Nominations for the 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced this morning at the New York Friars Club by Faith Prince and Jim Dale, multi-award winning stage stars. They were joined for the announcement by William Wolf, Drama Desk President, Barbara Siegel, Chairperson of the Drama Desk Nominating Committee, Robert R. Blume, Executive Producer of the Drama Desk Awards ceremony, and Randie Levine-Miller, Director of Special Events for the Drama Desk.
In keeping with the Drama Desk's unique mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, off Broadway and off-off Broadway during the 2008/2009 season in the same competitive categories. Final deliberations took place at the Travel Inn, New York City.
The 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be held Sunday, May 17, 2009 in the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center. The awards show will be webcast live for the seventh year in a row by TheaterMania.com.
Drama Desk nominees will receive their official Nomination Certificates at a cocktail reception on Friday, May 1, 4p.m.-6:30 p.m. at Il Bastardo restaurant, 191 Seventh Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets).
The 2008/2009 Nominating Committee for the Drama Desk Awards is composed of: Barbara Siegel (Chairperson) TalkinBroadway.com, TheaterMania.com; Dan Bacalzo, TheaterMania.com; Christopher Byrne, Gay City News; Patrick Christiano, TheaterLife.com, Dan's Papers; Jason Clark, Entertainment Weekly, TheaterOnline.com; Gerard Raymond, Back Stage, The Advocate; and Richard Ridge, Broadway Beat TV.
Drama Desk nominees will receive their official nomination certificates at a cocktail reception on Thursday, May 1, 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Arte Café, 106 West 73rd Street, between Broadway and Columbus Avenue.
Robert R. Blume is Executive Producer of the 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards Ceremony and Blume Media Group Ltd is the producing company. Lauren Class Schneider is Producer and Jeff Kalpak is Director of the Awards ceremony. For the production, the Associate Producers are Margot Astrachan, Jacki Barlia Florin, Joseph Callari, Corine Dana Cohen, Ellis Nassour and Les Schecter, who is also Director of Publicity and Promotions. Felicia M. Lopes is the General Manager; Ellis Nassour is Press Liaison and Randie Levine-Miller is Special Events Director for the Drama Desk organization.
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 between Broadway, Off- Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions in the same categories.
The organization hosts panels throughout the year, to which the public is invited, to promote understanding and appreciation of the professional theater. In addition to honoring creative artists and stage productions in multiple categories, the Drama Desk annually presents scholarships to two worthy seniors in the Drama Department of the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts who are planning careers in the theater.
The Drama Desk Awards invites personal sketches from this year's nominated performers and creative talent for its Art*Kive program, started nine years ago by Art*Kive creator Sarah Galvin. This annual program--unique to the Drama Desk Awards--invites the nominees to render a sketch that is relevant to the role or stage production that helped them achieve their nomination. The sketches will be displayed at the awards ceremony.
