Denee Benton & Andre De Shields Will Announce 2022 Drama League Award Nominations

The Drama League will welcome Tony Award winner and Drama League Distinguished Performance Award nominee André De Shields (Hadestown) and Tony Award and Drama League Distinguished Performance Award Nominee Denée Benton (The Great Comet of 1812, "The Gilded Age") as hosts of the 2022 Drama League Awards nominations event on Monday, April 25, 2022 at 11:00AM at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY). The nomination announcement event will also be livestreamed by BroadwayWorld, beginning at 11:00AM ET.

"We are thrilled to celebrate the resilience and talent of our theater community," says Drama League Board President and Founder of BroadwayHD Bonnie Comley, "because this year is about so much more, it will be a homecoming!"

The 88th Annual Drama League Awards will be presented in person at The Ziegfeld Ballroom (141 W 54th St, New York, NY) on Friday, May 20, 2022, at 12:00PM. More information about the ceremony and how to attend can be found at dramaleague.org/2022awards. The 2022 Awards will recognize eligible Broadway and Off-Broadway (non-virtual only) productions that began preview performances between March 16, 2021, and April 23, 2022. Keeping in the tradition of honoring the outstanding accomplishments of the theatrical community, as they have since 1935, Drama League Awards will be bestowed in the following categories, in addition to new competitive directing categories:

• Distinguished Performance Award

• Outstanding Production of a Play

• Outstanding Production of a Musical

• Outstanding Revival of a Play

• Outstanding Revival of a Musical

• *new* Outstanding Direction of a Play

• *new* Outstanding Direction of a Musical

As previously announced, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Billy Crystal, Hugh Jackman and Willette Murphy Klausner are this year's Special Recognition Honorees. Hugh Jackman will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater Award for his outstanding work on stage and in film as part of the musical theater community; Billy Crystala will be presented with the Contribution to the Theater Award for his extraordinary work on stages across the country and commitment to mentorship in the field; Lileana Blain-Cruz will be honored with the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing for her incredible contributions to the field of directing; and producer Willette Murphy Klausner will be honored with the Gratitude Award in recognition of her leadership, commitment, and dedication to theater and the entertainment industry.

First presented in 1922 and formalized in 1935, The Drama League Awards are a core service to the theater community of The Drama League, an arts organization that has provided vital support to the field and its artists for over a century. The organization's mission provides the nation's only full-time, lifelong creative home for stage directors and the audiences that enjoy their work across the world. For a complete list of productions and performers that have won Drama League Awards in the event's history, as well as all past honorees, visit dramaleague.org/awards-history. The Drama League is grateful for support from its generous donors, including the 2022 Drama League Awards Gold Sponsors: BroadwayHD, John Gore Organization, Nederlander Organization, Joseph & Lauren Pizza/Sceneworks Studios, and Iris Smith; and Silver Sponsors: Kirk Iwanowski & Steven Cohen and Mary Dunn, Mary Jain, Christine Rendano, and The Shubert Organization. More information on sponsoring the event can be found at dramaleague.org/awards.