Fonda, Prince, Lithgow, Daly and Wilson Set for 75TH ANNUAL DRAMA LEAGUE AWARDS 5/15

Broadway luminaries Jane Fonda, John Lithgow, Tyne Daly, Sutton Foster and Patick Wilson will appear as awards presenters at The 75th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 15, 2009 (noon) in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street). The event will be co-hosted by Jeremy Irons (Impressionism) and Cynthia Nixon (Distracted).

Fonda, Lithgow, Daly, Foster and Wilson join previously announced awards presenters Harold Prince, Stephen Daldry and Irv Welzer.

Each season, The Drama League presents competitive awards in five categories: Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, Distinguished Revial of a Play and the Distinguished Performance Award. Nominations for these awards were announced on Tuesday, April 21.

For a complete list of nominees, please visit www.dramaleague.org.

Earlier this spring, The Drama League announced the recipients of its annual special recognitions: Elton John will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award, Arthur Laurents will be honored with the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing and Angela Lansbury will receive the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award. In addition, Broadway porducer Herb Blodgett will receive The Drama League's 75th Anniversary Leadership Award.

Tickets for The 75th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon are now available. Individual tickets are $175-$450. Tables of ten range from $1,750 to $4,250.

Special $75 "Celebration Tickets": In honor of the 75th Anniversary of The Drama League Awards, for the first time ever, mezzanine seating will be available for $75 per person. The "Celebration Ticket" price includes an open beer, wine and soda bar (lunch is not included).

For more information, please call The Drama League at 212-244-9494 ext. 5 or visit www.dramaleague.org.

Last season, Drama League Awards were presented to Patti LuPone (Distinguished Performance), August: Osage County (Distinguished Production of a Play), A Catered Affair (Distinguished Production of a Musical), Macbeth (Distinguished Revival of a Play) and South Pacific (Distinguished Revival of a Musical).

The first Drama League Award was presented to actress Katharine Cornell in 1935, making it the oldest national theatre honor, predating the Tony Awards by twelve years.

In recent years, the Distinguished Performance Award has been accorded to a roster of theatre legends such as Rosemary Harris, Christopher Plummer, Sir Ian McKellen, Bernadette Peters, James Earl Jones, John Lithgow, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Bebe Neuwirth, Cherry Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Liam Neeson, Harvey Fierstein, Norbert Leo Butz, Christine Ebersole and Liev Schreiber, among others.

The Drama Leaguewas founded in 1916 as an association of theatre professionals and patrons dedicated to encouraging the finest in professional theatre, and has since developed into the theatre's premiere service organization.

The Drama League provides an unparalleled training program for emerging theatre artists through The Directors Project, which encourages and trains young talents while providing much-needed exposure and essential connections to the professional theatrical community.

The Drama League's Audience Project is dedicated to building strong, passionate audiences for the American theatre, providing discounted tickets for its members to the best Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional productions across the United States while enhancing the theatergoer's understanding and experience of live theatre through its informative panels, luncheons and discussions with leading figures in the field.

For more information visit, www.DramaLeague.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.