The 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards Will Take Place 5/19; Jan Maxwell, John Lloyd Young to Announce Nominations 4/26

The 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards will take place on Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 8:00 PM at The Town Hall, it was announced today by Gretchen Shugart, CEO of TheaterMania.com, which will present the awards ceremony. Shugart is managing Executive Producer of Drama Desk Awards. Joey Parnes Productions will produce and manage the show. The President of Drama Desk is Isa Goldberg.

The Nominations Announcement News Conference will take place on Friday, April 26, 2013 at 11 AM at 54 Below and will be announced by John Lloyd Young (Drama Desk Winner, Jersey Boys) and Jan Maxwell (Drama Desk Winner, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Drama Desk Winner, The Royal Family).

The Awards show is written by Bill Rosenfield and directed by Jack Cummings III (co-founder and artistic director of Transport Group).

Drama Desk Awards, which are presented annually, honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway. What sets Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater, "without any vested interest in the results." For this reason, Drama Desk Awards reflect both enthusiasm for all aspects of New York's professional theater and a level of erudition and theatrical experience unparalleled in our industry's other prize-giving organizations.

The 2012-2013 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of: Barbara Siegel, Chairperson (TalkinBroadway.com and freelance); David Kaufman (author and freelance), Samuel L. Leiter (Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theatre, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center), Martha Wade Steketee (urbanexcavations.com; editor and contributor, Chance Magazine), Adrian Wattenmaker (Theater Faculty, Brooklyn College; Director, School of Creative and Performing Arts), and James Wilson (Professor of Theatre, CUNY; co-editor of Journal of American Drama and Theatre).

Isa Goldberg, president of Drama Desk, added, "Drama Desk Awards, honoring outstanding achievement by professionals working on the New York stage, reflect the knowledge and theatrical experience of our membership. Indeed, this year's nominating committee is comprised of Drama Desk members who reflect the highest level of distinction as theater critics, scholars and journalists."

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.

The 2012-2013 Board of Directors of the Drama Desk is composed of: Isa Goldberg (Broadwaychannel.com; Theaterlife.com) President, Leslie (Hoban) Blake, (Theater Critic/City ARTS-Downtown; Co-Host/TWO on the AISLE, MNN, You Tube) Vice President, Charles Wright, (A+E Networks; Editorial Board, Best Plays Theater Year Book) Treasurer & 2nd Vice President, Richard Ridge, (BroadwayWorld.com Backstage with Richard Ridge) Secretary, Arlene Epstein (South Shore Record/Herald Community Newspapers & LIHerald.com;), Elysa Gardner (USA Today critic/reporter; New York Drama Critics Circle), Randy Gener (American Theatre; New York Theater Wire); John Istel (Freelance Editor and Arts Journalist; Managing Editor, Drama Desk website), David Kaufman (Author and Freelance), William Wolf (wolfentertainmentguide.com; Adjunct professor, NYU), Lauren Yarger (Reflections in the Light; BroadwayWorld.com) .