2012 Drama Desk Nominations Announced - DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY, FOLLIES, NICE WORK Lead Nominees!

Nominations for the 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced at a news conference this morning by Drama Desk winners Donna Murphy and Brian d'Arcy James. The 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards will take place on Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 8:00 PM at The Town Hall in Manhattan.

In keeping with the Drama Desk's mission, nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway during the 2011-2012 New York theater season in the same competitive categories. The Board also decided to eliminate the category of Orchestrations.

And, the nominees are...

Outstanding Ensemble Performance
This year the nominators chose to bestow a special ensemble award for acting to the cast of Sweet and Sad. Jon Devries, Shuler Hensley, Maryann Plunkett, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, and J. Smith-Cameron are among New York's best actors, who came together as one unforgettable stage family. Therefore, the individual cast members were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories. members were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories.

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:

• 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.
• To Nick Westrate: His versatility in Unnatural Acts, Love's Labor's Lost, and Galileo was a highlight of the season.
• To 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.
• To 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 following are the nominations for the competitive categories. Winners will be selected by the voting membership of the Drama Desk:

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 Devil'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 Vii/age
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 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, Ail'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 MacDeviU, 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 Performance
Baba Br inkman, The Rap Guide to Evolution
Suli Holum, Chimera
Jeff Key, The Eyes  of Babylon
Cilli an 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:
Eligibility and award category designations for the productions under consideration this season were determined by the Drama Desk board of directors, with recommendations from the nominating committee. Because of the abundance of great work throughout the season, the board also authorized the increase in the number of nominees allowed in select categories.

The Drama Desk Board has decided that music and lyrics that come from another medium and are appearing for the first time on Broadway are eligible. Other Desert Cities  and Peter and the Starcatcherwere  considered for their productions Off Broadway in the 2010-2011 season; Venus in Fur  and Clyboume Park  were considered for the 2009-2010 season. Under Drama Desk rules, only new elements in their transfers to Broadway were eligible this season.

PRODUCTIONS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS 

Death Takes a Holiday: 10
Follies: 10
Nice Work If You Can Get It: 8
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark: 6
Leap of Faith: 6
Queen of the Mist: 6
Richard III: 6
Carrie: 5
Death of a Salesman: 5
Evita:5
Newsies The Musical: 5
Once: 5
The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess: 5
Bonnie & Clyde: 4
An Diad: 3
Chinglish: 3
Gore Vidal's The Best Man: 3
One Man, Two Guvnors: 3
The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World: 3
Unnatural Acts: 3
A Little Journey: 2
Jesus Christ Superstar: 2
Misterman: 2
Noctu: 2
One Arm: 2
The Lyons: 2
The Navigator: 2
Tribes: 2