Kander & Ebb, Mayer, Receive Drama League Hansen Awards

The Drama League has announced the recipients of its three annual specialty awards, to be presented at the 73rd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 11, 2007 (noon).

John Kander and Fred Ebb (posthumously) will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award, Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) will be honored with the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing, and the not-for-profit charity organization Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS will receive the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award.

Hosted by Gary Beach (Les Misérables), the 73rd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon is co-chaired by Broadway luminaries Michael Cerveris (LoveMusik), Billy Crudup (The Coast of Utopia), Ethan Hawke (The Coast of Utopia), Audra McDonald (110 in the Shade), Brian F. O'Byrne (The Coast of Utopia) and David Hyde Pierce (Curtains).

"Long considered the theatre season's most festive awards ceremony, The Drama League Awards pay tribute to the season's best performers by honoring the nominees of The Distinguished Performance Award on a dais.  The 73rd Annual Drama League Awards dais will feature approximately 60 performers from the 2006-07 Broadway and Off-Broadway season, including the honorary co-chairs," state press materials.

In addition to The Distinguished Performance Award, The Drama League's 3,000 members vote on four other annual awards: Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play and Distinguished Revival of a Musical.  Nominations for these five awards will be announced on Wednesday, April 25.

Last season, Drama League Awards were presented to Christine Ebersole (Distinguished Performance), History Boys (Distinguished Production of a Play), Jersey Boys (Distinguished Production of a Musical), Awake and Sing! (Distinguished Revival of a Play), Sweeney Todd (Distinguished Revival of a Musical), Patti LuPone (Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre), Marian Seldes (Unique Contribution to the Theatre) and Des McAnuff (The Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing).

The first Drama League Award was presented to actress Katharine Cornell in 1935, making it the oldest national theatre honor, predating the Tony Awards by twelve years.  In recent years, the Distinguished Performance Award has been accorded to a roster of theatre legends such as Rosemary Harris, Christopher Plummer, Sir Ian McKellen, Bernadette Peters, James Earl Jones, John Lithgow, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Bebe Neuwirth, Cherry Jones, Mary Louise Parker, Liam Neeson, Harvey Fierstein and Norbert Leo Butz, among others.

Tickets for the 73rd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon are now available.  Individual tickets are $150-$450. Tables of ten range from $1,500 to $4,500. For more information, please call The Drama League at 212-244-9494 ext. 5 or visit www.dramaleague.org.

Visit www.DramaLeague.org for more information on the Drama League.

Photo of John Kander by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.