Drama Legue 2008 nominations
The Drama League have announced the nominations for the 2007-08 Drama League Awards, to be awarded at the 74th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on the 16 May at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. The event will be hosted by Harvey Fierstein (A Catered Affair).
The nominations for the Drama League's four major production award categories are:
Distinguished Production of a Musical:
- The Adding Machine
- A Catered Affair
- Cry-Baby
- Next To Normal
- Passing Strange
- The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island
- Xanadu
- Young Frankenstein
Distinguished Production of a Play
- August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
- Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
- The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin
- November by David Mamet
- Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard
- The Seafarer by Conor McPherson
- The 39 Steps Adapted by Patrick Barlow, Based on the novel by John Buchan
- Thurgood by George Stevens Jr
Distinguished Revival of a Musical:
- Black Nativity
- Gypsy
- Seussical
- South Pacific
- Sunday in the Park with George
Distinguished Revival of a Play
- Boeing-Boeing by Marc Camoletti
- A Bronx Tale by Chazz Palminteri
- Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton
- Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- The Misanthrope by Moli�re
- The Ritz by Terrence McNally
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
In the Heights was previously nominated for Drama League Awards during its Off-Broadway run in 2007, and is thus ineligible this season. The Broadway production of Glory Days will be considered next season. The cut-off date for this season's Drama League Awards was 20 Apr 2008.
The Drama League also pays tribute to the season's best performers by including the nominees of The Distinguished Performance Award on a dais. This season's 70-member dais includes the following performers, one of whom will be honored with the Distinguished Performance Award at the awards ceremony on 16 May 2008.
The list of nominees:
The Distinguished Performance Award
- Lauren Ambrose Romeo and Juliet
- Hank Azaria The Farnsworth Invention
- Roger Bart Young Frankenstein
- Christine Baranski Boeing-Boeing
- Laura Benanti Gypsy
- Sierra Boggess The Little Mermaid
- Daniel Breaker Passing Strange
- Ellen Burstyn The Little Flower of East Orange
- Charles Busch Die Mommie Die!
- Kerry Butler Xanadu
- Bill Camp The Misanthrope
- Bobby Cannavale Mauritius
- Margaret Colin Old Acquaintance
- Ben Daniels Les Liaisons Dangereuses
- Andre de Shields Black Nativity
- Peter Dinklage Things We Want
- Deanna Dunagan August: Osage County
- Daniel Evans Sunday in the Park with George
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Laurence Fishburne Thurgood
- Sutton Foster Young Frankenstein
- Elizabeth Franz The Piano Teacher
- Morgan Freeman The Country Girl
- Peter Gallagher The Country Girl
- David Greenspan The Beebo Brinker Chronicles
- Harriet Harris Old Acquaintance, Cry-Baby
- Jayne Houdyshell The Receptionist, The New Century
- Terrence Howard Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- Cheyenne Jackson Xanadu
- Brian d'Arcy James Next To Normal
- Francis Jue Yellow Face
- Kevin Kline Cyrano de Bergerac
- Nathan Lane November
- Angela Lansbury Deuce
- Hoon Lee Yellow Face
- Laura Linney Les Liaisons Dangereuses
- Patti LuPone Gypsy
- Elizabeth Marvel Top Girls
- Alli Mauzey Cry-Baby
- Jefferson Mays Pygmalion
- Frances McDormand The Country Girl
- S. Epatha Merkerson Come Back, Little Sheba
- David Morse The Seafarer
- Amy Morton August: Osage County
- Jim Norton The Seafarer
- Chazz Palminteri A Bronx Tale
- Rosie Perez The Ritz
- Martha Plimpton A Midsummer's Night Dream, Cymbeline, Top Girls
- Faith Prince A Catered Affair
- Bill Pullman Peter and Jerry
- Dallas Roberts Peter and Jerry
- Anika Noni Rose Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- Mark Rylance Boeing-Boeing
- Jenna Russell Sunday in the Park with George
- Tobias Segal From Up Here
- Marian Seldes Deuce
- Jeanine Serralles The Black Eyed, The Misanthrope
- Rufus Sewell Rock 'n' Roll
- Jimmi Simpson The Farnsworth Invention
- Lois Smith 100 Saints You Should Know
- James Snyder Cry-Baby
- David Staller Gaslight
- Bobby Steggert The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island
- Stew Passing Strange
- Patrick Stewart Macbeth
- Paulo Szot South Pacific
- Julie White From Up Here
- Dianne Wiest The Seagull
- Mare Winningham 10 Million Miles
- Tom Wopat A Catered Affair
In addition, seven past recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award will be honored on this dais for their work this season. However, because an individual can only receive the Distinguished Performance Award once in his/her lifetime, they are ineligible for award consideration this year. Those past honorees include:
- Norbert Leo Butz Is He Dead?
- Kathleen Chalfant A Hard Heart, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Vita and Virginia
- Harvey Fierstein A Catered Affair
- James Earl Jones Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- John Lithgow Stories By Heart
- Ian McKellen King Lear
- Mary-Louise Parker Dead Man's Cell Phone
In addition, The Drama League will present three annual specialty awards.
- The Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing will be presented to Bartlett Sher.
- The Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award will be presented to Paul Gemignani
- The Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award will go to Ellen Stewart/La MaMa E.T.C.
The 74th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon is co-chaired by Broadway luminaries Bobby Cannavale (Mauritius), Laurence Fishburne (Thurgood), Peter Gallagher (The Country Girl), Terrence Howard (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu), Laura Linney (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) S. Epatha Merkerson (Come Back, Little Sheba), Rosie Perez (The Ritz), Martha Plimpton (Cymbeline) and Patrick Stewart (Macbeth).
The Drama League was founded in 1916 as an association of theatre professionals and patrons dedicated to encouraging the finest in professional theatre and has since then developed into the theatre's premiere service organization.
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