'BILLY', HAIR, RUINED, 'NORMAN', Rush, Lansbury and More Win at 2009 Drama Desk Awards

The 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards were held tonight, Sunday, May 17, 2009 in the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center. Drama Desk nominees received their official Nomination Certificates at a cocktail reception on Friday, May 1st at Il Bastardo restaurant, 191 Seventh Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets).

Multiple Drama Desk and Tony Award winning actor/writer Harvey Fierstein was host for the 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony.

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 critics 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.

DRAMA DESK AWARD WINNERS FOR THE 2008/2009 SEASON: 

Outstanding Play
Lynn Nottage, Ruined

Outstanding Musical
Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Revival of a Play
The Norman Conquests

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
HAIR

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek The Musical

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Pablo Schreiber, reasons to be pretty (Off-Broadway)

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Director of a Play
Matthew Warchus, The Norman Conquests

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Choreography
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Music
Elton John, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Lyrics
Stephen Sondheim, Road Show

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Lee Hall, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Orchestrations
Martin Koch, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Music in a Play
Dominic Kanza, Ruined

Outstanding Set Design of a Play
David Korins, Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them

Outstanding Set Design of a Musical
Tim Hatley, Shrek The Musical

Outstanding Costume Design
Tim Hatley, Shrek The Musical

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play
David Hersey, Equus

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical
Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Sound Design
Paul Arditti, Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Solo Performance
Lorenzo Pisoni, Humor Abuse

Unique Theatrical Experience
Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words

The following awards were voted by the nominating committee and will be presented by the Drama Desk at its awards ceremony:

Outstanding Ensemble Performances

This year the nominators chose to bestow special ensemble awards for acting to the casts of two shows. Therefore, individual cast members for these shows were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories.

* The Cripple of Inishmaan
* The Norman Conquests

Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theater. For 2008/2009, these awards are:

* To Liza Minnelli, a beloved American musical theater icon, for her enduring career of sustained excellence, and her glorious performance in Liza's at the Palace.

* To Forbidden Broadway at the end of its nearly three-decade run and the creators, casts and designers who made it an unparalleled New York institution cherished for its satire and celebration of Broadway.

* To Atlantic Theater Company and artistic director Neil Pepe for exceptional craftsmanship, dedication to excellence and productions that engage, inspire and enlighten.

* To TADA! Youth Theater for providing an invaluable contribution to the future of the theater. The company makes outstanding training and experience accessible and affordable to young people and mounts productions remarkable for their quality and professionalism.

Next to Normal was considered last season in its off-Broadway premiere. Alice Ripley was nominated as Outstanding Actress in a Musical and Tom Kitt for Outstanding Music. Under Drama Desk rules only new elements in a transfer can be considered. The producers, who requested that we consider the Broadway transfer only as an entirely new show, refused to invite nominators until it was too late for any new elements to be evaluated.

All elements in both productions of shows that transferred to Broadway in the same season were eligible.

[title of show] was considered in a previous season in its off-Broadway premiere.

Only one actor playing Billy in Billy Elliot was seen by all nominators, who were not invited to see the other two for consideration unless the Drama Desk Executive Board agreed to classify all three separate performances as one unit for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. The Board rejected that request, as well as a request that as an alternative no actor playing Billy be considered.

The Executive Board of the Drama Desk is composed of: William Wolf, President; Leslie (Hoban) Blake, Vice President; Charles Wright, Treasurer and 2nd Vice President; Richard Ridge, Secretary; Robert Cashill; Isa Goldberg, David Kaufman; Ellis Nassour; Sam Norkin; and Barbara Siegel.

The awards show was webcast live for the seventh year in a row by TheaterMania.