in sizes 9 to 12, you just might think it is. All standard women's shoe sizes are represented, but for those guys and gals heavy of hoof, the dizzying display of plus-sized pumps... More >>
• Best Gay Airwaves
  Pride Radio
  prideradiodfw.com
  As technology expands, so do our entertainment options. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Radio has made a resurgence as a niche entertainment source. North Texas is home to the sixth-largest GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender) community in the country, and Dallas now... More >>
• Best Afternoon Tunes
  Good Records
  Call us lame, but we've gotten to the point where we sometimes enjoy a Good Records in-store a lot more than a club show. No smoke, no late nights, no cover charge, no drive to Denton, no drunken sound guys with a bass fetish. It's all of the fun without the majority of the hassles. And guess... More >>
• Best Waxahachie Weird
  Webb Gallery
  Galleries located on small-town squares usually aren't exactly on the cutting edge of the art world. But in Waxahachie there's a rare jewel that doesn't traffic in bluebonnet photos and Thomas Kinkade prints. Since 1987, the Webb Gallery has been a haven for killer oddball stuff, a fitting... More >>
• Best Surreal Concert
  The Gothic Archies at Waxahachie High School
  We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw that Magnetic Field/Gothic Archie/indie-pop genius Stephin Merritt was accompanying one Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, on an October 2006 book tour promoting the final installment in the Snicket saga. And when we saw the tour was stopping not in... More >>
• Best Film Series
  Rock 'N' Reel Wednesdays at the AllGood Café
  Most repertory film series focus on things we have, at best, a middling interest in. You know, like, '70s slasher flicks, zombie movies and, uh, French stuff. The Rock 'N' Reel Wednesdays series, however, is a whole different animal, catering mostly to music nerds, aging hippies and hungry... More >>
• Best Legitimization
  Tony Bones
  A couple of years ago, Tony Bones was a wayward kid with a can of spray paint, tagging brick walls, cargo trucks and, well, any flat surface with his signature stick figures. His graffiti addiction earned him a criminal record and years of probation. But Bones rallied, moving his artistic... More >>
• Best Art Gallery
  The Public Trust (formerly Art Prostitute)
  Public Trust owner/director Brian Gibb moved from Denton to a space on Commerce Street in 2006 and people crammed the joint, spilling out of the door and onto the asphalt. The Public Trust makes art a party and everyone's invited. Over the course of the last year, and through a transition from... More >>
• Best Dramatic Actor
  James Crawford
  With his soft jowls and graying hair, James Crawford, 42, isn't a typical leading man. But Dallas theaters compete to cast this powerful actor, who's as versatile as John Lithgow, with a bit of Kevin Spacey's penchant for dark humor. At Contemporary Theatre of Dallas last season, he was stoic... More >>
• Best Defiant Spirit
  Kettle Art Gallery
  The Kettle Art Gallery really shouldn't exist. In a missive on the official Kettle Art Web site, co-owners Frank Campagna and Kirk Hopper admit that they rarely represent artists who sell work for bucketloads of cash. They have no major benefactor and don't live in the space or hold... More >>
• Best Reason to Take DART
  Lilliputian parking spaces
  Normally, we wouldn't suggest taking public transportation in Dallas. We love the environment and all, but let's face it, unless you have a few hours to spare or you're traveling to the zoo, the Angelika or the American Airlines Center, Big D is way too spread out for the system to work... More >>
• Best Music History Lesson
  "The Stars Come Out in the Afternoon With Redbeard on Lone Star 92.5"
  Used to, we immediately hooked up the iPod for the drive home. That was before Lone Star 92.5 came around, putting Redbeard back in our ears right where he should be. At afternoon drive time, 'Beard often nestles a little nugget of the past in with his mix of outlaw country and bluesy rock in... More >>
• Best Blast from the Past
  KEOM-88.5 FM
  There's no shame in diggin' on a little Starland Vocal Band or some Supertramp. Don't feel bad if you truly love Judy Collins. There's a place for you where people understand. That place is in Mesquite and it's a radio station with high school kids for DJs who probably have no idea whom they're... More >>
• Best Leisurely Lunch Hour (1 Comment)
  Hanging with the sloth at the Dallas World Aquarium
  The workday can get so hectic you just need a breather from computers and voicemails and people you spend at least 40 hours a week with. Head downtown to the Dallas World Aquarium and take a lesson from a creature who really knows how to slow down. For the price of a counter-service lunch, you... More >>
• Best Sleeper (Car) Attraction
  Museum of the American Railroad
  History buffs, especially the little ones, would be remiss if they never visited this gem in Fair Park. The Museum of the American Railroad (formerly the Age of Steam Railway Museum) boasts more than 30 pieces of actual railroad equipment. Like, real reach-out-and-touch-'em old-school... More >>
• Best Blogger (2 Comments)
  Sam Merten, DallasBlog
  Sam Merten's coverage of Dallas City Council meetings on DallasBlog is a must-read for political junkies, capturing the drama, intrigue and the contentiousness that the daily paper often overlooks. We were particularly impressed with his dispatch on the debate over allowing Trammell Crow to raze... More >>
• Best Purse Snatchers
  The Bag Snobs
  Dallas-based blogger-mom Tina Chen Craig and her best friend Kelly Tsou Cook love handbags. Crave them. Obsess about them. On their site, they write as the connoisseurs of the perfect posh purses. The new python Devi Kroell Carlyle clutch at Barney's? They declare it "delicious" even at $1,100.... More >>
• Best Radio Station (2 Comments)
  KZPS-92.5 FM Lone Star
  What does Lone Star, which just switched formats this past year, have going for it? 1) They brought back famed local DJ Redbeard (isn't it gray by now?). 2) They have no freakin' commercials or, at least, "traditional" commercials. Instead they rely on "charter sponsors" like AT&T, Coors and... More >>
• Best Club DJ
  DJ Wild in the Streets
  This DJ shit sometimes gets on our nerves, what with the boy culture and the wheelspinners' propensity to try to out-obscure each other at the expense of alienating the dance floor. Oh, and then there's that whole club mindset, in which anything that's not house music with a beat that sounds... More >>
• Best Radio DJ (1 Comment)
  Hedkrack
  While the white-bread DJs come and go, or sometimes stay, and harangue our ears with a diluted version of Howard Stern's shtick or faux-independent rock, Hedkrack keeps it real. A Bronx native, the northerner crossed the Mason-Dixon line to bring DFW a much-needed taste of hip-hop. His show on... More >>
• Best Local CD Release
  Polyphonic Spree
  We hate to say it. It's almost a cliché. We know that there were so many brilliant contenders for this category, it's almost a shame to decide on the Spree. But damn that Tim DeLaughter, he just keeps coming at us with such transcendent stuff that ultimately we must admit This Fragile... More >>
• Best Local Music Web Site (2 Comments)
  pegasusnews.com/living/music
  So many to choose from...and that's the problem. WeShotJR, BigDlittled, Boca Tinta, the Fine Line—and these are just the best-known tip of the iceberg—are all fine and dandy, and we appreciate each for its particular personality. Each gets the straight-up skinny, albeit with a few... More >>
• Best Blog
  Uncle Barky
  On September 13, former Dallas Morning News TV critic Ed Bark posted to his Web site, which he calls a blog, a handful of wonderful photos of Mark Cuban sweating his ass off and making his "O" face whilst rehearsing for ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Man looked like he was going to have a heart... More >>
• Best Movie Theater (1 Comment)
  AMC NorthPark 15
  Some of us spend way too much time in the dark—the literal dark, not the figurative—and there's but one theater in town in which we'd choose to spend that time: the AMC NorthPark 15, which has been open for about a year and already distinguished itself as the area's finest... More >>
• Best Dramatic Actress
  Liz Mikel
  This was the breakout year for the 42-year-old Dallas actress. After a decade as one of the area's leading musical theater stars—most recently starring in the title role in Theatre Three's Caroline, or Change—Mikel made the leap to TV and film with a year's worth of work. On NBC's... More >>
• Best School of Rock
  Good Records
  You already know that Good Records is the best record store in town. OK, maybe it's the only real record store left in this chain store-dominated burg. But it's also the most kid-friendly record store we've ever been to. A few times a year, Good Records has in-store performances especially... More >>
• Best Musical Theater Actor (2 Comments)
  Cedric Neal
  Opera's loss is musical theater's gain with this super-talented 32-year-old thesp. The Oak Cliff native and Arts Magnet High School grad headed off to the Eastman School of Music hoping one day to sing Othello at The Met. "But opera was too restrictive for me," says Cedric Neal, now one of... More >>
• Best Musical Theater Actress (1 Comment)
  Cara Statham Serber
  Beauty pageant pretty Cara Serber, 33, played against type last season by faking a space between her perfect teeth, putting on a gee-haw accent and yukking it up as one of the trashy leads in WaterTower Theatre's Great American Trailer Park Musical (a role she's currently reprising at the... More >>
• CULTURE: Queens of Hearts (and Other Places)
  To reach Mistress Zaria's palace of pain, you must get on and off two freeways, negotiate tricky turns through a bland suburban subdivision, go over a bridge and continue right on through the looking glass. The black-clad kitten in spiked heels and Amy Winehouse eyeliner may or may not give you... More >>