Drama League Awards Go Broad with Crowded List of 2014 Nominations
A whopping seven Broadway musicals and two Off Broadway tuners will compete for the single 2013-14 Drama League Award for musical, one of only five competitive award categories packed with nominees that also include actors Michelle Williams, Denzel Washington, Bryan Cranston, James Franco and Neil Patrick Harris.
For Tony Awards pundits looking for clues to the hotly contested new musical race, the Drama League noms — which pit Broadway vs. Off Broadway fare for its kudos — won’t provide much of a barometer. “After Midnight,” “Aladdin,” “Beautiful” (pictured, above), “The Bridges of Madison County,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” and “Rocky” are all in the running — far more than can be accommodated by the Tony category of four (or possibly five) nominees. Off Broadway titles “Fun Home” (a likely candidate for a Broadway transfer) and “Murder for Two” round out the list, which notably leaves off one of the Rialto’s spring contenders, “If/Then.”
In the tuner revival category, weighing in at a svelte four titles, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Les Miserables” and “Violet” face off against “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,” the Billie Holiday bio that the Outer Critics and the Drama League has classified as a musical but could possibly be considered a play-with-music in the Tony race. In a prelude to what will likely happen with the Tonys, the Roundabout Theater Company revival of “Cabaret” was not considered eligible since it’s a remount of the 1998 revival, although the show’s new cast members were all considered for nominations.
In the new play race, Broadway outings “All the Way,” “Casa Valentina,” “Mothers and Sons” and “The Realistic Joneses” square off against Off Broadway’s “All That Fall,” “Domesticated,” “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” and “The Open House.” Playwright Will Eno competes with himself in the category with his two shows this season, “Realistic Joneses” and “Open House.”
Play revival taps just-opened productions of “The Cripple of Inishmaan” and “Of Mice and Men” for a race that also encompasses fall opener “The Glass Menagerie” and Off Broadway’s “Good Person of Szechuan” and “The Mutilated.”
The list of actors vying for the lone acting award stretches to some 50 nominees, including Idina Menzel, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Tracy Letts and Tyne Daly, among many others.
The nominations from the League, the longstanding legit audience and artist development nonprofit, add momentum to the Gotham theater industry’s 2014 awards season, which kicked off Tuesday with the Outer Critics Circle noms.
Christopher Seiber, the thesp currently starring in Broadway’s “Matilda,” and Judith Light announced the Drama League nominees at Sardi’s on Wednesday morning. Hosted by Ferguson, the 80th annual Drama League Awards ceremony is set for May 16 at the Marriott Marquis.
The 2014 Drama League Award nominees are:
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
All That Fall
59 East 59 Theatres
By Samuel Beckett
Directed by Trevor Nunn
59E59 Theaters, Richard Darbourne Limited, Jermyn Street Theatre, producers
All The Way
Neil Simon Theatre
By Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Bill Rauch
Jeffrey Richards, Louise Gund, Jerry Frankel, Stephanie P. McClelland, Double Gemini Productions, Rebecca Gold, Scott M. Delman, Barbara H. Freitag, Harvey Weinstein, Gene Korf, William Berlind, Caiola Productions, Gutterman Chernoff, Jam Theatricals, Gabrielle Palitz, Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Will Trice, producers
Casa Valentina
Manhattan Theatre Club/Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Joe Mantello
Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer
By special arrangement with Colin Callender, Robert Cole, Frederick M. Zollo, The Shubert Organization, producers
Domesticated
Lincoln Center Theater/Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Andre Bishop, Artistic Director; Adam Siegel, Managing Director; Hattie K. Jutagir, Executive Director of Development and Planning
Mothers and Sons
Golden Theatre
By Terrence McNally
Directed by Sheryl Kaller
Tom Kirdahy, Roy Furman, Paula Wagner and Debbie Bisno, Barbara Freitag and Loraine Alterman Boyle, Hunter Arnold, Paul Boskind, Ken Davenport, LAMS Productions, Mark Lee and Ed Filipowski, Roberta Pereira/Brunish-Trinchero, Sanford Robertson, Tom Smedes & Peter Stern, Jack Thomas/Susan Dietz, producers
Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play
Playwrights Horizons
By Anne Washburn
Directed by Steve Cosson
Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director; Carol Fishman, General Manager
The Open House
Signature Theatre Company
By Will Eno
Directed by Oliver Butler
James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director
The Realistic Joneses
Lyceum Theatre
By Will Eno
Directed by Sam Gold
Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jam Theatricals, Stacey Mindich, Susan Gallin, Mary Lu Roffe, Andy Sandberg, Scott M. Delman, William Berlind, Caiola Productions, CandyWendyJamie Productions, Amy Danis & Mark Johannes, Finn Moellenberg Productions, Angelina Fiordellisi, Jay Franke, Gesso Productions, Grimaldi Astrachan Hello Entertainment, Meg Herman, Mara Smigel Rutter Productions, KM-R&D, Will Trice, in association with Yale Repertory Theatre
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
After Midnight
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Conceived by Jack Viertel
Directed by Warren Carlyle
Scott Sanders Productions, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Furman, Candy Spelling, Starry Night Entertainment, Hal Newman, Allan S. Gordon/Adam S. Gordon, James L. Nederlander, Robert K. Kraft, Catherine and Fred Adler, Robert Appel, Jeffrey Bolton, Scott M. Delman, James Fantaci, Ted Liebowitz, Stephanie P. McClelland, Sandy Block, Carol Fineman, producers in association with Marks-Moore-Turnbull Group, Stephen and Ruth Hendel, and Tom Kirdahy
Aladdin
New Amsterdam Theatre
Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Book and Additional Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Directed by Casey Nicholaw
Disney Theatrical Productions, Thomas Schumacher, Director
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Stephen Sondheim Theatre
Book by Douglas McGrath, Music by Barry Mann and Carole King, Lyrics by Cynthia Weil and Gerry Goffin
Directed by Marc Bruni
Paul Blake, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Jeffrey A. Sine, Richard A. Smith, Mike Bosner, Harriet N. Leve/Elaine Krauss, Terry Schnuck, Orin Wolf, Patty Baker/Good Productions, Roger Faxon, Larry Magid, Kit Seidel, Lawrence S. Toppall, Fakston Productions/Mary Solomon, William Court Cohen, John Gore, BarLor Productions, Matthew C. Blank, Tim Hogue, Joel Hyatt, Marianne Mills, Michael J. Moritz, Jr., StylesFour Productions, Brunish & Trinchero, Jeremiah J. Harris, producers
The Bridges of Madison County
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
Book by Marsha Norman, Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Jeffrey Richards, Stacey Mindich, Jerry Frankel, Gutterman Chernoff, Hunter Arnold, Ken Davenport, Carl Daikeler, Michael DeSantis, Aaron Priest, Libby Adler Mages/Mari Glick Stuart, Scott M. Delman, Independent Presenters Network, Red Mountain Theatre Company, Caiola Productions, Remmel T. Dickinson, Ken Greiner, David Lancaster, Bellanca Smigel Rutter, Mark S. Golub & David S. Golub, Will Trice, producers with Warner Bros Theatre Ventures and The Shubert Organization in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival
Bullets Over Broadway
St. James Theatre
Book by Woody Allen, Music Adaptation and Additional Lyrics by Glen Kelly
Directed by Susan Stroman
Letty Aronson, Julian Schlossberg, Edward Walson, Leroy Schector, Roy Furman, Broadway Across America, Just For Laughs Theatricals/Jacki Barlia Florin, Harold Newman and Jujamcyn Theaters, producers
Fun Home
The Public Theater
Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron
Directed by Sam Gold
Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director
A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder
Walter Kerr Theatre
Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman, Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak
Directed by Darko Tresnjak
Joey Parnes, S.D. Wagner, John Johnson, 50 Church Street Productions, Joan Raffe and Jhett Tolentino, Jay Alix and Una Jackman, Catherine and Fred Adler, Rhoda Herrick, Kathleen K. Johnson, Megan Savage, Shadowcatcher Entertainment, Ron Simons, True Love Productions, Jamie deRoy, Four Ladies & One Gent, John Arthur Pinckard, Greg Nobile, Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, Exeter Capital/Ted Snowdon, Ryan Hugh Mackey, Cricket-CTM Media/Mano-Horn Productions, Dennis Grimaldi/Margot Astrachan, Hello Entertainment/Jamie Bendell, Michael T. Cohen/Joe Strola, Joseph and Carson Gleberman/William Megevick, Green State Productions, Robert Greenblatt, producers in association with Hartford Stage and The Old Globe
Murder for Two
Second Stage Theatre/New World Stages
Book and Music by Joe Kinosian, Book and Lyrics by Kellan Blair
Directed by Scott Schwartz
Second Stage Theatre, Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director; Christopher Burney, Associate Artistic Director; Jayson Raitt, Barbara Whitman, Steven Chaikelson, producers
Rocky
Winter Garden Theatre
Book by Thomas Meehan and Sylvester Stallone, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Directed by Alex Timbers
Stage Entertainment USA and Sylvester Stallone, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, The Shubert Organization, Kevin King-Templeton, James L. Nederlander and Terry Allen Kramer, Roy Furman, Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Zane Tankel, Lucky Champions, Scott Delman, JFL Theatricals/Judith Ann Abrams, Latitude Link, Waxman/Shin/Bergère, Lauren Stevens/Josh Goodman, producers
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Cort Theatre
By Martin McDonagh
Directed by Michael Grandage
Michael Grandage Company, Arielle Tepper Madover, L.T.D. Productions, Stacey Mindich, Starry Night Entertainment, Scott M. Delman, Martin McCallum, Stephanie P. McClelland, Zeilinger Productions and The Shubert Organization, producers
The Glass Menagerie
Booth Theatre
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by John Tiffany
Jeffrey Richards, John N. Hart Jr., Jerry Frankel, Lou Spisto/Lucky VIII, Infinity Stages, Scott M. Delman, Jam Theatricals, Mauro Taylor, Rebecca Gold, Michael Palitz, Charles E. Stone, Will Trice, Gfour Productions, producers
Good Person of Szechwan
The Public Theater
By Bertolt Brecht, translated by John Willett
Directed by Lear deBessonet
Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director; The Foundry Theatre
The Mutilated
The New Ohio Theatre
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Cosmin Chivu
Beth Bartley Productions, Thomas Keith and New Ohio Theatre, Robert Lyons, Artistic Director
Of Mice and Men
Longacre Theatre
By John Steinbeck
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
David Binder, Kate Lear, Darren Bagert, Adam Zotovich, Latitude Link/Piedmont Productions, Raise The Roof, Paula Marie Black, Marc Turtletaub, Ruth Hendel/Barbara Whitman, Marianne Mills/Jayne Baron Sherman, Martin Massman, Judy Kent/Wendy Knudsen, Kevin Niu, Michael Watt, and The Shubert Organization, producers
A Raisin in the Sun
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
By Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Kenny Leon
Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Eli Bush, Jon B. Platt, Scott M. Delman, Roy Furman, Stephanie P. McClelland, Ruth Hendel, Sonia Friedman/Tulchin Bartner, The Araca Group, Heni Koenigsberg, Daryl Roth, Joan Raffe and Jhett Tolentino, Joey Parnes, S.D. Wagner, John Johnson, producers
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
Belasco Theatre
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Tim Carroll
Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis, Roger Berlind, Glass Half Full Productions/Just For Laughs Theatricals, 1001 Nights Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Jane Bergère, Paula Marie Black, Rupert Gavin, Stephanie P. McClelland, Shakespeare’s Globe Centre USA, Max Cooper, Tanya Link Productions and Shakespeare Road, producers
Waiting For Godot
Cort Theatre
By Samuel Beckett
Directed by Sean Mathias
Stuart Thompson, Nomango Productions, Jon B. Platt, Elizabeth Williams/Jack M. Dalgleish, producers
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Belasco Theatre
Book by John Cameron Mitchell, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Trask
Directed by Michael Mayer
David Binder, Jayne Baron Sherman, Barbara Whitman, Latitude Link, Patrick Catullo, Raise The Roof, Paula Marie Black, Colin Callender, Ruth Hendel, Saron Karmazin, Martian Entertainment, Stacey Mindich, Eric Schnall and The Shubert Organization, producers
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
Circle in the Square Theatre
by Lanie Robertson
Directed by Lonny Price
Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jessica Genick, Will Trice, Ronald Frankel, Rebecca Gold, Roger Berlind, Ken Grenier, Gabrielle Palitz, Irene Gandy, Gfour Productions, producers
Les Misérables
Imperial Theatre
Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer
Original French Text by Alain Boubilil and Jean-Marc Natel
Directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell
Cameron Mackintosh, producer
Violet
Roundabout Theatre Company/American Airlines Theatre
Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Brian Crawley
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Todd Haimes, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Managing Director; Julia Levy, Executive Director
DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD
One winner is selected from this category. The recipient can only receive the award once during his or her career.
Reed Birney, Casa Valentina
Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Zach Braff, Bullets over Broadway
Arnie Burton, The Mystery of Irma Vep
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Nick Cordero, Bullets over Broadway
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Alan Cumming, Cabaret
Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons
Mary Bridget Davies, A Night With Janis Joplin
Gabriel Ebert, Casa Valentina
Carson Elrod, The Heir Apparent
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, The Comedy of Errors
Sutton Foster, Violet
James Franco, Of Mice and Men
Peter Friedman, The Open House
Michael C. Hall, The Realistic Joneses
Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Joshua Henry, Violet
James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun
Ramin Karimloo, Les Misérables
Andy Karl, Rocky
Adriane Lenox, After Midnight
Tracy Letts, The Realistic Joneses
Zachary Levi, First Date
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Taylor Mac, Good Person of Szechwan
Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Idina Menzel, If/Then
Laurie Metcalf, Domesticated
Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Chris O’Dowd, Of Mice and Men
Kelli O’Hara, The Bridges of Madison County
Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn
Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County
Jeremy Pope, Choir Boy
Zachary Quinto, The Glass Menagerie
Daniel Radcliffe, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, How I Learned What I Learned
Margo Seibert, Rocky
Robert Sella, The Mystery of Irma Vep
Tony Shalhoub, Act One
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie
Patrick Stewart, Waiting for Godot
John Douglas Thompson, Satchmo at the Waldorf
Denzel Washington, A Raisin in the Sun
Michelle Williams, Cabaret
The Drama League also wishes to acknowledge the previous recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award who appeared in New York productions this season. As the Award can only be won once in a performer’s lifetime, they are ineligible this season. Their exemplary work, however, is recognized and applauded.
Eileen Atkins, All That Fall
Norbert Leo Butz, Big Fish
Kathleen Chalfant, Somewhere Fun/Tales From Red Vienna
Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
Ian McKellen, Waiting For Godot/No Man’s Land
Frank Langella, King Lear
Mary-Louise Parker, The Snow Geese
Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night, Or What You Will/Richard III
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