AWARDS FOR THOSE WHO TREAD BOARDS\Critics honor year's best, fete Channing.

Byline: Daryl H. Miller Daily News Staff Writer

The trademark smile temporarily gone, Carol Channing gently but firmly upbraided a reporter for the ageism inherent in his question.

"I'm not aware of getting older," the 73-year-old actress said, responding to his inquiry about why she's still performing nearly 50 years after her Broadway debut.

Then, giving in, she said, "I'm just beginning to get the hang of it. No, that's true."

Not all of the actors, directors, designers and producers at Monday night's Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony were so modest, but their acceptance speeches revealed a similar dedication to their craft.

Channing attended the awards ceremony in Studio City to receive a lifetime achievement award, but the main order of business was to honor the best of 1995's theater in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The circle's 14 voting members - who review theater for Los Angeles-area publications - tapped three shows for the top award as outstanding productions of the year: "Beauty and the Beast," Burbank-based Walt Disney Productions' stage adaptation of its fairy tale film musical; "The Homecoming," the Melrose Avenue-based Matrix Theatre Company's revival of Harold Pinter's eerie battle of the sexes; and "Wit," Costa Mesa-based South Coast Repertory's production of a drama about a woman facing cancer.

South Coast Repertory, a perennial favorite with the circle's voters, ended the evening with more than a third of the 30 annual prizes. It took home 11 awards - just one trophy shy of sweeping all the awards for which it had been nominated. Five of the awards - plus a special writing prize - were for "Wit," which made it the evening's most-honored show.

The Matrix's "The Homecoming" received four big prizes, which - combined with another two for its production of Samuel Beckett's "Endgame" - placed the company second in the tally of overall awards.

"Beauty and the Beast" also received four prizes, as did South Coast Repertory's "She Stoops to Folly."

Center Theatre Group, which led the tally of nominees with 17 mentions, left with just three awards, one for its presentation of "Master Class" at the Mark Taper Forum and two for "The Woman Warrior," an Ahmanson Theatre co-production at the Doolittle Theatre.

The leaders of Glendale's classical repertory company A Noise Within beamed as they accepted the circle's prestigious Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in small theater. Reflecting on the group's formation 4-1/2 years ago, co-artistic director Art Manke recalled, "Everyone said, 'Shakespeare? In Glendale?' It was a bit of an experiment." But public response has been strong, and the group is gearing up for an expansion from its current 99 seats to 450 by the end of 1999.

In an amusing postscript to the evening, Manke rushed back into the Sportsmen's Lodge ballroom asking, "Did Julia (co-artistic director Julia Rodriguez Elliott) take our award? I hope so, because I don't have it. But I have the check (a $500 cash award); that's what's important."

Those on hand included Julie Hagerty (of filmland's "Lost in America"), who collected a lead performance award for South Coast Repertory's "Raised in Captivity," and Jane Carr (television's "Dear John"), who received a featured performance award for SCR's "She Stoops to Folly."

Celebrity presenters included Betty Garrett, recipient of a lifetime achievement award last year; writer/actress Renee Taylor; actress/comedian Carole Cook; former "Knots Landing" star Joan Van Ark; and mistress of ceremonies Nan Martin.

Acceptance speeches ranged from silly to soulfully serious.

After it was announced that four of five nominees would receive awards in the featured performance category, Carr collected her prize saying, "Of course it's awful that there's only four of us, but whew!" And with that, she wiped a relieved hand across her forehead.

In one of the evening's most heartfelt speeches, Tsai Chin accepted her prize for featured performance in "The Woman Warrior" by paying tribute to that show's all-Asian-American cast - and to all the actors in the audience - by saying, "This is an encouragement to all of us to persevere in bettering our craft."

Looking glamorous in a short, sequined flapper dress, Channing beamed as "Hello, Dolly!" composer Jerry Herman introduced her and a troupe of dancing waiters lined the stage to sing a slightly modified version of the show's theme song - changing the words to "Hello, Carol." (Channing recently returned to "Hello, Dolly!" for a world tour.)

"Gee, isn't it wonderful? I mean show business," Channing said when she took the stage.

Congratulating her fellow theater professionals for sticking with a career in which they're perpetually at risk of being unemployed, she said, "You do it - we all do it - beyond all reason, beyond all sanity."

In the evening's most throat-catching moment, Channing heard a message of congratulations from longtime friend George Burns, believed to have been dictated just hours before he died. It turned out to be a wry corollary to Channing's comments to the reporter earlier in the evening. "Gracie and I knew you were a star years ago when we met, and you just keep getting better," his message read. "I heard you were a smash in Altoona, and I guess you'll keep on doing 'Hello, Dolly!' until you get it right. Love, George."

Here is the complete list of recipients.

Production: "Beauty and the Beast," Shubert Theatre, produced by Walt Disney Productions; "The Homecoming," the Matrix Theatre Company; and "Wit," South Coast Repertory.

Direction: Martin Benson, "Wit"; and Andrew J. Robinson, "Endgame" and "The Homecoming," both at the Matrix Theatre Company.

Writing: Margaret Edson, "Wit"; Brad Fraser, "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love," West Coast Ensemble; and Deborah Rogin, adapting Maxine Hong Kingston, "The Woman Warrior," Ahmanson Theatre.

Lead performance: Zoe Caldwell, "Master Class," Mark Taper Forum; Megan Cole, "Wit"; Julie Hagerty, "Raised in Captivity," South Coast Repertory; Charles Hallahan, "Endgame"; Gregory Itzin, "The Homecoming"; Marcia Mitzman, "Chess," the Blank Theatre Company, presented at the Hudson Theatre; W. Morgan Sheppard, "The Homecoming"; and Sean Smith, "Chess."

Featured performance: Jane Carr, "She Stoops to Folly," South Coast Repertory; Tsai Chin, "The Woman Warrior"; Jane Kaczmarek, "Raised in Captivity"; and Douglas Sills, "She Stoops to Folly."

Scenic design: Ralph Funicello, "She Stoops to Folly"; and Stan Meyer, "Beauty and the Beast."

Lighting design: Paulie Jenkins, "Wit"; and Natasha Katz, "Beauty and the Beast."

Costume design: Ann Hould-Ward, "Beauty and the Beast"; and Shigeru Yaji, "She Stoops to Folly."

Musical direction: Ron Abel, "Twist of Fate," Tiffany Theaters.

Choreography: Rob Marshall, "Damn Yankees," national tour at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Original music: Ron Abel, "Twist of Fate."

Special awards: Carol Channing, lifetime achievement; A Noise Within, Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in small theater; Bonita Friedericy, Natalie Schafer Award for an up-and-coming comic actress; Margaret Edson and "Wit," Ted Schmitt Award for world premiere play; and Robert W. Zentis, Angstrom Lighting Award for career achievement in lighting design.

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PHOTO

Photo (1) Carol Channing - shown in the current touring production of "Hello, Dolly!" - was honored for lifetime achievement by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. She debuted on Broadway nearly 50 years ago. (2) Julie Hagerty, in "Raised in Captivity," with Steven Culp, left, and Bradley Whitford, earned a lead performance award for her role.