Tony Winner Laura Benanti Returning to Host 60th Annual Drama Desk Awards!

Tony Award, and two time Drama Desk winner Laura Benanti (Gypsy, Sound of Music Live, ABC' "Nashville") will return as host of the 60th Annual Drama Desk Awards on Sunday, May 31, 2015 at 8:00 PM at The Town Hall (123 W. 43rd Street), it was announced today by Gretchen Shugart, CEO of TheaterMania.com, and Charles Wright, Drama Desk President.

For the fourth consecutive year, TheaterMania will present the awards ceremony and Joey Parnes Productions will produce and manage the show. Shugart is the Managing Executive Producer of the Drama Desk Awards. The Awards show will be written by Bill Rosenfield (with additional material by Benanti) and directed by Jack Cummings III (co-founder and artistic director of Transport Group).

"Laura Benanti was a fantastic host last year - bringing her brand of humor and charm to a wonderful evening. We are excited to welcome her back to Town Hall to lead us in our annual celebration of excellence in New York theater," said Shugart.

Laura Benanti said, "THIRD TIME'S A CHARM! Oh, wait... I'm hosting this for the second time? Well, I'm sure it will be fine."

Tickets to the 60th Annual Drama Desk Awards are available to the general public at www.dramadeskawards.com.

The Nominations Announcement News Conference will take place on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 2:00 PM at 54 Below and will be live-streamed on www.TheaterMania.com.

The Drama Desk Awards, which are presented annually, honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway. What sets the Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater, without any vested interest in the results. For this reason, Drama Desk Awards reflect both enthusiasm for all aspects of New York's professional theater and a level of erudition and theatrical experience unparalleled in our industry's other prize-giving organizations.