Best Actor/Actress Jeff Medley Hugh Jackman recently visited Missoula. This made news because Hugh Jackman is Wolverine and because he was nominated for an Oscar for playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables. But you know what? Hugh Jackman ain’t nothin’ when you have Jeff Medley. Yep, you heard us: Jeff Medley. He recently starred as Thénardier in MCT’s version of Les Misérables and he stole the show. Stole it like Jackman stole our money with Van Helsing. Oh, but Hugh Jackman can sing, you say? Sing?! Our boy Medley can sing and dance. In the last year he starred in performances by Headwaters Dance Co. and Ballet Arts Academy’s The Nutcracker. Medley’s a triple threat. Maybe even a quadruple threat, if there is such a thing. He basically brought back Mr. Rogers—the Mr. Rogers—from the grave for a one-man show titled Won’t You Be My Neighbor? So, sit down Hugh Jackman, and let’s all take a moment to tip our caps to Missoula’s most deserving leading man. Finalists, Best Actor/Actress 2. Lily Gladstone 3. Howard Kingston
Best Artist Monte Dolack Graphic artist Monte Dolack has made a career out of making whimsical landscapes and magical realism por-
Brian Powers Photography
[4] Missoula Independent • Best of Missoula 2014
traits, like surreal images of fish flying through the sky or ducks hanging out in a bathtub. Dolack has his sterling reputation because people love his vision of Montana— even when he’s digging deep into more serious issues. Consider his recent exhibition Musings on the Contemporary Montana Landscape, in which he artfully mines (pun intended) the tension between the state’s extractive industries and the natural landscape. His award-winning work is part of the collection of the Library of Congress and, more importantly, it adorns local beer bottles from Bayern brewery. Now that’s prestige. Monte Dolack Gallery: 139 W. Front St, 549-3248, dolack.com Finalists, Best Artist 2. Courtney Blazon: courtneyblazon.blogspot.com 3. Pumpernickel
Best Dancer Heather Adams The only winner this category has ever known has a funny response when hearing that she’s won again: “Well, thank you, but that’s just not possible.” The humble founder and executive director of the Downtown Dance Collective explains her reaction a couple different ways. First, she says it’s sorta odd to refer to anyone as “best” within a particular art form. Plus, she’s certain that even if you could quantify such a thing, she’s not the best dancer. No, Adams is prob-
photo courtesy of Brian Powers