Michael Urie to host 62nd Annual Drama Desk Awards

Gretchen Shugart and Charles Wright have announced that Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie will return next year to host the 62st Annual Drama Desk Awards on Sunday, 4 June 2017 at 8pm at The Town Hall. (Nominations for these awards will be revealed on Thursday, 27 April 2017 at 10am at Feinstein's/54 Below).

Shugart released the following statement:

"Celebrating New York City theater gives us a chance to showcase the creativity, diversity and excitement that is on and off Broadway with people around the globe. And with the amazing Michael Urie again leading the show, we know it will be a great night."

The Drama Desk nominating committee is composed of: David Barbour, Chairperson (Lighting & Sound America); Linda Buchwald (freelance, American Theatre, Playbill, TDF Stages, Theatre is Easy, JTA); Peter Filichia (Broadway Select, author); David Finkle (Blogger, Huffington Post, Clyde Fitch Report); Sandy MacDonald (Time Out New York); Andy Propst (author); Douglas Strassler (Garden State Journal); Zachary Stewart (TheaterMania); and Charles Wright (President, Drama Desk), ex officio.

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.

- by Tom Millward