53rd Annual Drama Desk Nominees
Date 2008/5/7 19:40:00 | Topic: Hot Topic
| 2008 Drama Desk Award Nominees
Nominations for the 53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced at the New York Friars Club by Bebe Neuwirth and Len Cariou, multi-award winning stage, screen and television stars. They were joined for the announcement by William Wolf, Drama Desk President, Barbara Siegel, Chairperson of the Drama Desk Nominating Committee, Robert Blume, Executive Producer of the Drama Desk Awards, and Randie Levine-Miller, Director of Special Events for the Drama Desk...
In keeping with the Drama Desk's unique mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, off Broadway and off-off Broadway during the 2007/2008 season in the same competitive categories. Final deliberations took place at the Travel Inn, New York City.
The 2007/2008 Nominating Committee for the Drama Desk Awards is composed of: Barbara Siegel (TalkinBroadway.com and TheaterMania.com), Chairperson; Dan Bacalzo (TheaterMania.com); Robert Cashill (New York Theater News and Live Design); Celia Ipiotis (Eye on the Arts);Gerard Raymond (Back Stage and The Advocate), and Richard Ridge (Broadwaybeat.com).
Leading the slate of distinguished nominees is A Catered Affair with twelve nominations, followed by Adding Machine with nine, South Pacific and Young Frankenstein, each with eight, August: Osage County, Passing Strange, Sunday in the Park with George and The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, tied at seven, and Xanadu with six. (See complete list)
The 53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards will be held Sunday, May 18, 2008, in the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center. The awards show will be webcast for the sixth year in a row by TheaterMania.com. It will also be broadcast live on satellite radio’s XM – 28 On Broadway for the second consecutive year.
Drama Desk nominees will receive their official nomination certificates at a cocktail reception on Thursday, May 1, 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Arte Café, 106 West 73rd Street, between Broadway and Columbus Avenue.
In the Heights, which was distinguished with multiple nominations and awards last season, was considered only for new elements in the current Broadway production. Glory Days did not commence performances before the Drama Desk cut-off date and it will therefore be eligible next season.
This year the nominators chose to bestow special ensemble awards for acting to the casts of two shows –The Dining Room off-Broadway and The Homecoming on Broadway. Therefore individual cast members for these shows were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories. The Drama Desk maintains its tradition of acknowledging excellence in the theater by announcing special awards to: Edward Albee, James Earl Jones, 59E59 Theaters and Playwrights Horizons.
This year the Nominating Committee recognized the creative use of digital technology and its integral part of theater artistry with a category for Outstanding Projection and Video Design.
DRAMA DESK NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2007/2008 SEASON
The following awards were voted by the nominating committee and will be presented by the Drama Desk at its awards ceremony:
Outstanding Ensemble Performances:
The Dining Room The Homecoming
Special Award:
Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theater. For 2007/2008, these awards are:
* To Edward Albee in his 80th year, whose provocative plays, including this season's Peter and Jerry, enrich the American theater.
* To James Earl Jones, a commanding force on the stage for nearly half a century.
* To 59E59 Theaters whose imaginative curatorial vision has created a stimulating environment to nurture a diverse range of artists.
* To Playwrights Horizons for ongoing support to generations of theater artists and undiminished commitment to producing new work.
Following are the nominations for the competitive categories. Winners will be selected by the voting membership of the Drama Desk:
Outstanding Play: Alan Ayckbourn, Intimate Exchanges Rinde Eckert, Horizon Liz Flahive, From Up Here Horton Foote, Dividing the Estate Tracy Letts, August: Osage County Tom Stoppard, Rock ’n’ Roll
Outstanding Musical: A Catered Affair Adding Machine Passing Strange The Glorious Ones The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island Xanadu
Outstanding Revival of a Play: Boeing-Boeing Happy Days Macbeth The Country Girl The Dining Room The Return of the Prodigal
Outstanding Revival of a Musical: Black Nativity Gypsy South Pacific Sunday in the Park with George Take Me Along
Outstanding Revue: Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening Fugitive Songs Make Me a Song
Outstanding Actor in a Play: Bill Champion, Intimate Exchanges Kevin Kline, Cyrano de Bergerac Bill Pullman, Peter and Jerry Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing Tobias Segal, From Up Here Rufus Sewell, Rock ’n’ Roll
Outstanding Actress in a Play: Sinead Cusack, Rock ’n’ Roll Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County Frances McDormand, The Country Girl Amy Morton, August: Osage County Fiona Shaw, Happy Days Julie White, From Up Here
Outstanding Actor in a Musical: Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange André De Shields, Black Nativity Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George Cheyenne Jackson, Xanadu Matthew Morrison, 10 Million Miles Paulo Szot, South Pacific
Outstanding Actress in a Musical: Sierra Boggess, The Little Mermaid Patti LuPone, Gypsy Kelli O’Hara, South Pacific Faith Prince, A Catered Affair Alice Ripley, Next to Normal Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park with George
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: John Cullum, The Conscientious Objector Conleth Hill, The Seafarer Francis Jue, Yellow Face Arian Moayed, Masked Jeff Perry, August: Osage County Michael T. Weiss, Scarcity
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Elizabeth Ashley, Dividing the Estate Johanna Day, Peter and Jerry Zoe Kazan, 100 Saints You Should Know Linda Lavin, The New Century Rondi Reed, August: Osage County Marisa Tomei, Top Girls
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Danny Burstein, South Pacific Christopher Fitzgerald, Young Frankenstein Boyd Gaines, Gypsy Shuler Hensley, Young Frankenstein Bobby Steggert, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Laura Benanti, Gypsy Leslie Kritzer, A Catered Affair Andrea Martin, Young Frankenstein Mary Testa, Xanadu Amy Warren, Adding Machine Mare Winningham, 10 Million Miles
Outstanding Director of a Play: David Schweizer, Horizon Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County Leigh Silverman, From Up Here Jonathan Silverstein, The Dining Room Matthew Warchus, Boeing-Boeing Deborah Warner, Happy Days
Outstanding Director of a Musical: Christopher Ashley, Xanadu Sam Buntrock, Sunday in the Park with George David Cromer, Adding Machine John Doyle, A Catered Affair Bob McGrath, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island Bartlett Sher, South Pacific
Outstanding Choreography: Karole Armitage, Passing Strange Rob Ashford, Cry-Baby The Musical Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider, Traces Dan Knechtges, Xanadu Peter Pucci, Queens Boulevard (the musical) Susan Stroman, Young Frankenstein
Outstanding Music: John Bucchino, A Catered Affair Stephen Flaherty, The Glorious Ones Tom Kitt, Next to Normal Mark Mulcahy, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island Joshua Schmidt, Adding Machine Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange
Outstanding Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens, The Glorious Ones Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein John Bucchino, A Catered Affair Ben Katchor, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt, Adding Machine Stew, Passing Strange
Outstanding Book of a Musical: Douglas Carter Beane, Xanadu Harvey Fierstein, A Catered Affair Ben Katchor, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt, Adding Machine Stew, Passing Strange Eric H. Weinberger, Wanda's World
Outstanding Orchestrations: Doug Besterman, Young Frankenstein Jason Carr, Sunday in the Park with George Michael Starobin, The Glorious Ones Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange Jonathan Tunick, A Catered Affair Tim Weil, 10 Million Miles
Outstanding Set Design of a Play: Beowulf Boritt, Spain Scott Bradley, Eurydice David Korins, Hunting and Gathering Santo Loquasto, Trumpery Scott Pask, Les Liaisons Dangereuses Clint Ramos, The Return of the Prodigal
Outstanding Set Design of a Musical: David Gallo, A Catered Affair Takeshi Kata, Adding Machine Derek McLane, 10 Million Miles George Tsypin, The Little Mermaid Robin Wagner, Young Frankenstein Michael Yeargan, South Pacific
Outstanding Costume Design: Mara Blumenfeld, The Glorious Ones Michael Bottari and Ronald Case, Jessica Jahn, Die Mommie Die! Ann Hould-Ward, A Catered Affair Ana Kuzmanic, August: Osage County Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses William Ivey Long, Young Frankenstein
Outstanding Lighting Design: Kevin Adams, The 39 Steps Ken Billington, Sunday in the Park with George Maruti Evans, Slaughterhouse-Five Donald Holder, South Pacific Natasha Katz, The Little Mermaid Keith Parham, Adding Machine
Outstanding Sound Design: Adam Cork, Macbeth Jorge Cousineau, Opus Joseph Fosco, The Conversation Scott Lehrer, South Pacific Mic Pool, The 39 Steps Tony Smolenski IV, Adding Machine
Outstanding Solo Performance: Kris Andersson, Dixie's Tupperware Party Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood Stephen Lang, Beyond Glory April Yvette Thompson, Liberty City
Outstanding Projection and Video Design: Paul Barritt, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Timothy Bird and The Knifedge Creative Network, Sunday in the Park with George Zachary Borovay, A Catered Affair Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island Lorna Heavey, Macbeth Tal Yarden, The Misanthrope
Unique Theatrical Experience: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Cut to the Chase Fabrik The 39 Steps Traces
SHOWS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS:
A Catered Affair 12 Adding Machine 9 Young Frankenstein 8 South Pacific 8 August: Osage County 7 Passing Strange 7 Sunday in the Park with George 7 The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island 7 Xanadu 6 The Glorious Ones 5 10 Million Miles 4 From Up Here 4 Gypsy 4 Boeing-Boeing 3 Happy Days 3 Macbeth 3 Rock ’n’ Roll 3 The 39 Steps 3 The Dining Room 3 The Little Mermaid 3 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 2 Black Nativity 2 Dividing the Estate 2 Horizon 2 Intimate Exchanges 2 Les Liaisons Dangereuses 2 Peter and Jerry 2 Next to Normal 2 The Country Girl 2 The Return of the Prodigal 2 Traces 2
ABOUT THE DRAMA DESK
The Drama Desk was founded in 1949 to explore key issues in the theater and to bring together critics and writers in an organization to support the ongoing development of theater in New York. The organization began presenting its awards in 1955, and it is the only organization to honor achievement in the theater with competition between Broadway, off Broadway and off-off Broadway productions in the same categories.
The organization hosts panels throughout the year, to which the public is invited, to promote understanding and appreciation of the professional theater. In addition to honoring creative artists and stage productions in multiple categories, the Drama Desk annually presents scholarships to two worthy seniors in the Drama Department of the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts who are planning careers in the theater.
The Drama Desk Awards invites personal sketches from this year’s nominated performers and creative talent for its Art*Kive program, started eight years ago by Art*Kive creator Sarah Galvin. This annual program—unique to the Drama Desk Awards—invites the nominees to render a sketch that is relevant to the role or stage production that helped them achieve their nomination. The sketches will be displayed at the awards ceremony.
To find out more about the organization and this year’s awards show, visit http://www.dramadesk.com
|
|