Drescher, Lopez and Anderson-Lopez to announce Noms
The nominations for the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be announced by Academy Award winners Robert Lopez and his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez, along with Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Fran Drescher on 25 April 2014 at 54 Below.
According to Gretchen Shugart, CEO for the Awards: "It is an honor to have Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Fran Drescher announce this year's Drama Desk Nominations. Robert and Kristen both have roots in the theater and are fresh off their Oscar win for Best Song. We are delighted that they will 'let it go' with us. Fran is a beloved television idol from her years on 'The Nanny' and has worked extensively in the theater, currently wowing crowds nightly in Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella'."
Robert Lopez is an 'EGOT' (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Winner), who is perhaps best known for his co-creator roles in Broadway's 'Avenue Q' and 'The Book of Mormon'.
Kristen Anderson-Lopez co-wrote Off-Broadway's musical 'In Transit'. Together as a songwriting team, their credits include the Disney animated features 'Frozen' and 'Winnie the Pooh', and 'Finding Nemo: The Musical' at Walt Disney World.
Fran Drescher is perhaps best known for her Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated television role as Fran Fine in 'The Nanny'. She made her Broadway debut as the wicked Stepmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella' in Feb 2014. Her other theatre credits include Her theatre credits include Nora & Delia Ephron's 'Love, Loss and What I Wore', 'Camelot: Live at Lincoln Center' on PBS, Neil La Bute's 'Some Girl(s)' and 'The Exonerated'.
The 2013-2014 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of: Barbara Siegel, Chairperson, (Author and Freelance Critic); Morgan Jenness (Columbia & Pace University Professor); Samuel L. Leiter (Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theatre, CUNY); Sandy MacDonald (Freelance reporter); Chad McArver (Professor, Fordham University); Martha Wade Steketee (Editor); and James Wilson (Theatre Professor, CUNY).
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 among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions in the same categories.
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