Drama Legue 2011 nominations



The nominations for the 2010-11 Drama League Awards were announced today at SD26 Restaurant by Norbert Leo Butz and Kathleen Chalfant.

The winners will be announced at the 77th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon, to be held on the 20 May 20122 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. The event will be hosted by Kathleen Turner.

The nominations for the Drama League's four major production award categories are:

Distinguished Production of a Play:

  • BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO (B'way)
    By Rajiv Joseph
    Richard Rodgers Theatre
  • THE DIARY OF A MADMAN (Off-B'way)
    By Nikolai Gogol Adapted by David Holman with Neil Armfield & Geoffrey Rush
    Brooklyn Academy of Music
  • THE DREAM OF THE BURNING BOY (Off-B'way)
    By David West Read
    Black Box Theatre (Roundabout)
  • THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY (Off-B'way)
    By Kristoffer Diaz
    Second Stage Theatre
  • GATZ (Off-B'way)
    Created by Elevator Repair Service
    The Public Theater
  • GOOD PEOPLE (B'way)
    By David Lindsay-Abaire
    Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (MTC)
  • JERUSALEM (B'way)
    By Jez Butterworth
    Music Box Theatre
  • KIN (Off-B'way)
    By Bathsheba Doran
    Playwrights Horizons
  • THE MOTHERFKER WITH THE HAT (B'way)
    By David Lindsay-Abaire
    Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
  • OTHER DESERT CITIES (Off-B'way)
    By Jon Robin Baitz
    Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (Lincoln Center)
  • SLEEP NO MORE (Off-B'way)
    By Emursive
    The McKittrick Hotel Punchdrunk)
  • WAR HORSE (B'way)
    Based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford
    Vivian Beaumont Theatre (Lincoln Center)

  • Distinguished Production of a Musical

    • THE BOOK OF MORMON (B'way)
      Book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez
      Eugene O'Neill Theatre
    • CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (B'way)
      Book by Terrence McNally, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
      Neil Simon Theatre
    • ELF (B'way)
      Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics Chad Beguelin Al Hirschfeld Theatre
    • IN TRANSIT (Off-B'way)
      Book, music, and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth.
      59E59 Theaters (Primary Stages)
    • THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE (B'way)
      Book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart, music by Mike Stoller and Artie Butler
      Studio 54 (Roundabout)
    • PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (B'way)
      By Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott
      Palace Theatre
    • SISTER ACT (B'way)
      Book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner and Douglas Carter Beane, Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater
      Broadway Theatre

    Distinguished Revival of a Play:

    • ANGELS IN AMERICA (Off-B'way)
      By Tony Kushner
      Peter Norton Space (Signature)
    • ARCADIA (B'way)
      By Tom Stoppard
      Ethel Barrymore Theatre
    • BORN YESTERDAY (B'way)
      By Garson Kanin
      Cort Theatre
    • THE COLLECTION and A KIND OF ALASKA (Off-B'way)
      By Harold Pinter
      Classic Stage Company (Atlantic)
    • THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES (B'way)
      By John Guare
      Walter Kerr Theatre
    • THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (B'way)
      By Oscar Wilde
      American Airlines Theatre (Roundabout)
    • LA BETE (B'way)
      By David Hirson
      Music Box Theatre
    • THE LITTLE FOXES (Off-B'way)
      By Lillian Hellman
      New York Theatre Workshop
    • THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Off-B'way & B'way)
      By William Shakespeare
      The Public Theater/Broadhurst Theatre
    • THE NORMAL HEART (B'way)
      by Larry Kramer
      John Golden Theatre

    Distinguished Revival of a Musical

    • ANYTHING GOES (B'way)
      Original book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse. New book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman, Music & Lyrics by Cole Porter
      Stephen Sondheim Theatre (Roundabout)
    • HELLO AGAIN (Off-B'way)
      Words and music by Michael John LaChiusa (suggested by the play La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler)
      52 Mercer Street (Transport Group)
    • HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (B'way)
      Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser
      Al Hirschfeld Theatre


    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 dais includes the following performers, one of whom will be honored with the Distinguished Performance Award at the awards ceremony on 21 May 2011.

    The Distinguished Performance Award
    The list of nominees:

    • Nina Arianda Born Yesterday (B'way)
    • Vanessa Aspillaga underneathmybed
    • Daniel Beaty Through The Night
    • Brian Bedford The Importance of Being Earnest (B'way)
    • Jim Belushi Born Yesterday (B'way)
    • Laura Benanti Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (B'way)
    • Reed Birney The Dream of the Burning Boy
    • Desmin Borges The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
    • Christian Borle Angels in America and Peter and the Starcatcher
    • André Braugher The Whipping Man
    • Charles Busch The Divine Sister
    • Bill Camp Notes From Underground
    • Bobby Cannavale The Motherf
      ker With The Hat (B'way)
    • Victoria Clark Sister Act (B'way)
    • Billy Crudup Arcadia (B'way) and The Metal Children
    • Colin Donnell Anything Goes (B'way)
    • Lisa Emery The Collection/A Kind of Alaska
    • Ensemble Sleep No More**
    • Ensemble Hello Again**
    • Raúl Esparza Arcadia (B'way)
    • Edie Falco The House of Blue Leaves (B'way) and This Wide Night
    • Halley Feiffer Tigers Be Still
    • Sutton Foster Anything Goes (B'way)
    • Josh Gad The Book of Mormon (B'way)
    • Laura Heisler Kin
    • John Benjamin Hickey The Normal Heart (B'way)
    • Marin Ireland In the Wake and Three Sisters
    • John Larroquette How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (B'way)
    • Dan Lauria Lombardi (B'way)
    • John Leguizamo Ghetto Klown (B'way)
    • Judith Light Lombardi (B'way)
    • Joe Mantello The Normal Heart (B'way)
    • Elizabeth MarvelThe Little Foxes and Other Desert Cities
    • Frances McDormand Good People (B'way)
    • Laurie Metcalf The Other Place
    • Patina Miller Sister Act (B'way)
    • Arian Moayed Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (B'way)
    • Donna Murphy The People in the Picture (B'way)
    • Seth Numrich War Horse (B'way)
    • Al Pacino The Merchant of Venice (B'way)
    • Estelle Parsons Good People (B'way)
    • Alison Pill This Wide Night
    • Lily Rabe The Merchant of Venice (B'way)
    • Daniel Radcliffe How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (B'way)
    • Andrew Rannells The Book of Mormon (B'way)
    • Martin Rayner Freud's Last Session
    • Vanessa Redgrave Driving Miss Daisy (B'way)
    • Paul Reubens The Pee-Wee Herman Show (B'way)
    • Chris Rock The Motherfker With The Hat (B'way)
    • Mark Rylance Jerusalem and La Bête (B'way)
    • Michael Shannon Mistakes Were Made
    • Fiona Shaw John Gabriel Borkman
    • Tony Sheldon Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (B'way)
    • Scott Shepherd Gatz
    • Christopher Sieber The Kid
    • Alexandra Socha The Dream of the Burning Boy
    • Paul Sparks Dusk Rings a Bell
    • Ben Stiller The House of Blue Leaves
    • Will Swenson Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (B'way)
    • Kathleen Turner High (B'way)
    • Aaron Tveit Catch Me If You Can (B'way)
    • Robin Williams Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (B'way)
    • Tom Wopat Catch Me If You Can (B'way)
    • (
      The ensemble casts of Sleep No More and Hello Again will be honored collectively on the dais. The producers of each show may appoint one or two cast members to appear on the dais on behalf of the show's entire ensemble.)

      In addition, seven past recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award will be honored on the 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 Catch Me If You Can (B'way)
      • Stockard Channing Other Desert Cities
      • Cherry Jones Mrs. Warren's Profession (B'way)
      • James Earl Jones Driving Miss Daisy (B'way)
      • Patti LuPone Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (B'way)
      • Brian Stokes Mitchell Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (B'way)
      • Geoffrey Rush The Diary of a Madman

      In addition, The Drama League will present the following specialty awards.

      • The Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing will be presented to Susan Stroman
      • The Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award will be presented to Liza Minnelli
      • The Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award will go to Whoopi Goldberg

      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.

      Originally published on

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