Drama League Nominations Announced in April, Awards Held in May

By: Feb. 08, 2006
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The Drama League has announced that its annual awards luncheon and ceremony will kick off the 2006 theatre award season. The 72nd Annual Drama League Awards will be held Friday, May 5, 2006 beginning at noon in the Broadway Ballroom of The Marriott Marquis Hotel (1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets).

Tony Award-winner Alan Cumming (the upcoming Threepenny Opera revival) will host the awards; nominations will be announced the week of April 18th. The cut-off date for this year's nominations is Sunday, April 16th (Monday, April 17th for shows with Monday performances). Productions evaluated after April 17th will be considered for the 2006-2007 Drama League Awards.

"Long considered the theatre season's most festive award ceremony, The Drama League Awards annually honor distinguished productions and performances both on and off Broadway, as well exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each year, The Drama League Awards pays tribute to the season's best performers by including the nominees of The Distinguished Performance Award on a dais, with the award being bestowed upon a member of the dais. First presented in 1935, The Drama League's Distinguished Performance Award predates the Tonys by twelve years," state press notes.

Awards presented to the four distinguished productions and the distinguished performance have the distinction of being the only National Theatre awards chosen by theatergoers themselves. The Drama League's 3000 members vote to select the recipient from the list of nominees in the following categories: Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Revival of a Musical and Distinguished Performance. In addition, The Drama League presents awards for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre, Unique Contribution to the Theatre and the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing.

 Last season, Drama League Awards were given to Norbert Leo Butz (Distinguished Performance), Doubt (Distinguished Production of a Play), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Distinguished Production of a Musical), Twelve Angry Men (Distinguished Revival of a Play), La Cage Aux Folles (Distinguished Revival of a Musical), The BMI Musical Theatre Workshop (Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre), The Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the NY Public Library at Lincoln Center (Unique Contribution to the Theatre) and Mike Nichols (The Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing).

 The first Drama League Award was presented to actress Katharine Cornell in 1935. Since then, the Distinguished Performance Award has been accorded to a roster of theatre legends such as Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Julie Harris, Jessica Tandy, Sir Alec Guinness, Sir John Gielgud, RoseMary Harris, Christopher Plummer, Frances Sternhagen, Sir Ian McKellen, Jeremy Irons, Bernadette Peters, James Earl Jones, John Lithgow, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Bebe Neuwirth, Cherry Jones, Mary Louise Parker, Liam Neeson and Harvey Fierstein, among others.

"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. The Drama League provides an unparalleled training program for emerging theatre artists through The Directors Project, which encourages and trains young talents while providing much-needed exposure and essential connections to the professional theatrical community. The Drama League is also dedicated to building strong, passionate audiences for the American theatre and provides discounted tickets for its members to the best Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional productions across the United States while enhancing the theatergoer's understanding and experience of live theatre through its informative panels, luncheons and discussions with leading figures in the field."

For further information, visit www.dramaleague.org.

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