The 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards nominations

Nominations for the 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced on Fri 27 Apr 2012 at Feinstein's at Loews Regency by Drama Desk Award winners Brian d' Arcy James and Donna Murphy.

The winners of the 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be announced on 3 Jun 2012 at a ceremony held at The Town Hall in Manhattan.

The annual awards honor excellence in theater for Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway during the season. The musical 'Death Takes a Holiday' leads the slate with eleven nominations, followed by 'Follies' which received ten nominations.

The following awards were voted by the nominating committee and will be presented by the Drama Desk at its awards ceremony: Outstanding Ensemble Performances:
Note: Individual cast members for this show were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories.

• Sweet and Sad

Special Awards:
Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theater. For 2011/2012, these awards are presented to:

• Mary Testa: For over three decades, she has dazzled audiences with consistently outstanding work, including her tour-de-force performance in this season's 'Queen of the Mist.'
• Nick Westrate: His versatility in Unnatural Acts, Love's Labor's Lost, and Galileo was a highlight of the season.
• New Victory Theatre: For providing enchanting, sophisticated children's theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in young people.
• Stephen Karam: The newly created Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: The profoundly moving 'Sons of the Prophet' confirmed his status as one of the most promising playwrights of his generation.

The 2012 Drama Desk Award nominations by category:

Outstanding Play:

• David Henry Hwang: Chinglish
• Dan LeFranc: The Big Meal
• Members of the Plastic Theatre: Unnatural Acts
• Ita mar Moses: Completeness
• Lynn Nottage: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
• Nina Raine: Tribes
• Nicky Silver: The Lyons

Outstanding Musical:

• Bonnie & Clyde
• Death Takes a Holiday
• Leap of Faith
• Newsies The Musical
• Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Once
• Queen of the Mist

Outstanding Revival of a Play:

• A Little Journey
• Death of a Salesman
• Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque
• Gore Vidal's The Best Man
• Lost in Yonkers
• Richard III

Outstanding Revival of a Musical:

• Carrie
• Evita
• Follies
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
• The Threepenny Opera

Outstanding Actor in a Play:

• James Corden: One Man, Two Guvnors
• Hugh Dancy: Venus in Fur
• Claybourne Elder: One Arm
• Santino Fontana: Sons of the Prophet
• Joseph Franchini: The Navigator
• Philip Seymour Hoffman: Death of a Salesman
• Kevin Spacey: Richard III

Outstanding Actress in a Play:

• Tracie Bennett: End of the Rainbow
• Sanaa Lathan: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
• Linda Lavin: The Lyons
• Jennifer Lim: Chinglish
• Kim Martin-Cotten: A Moon for the Misbegotten
• Carey Mulligan: Through a Glass Darkly
• Joely Richardson: Side Effects

Outstanding Actor in a Musical:

• Danny Burstein: Follies
• Kevin Earley: Death Takes a Holiday
• Raul Esparza: Leap of Faith
• Jeremy Jordan: Newsies The Musical
• Norm Lewis: The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
• Ricky Martin: Evita

Outstanding Actress in a Musical:

• Miche Braden: The DeviI's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith
• Jan Maxwell: Follies
• Audra McDonald: The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
• Kelli O'Hara: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Bernadette Peters: Follies
• Molly Ranson: Carrie

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play:

• Bill Camp: Oeath of a Salesman
• Jim Dale: The Road to Mecca
• Tom Edden: One Man, Two Guvnors
• Bill Irwin: King Lear
• Jefferson Mays: Blood and Gifts
• Will Rogers: Unnatural Acts
• Morgan Spector: Russian Transport

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play:

• Stephanie J. Block: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
• Anna Camp: All New People
• Kimberly Hebert Gregory: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
• Lisa Joyce: The Ugly One
• Joaquina Kalukango: Hurt Village
• Angela Lansbury: Gore Vidal's The Best Man
• Judith Light: Other Desert Cities

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical:

• Phillip Boykin: The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
• Matt Cavenaugh: Death Takes a Holiday
• Michael Cerveris: Evita
• Michael McGrath: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Patrick Page: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
• Andrew Samonsky: Queen of the Mist

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical:

• Judy Kaye: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Marin Mazzie: Carrie
• Jessie Mueller: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
• Elaine Paige: Follies
• Sarah Sokolovic: The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World
• Melissa van der Schyff: Bonnie & Clyde

Outstanding Director of a Play:

• Jo Bonney: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
• David Cromer: Tribes
• Ed Sylvanus Iskandar: These Seven Sicknesses
• Sam Mendes: Richard III
• Mike Nichols: Death of a Salesman
• Tony Speciale: Unnatural Acts

Outstanding Director of a Musical:

• Christopher Ashley: Leap of Faith
• Jack Cummings III: Queen of the Mist
• Doug Hughes: Death Takes a Holiday
• Kathleen Marshall: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Eric Schaeffer: Follies
• John Tiffany: Once

Outstanding Choreography:

• Rob Ashford: Evita
• Warren Carlyle: Follies
• Breandan de Gallal: Noctu
• Christopher Gattelli: Newsies The Musical
• Kathleen Marshall: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Sergio Trujillo: Leap of Faith

Outstanding Music:

• Glen Hansard and Marketa lrqlova: Once
• Michael John LaChiusa: Queen of the Mist
• Alan Menken: Leap of Faith
• Alan Menken: Newsies The Musical
• Frank Wildhorn: Bonnie & Clyde
• Maury Yeston: Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Lyrics:

• Don Black: Bonnie & Clyde
• Jack Feldman: Newsies The Musical
• Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen: The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World
• Glen Hansard and Marketa lrqlova: Once
• Michael John LaChiusa: Queen of the Mist
• Maury Yeston:Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Orchestrations:
This category was announced on 30 Apr 2012 following some controversy.

• Bill Elliott: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Larry Hochman: Death Takes a Holiday
• Martin Lowe: Once
• John McDaniel: Bonnie & Clyde
• Michael Starobin: Queen of the Mist
• Danny Troob: Newsies

Outstanding Book of a Musical:

• Douglas Carter Beane: Lysistrata Jones
• Janus Cercone and Warren Leight: Leap of Faith
• Joe DiPietro: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Joy Gregory: The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World
• Michael John LaChiusa: Queen of the Mist
• Thomas Meehan and Peter Stone: Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Music in a Play

• Mark Bennett: An Iliad
• Mark Bennett: Richard III
• Tom Kitt: All's Well That Ends Well
• Gina Leishman: Septimus and Clarissa
• Grant Olding: One Man, Two Guvnors
• Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik: Carson McCullers Talks About Love

Outstanding Revue

• Newsical the Musical: End of the World Edition
• The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman

Outstanding Set Design:

• Jon Driscoll, Rob Howell and Paul Kieve: Ghost The Musical
• David Gallo: The Mountaintop
• Roger Hanna: A Little Journey
• David Korins: Assistance
• David Korins: Chinglish
• Derek McLane: Follies

Outstanding Costume Design:

• Gregg Barnes: Follies
• ESosa: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
• William Ivey Long: Lucky Guy
• Jessica Pabst: She Kills Monsters
• Martin Pakledinaz: Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Catherine Zuber: Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Lighting Design:

• Kevin Adams: Carrie
• Neil Austin: Evita
• David Lander: One Arm
• Brian MacDevitt: Death of a Salesman
• Kenneth Posner: Death Takes a Holiday
• Paul Pyant: Richard III

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical:

• Acme Sound Partners: The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
• Jonathan Deans: Carrie
• Clive Goodwin: Once
• Kai Harada: Follies
• Steve Canyon Kennedy: Jesus Christ Superstar
• Jon Weston: Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play:

• Quentin Chiappetta/mediaNoise: The Navigator
• Gregory Clarke: Misterman
• Gareth Fry: Richard III
• John Gromada: Gore Vidal's The Best Man
• Stowe Nelson: Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War
• Shane Rettig: She Kills Monsters

Outstanding Solo Performnce:

• Baba Brinkman: The Rap Guide to Evolution
• Suli Holum: Chimera
• Jeff Key: The Eyes of Babylon
• Cillian Murphy: Misterman
• Denis O'Hare: An Iliad
• Stephen Spinella: An Iliad

Unique Theatrical Experience:

• Give Me Your Hand
• Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had It So Good)
• Noctu
• The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill, Vol. 1: Early Plays/Lost Plays
• The Ryan Case 1873
• White

Note: The nominating committee made the following decisions related to the scope of technical award nominations:

Basil Twist's puppetry was included in the nomination for Outstanding Set Design for The Addams Family.

Bob Flanagan's puppet and mask design were included in the Outstanding Costume Design nomination for The Emperor Jones.

Fela! was considered last season in its off-Broadway premiere and received four nominations— Outstanding Musical; Sahr Ngaujah as Outstanding Actor in a Musical; Bill T. Jones for Outstanding Choreography and Aaron Johnson and Antibalas were nominated for Outstanding Orchestrations. Under Drama Desk rules, only new elements in a transfer can be considered.

Ragtime: The musical was initially nominated in two categories: Outstanding Costume Design: Santo Loquasto and Outstanding Orchestrations: William David Brohn. Both nominations were later removed as the Drama Desk Award's committee decided that both the costumes and the orchastrations were two similar to the earlier 1998 production of Ragtime, that both artists worked on.

Productions that received multiple nominations:

Death Takes a Holiday (11 nominations)Outstanding Musical Outstanding Actor in a Musical Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Outstanding Director of a Musical Outstanding Music Outstanding Lyrics Outstanding Book of a Musical Outstanding Orchestrations Outstanding Costume Design Outstanding Lighting Design Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Follies (10 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Musical Outstanding Actor in a Musical Outstanding Actress in a Musical (x2) Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Outstanding Director of a Musical Outstanding Choreography Outstanding Set Design Outstanding Costume Design Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Nice Work If You Can Get It (9 nominations)Outstanding Musical Outstanding Actress in a Musical Outstanding Featurd Actor in a Musical Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Outstanding Director of a Musical Outstanding Choreography Outstanding Orchestrations Outstanding Book of a Musical Outstanding Costume Design Queen of the Mist (7 nominations)Outstanding Musical Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Outstanding Director of a Musical Outstanding Music Outstanding Lyrics Outstanding Book of a Musical Outstanding Orchestrations By the Way Meet Vera Stark (6 nominations)Outstanding Play Outstanding Actress in a Play Outstanding Feaured Actress in a Play (x2) Outstanding Director of a Play Outstanding Costume Design Leap of Faith (6 nominations)Outstanding Musical Outstanding Actor in a Musical Outstanding Director of a Musical Outstanding Choreography Outstanding Music Outstanding Book of a Musical Newsies the Musical (6 nominations)Outstanding Musical Outstanding Actor in a Musical Outstanding Choreography Outstanding Music Outstanding Lyrics Outstanding Orchestrations Once (6 nominations)Outstanding Musical Outstanding Director of a Musical Outstanding Music Outstanding Orchestrations Outstanding Lyrics Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Richard III (6 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Play Outstanding Actor in a Play Outstanding Director of a Play Outstanding Music in a Play Outstanding Light Design Outstanding Sound Design in a Play Bonnie & Clyde (5 nominations)Outstanding Musical Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Outstanding Music Outstanding Lyrics Outstanding Orchestrations Carrie (5 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Musical Outstanding Actress in a Musical Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Outstanding Lighting Design Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Death of a Salesman (5 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Play Outstanding Actor in a Play Outstanding Director of a Play Outstanding Orchestrations Outstanding Lighting Design Evita (5 nominations)Outstanding revival of a Musical Outstanding Actor in a Musical Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Outstanding Choreography Outstanding Lighting Design The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (5 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Musical Outstanding Actor in a Musical Outstanding Actress in a Musical Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical An Iliad (3 nominations)Outstanding Music in a Play Outstanding Solo Performance (x2) Chinglish: (3 nominations)Outstanding Play Outstanding Actress in a Play Outstanding Set Design Gore Vidal's The Best Man (3 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Play Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Outstanding Sound Design in a Play One Man, Two Guvnors (3 nominations)Outstanding Actor in a Play Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Outstanding Music in a Play The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World (3 nominations)Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Outstanding Lyrics Outstanding Book of a Musical Unnatural Acts (3 nominations)Outstanding Play Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Outstanding Director of a Play A Little Journey (2 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Play Outstanding Set Design Jesus Christ Superstar (2 nominations)Outstanding Revival of a Musical Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Misterman (2 nominations)Outstanding Sound Design in a Play Outstanding Solo Performance Noctu (2 nominations)Outstanding Choreography Unique Theatrical Experience One Arm (2 nominations)Outstanding Actor in a Play Outstanding Lighting Design The Lyons (2 nominations)Outstanding Play Outstanding Actress in a Play The Navigator (2 nominations)Outstanding Actor in a Play Outstanding Sound Design in a Play Tribes (2 nominations)Outstanding Play Outstanding Director of a Play