Gaines, Jackson, Plimpton et al. to Present at Drama Desk Awards, 5/23

Boyd Gaines, Cheyenne Jackson, Martha Plimpton, Anna Gasteyer and Jesse L. Martin have joined the roster of stars who will serve as presenters at the 55th Annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony on Sunday, May 23, 2010 at the F.H. LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center. Other presenters, previously announced, include Mitzi Gaynor, Michael Cerveris, Matthew Modine, Brooke Shields, Rosie Perez, Leslie Jordan and Corbin Bleu.

Former Drama Desk Award winner Patti LuPone will host the awards ceremony which will be webcast live in its entirety by TheaterMania.com for the ninth consecutive year. This year's Drama Desk Awards nominations will be announced at a morning news conference on Monday, May 3, at 9:30 AM at the NY Friars Club by former Drama Desk Award winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Cady Huffman. All nominees will be celebrated at the annual Nominees Cocktail Reception to be held Thursday, May 6, 3:30 to 5:45 PM, at Churrascaria Plataforma, the authentic New York Brazilian Steak house on West 49th Street. At this event, the honorees receive their Official Nomination Certificates and have the opportunity to create individual sketches reflecting the stage productions with which they are affiliated for the Drama Desk Art*Kives program.

The VIP post-show party after the Drama Desk Awards ceremony on Sunday, May 23, will take place at Brian and Carrie Packin's plush, new upscale 48 Lounge on the street level of the McGraw Hill Building, 1221 Avenue of Americas, entrance on 48th Street, starting at 11:15 PM. The party will feature cuisine by the legendary Blue Ribbon Caterers.

The general pre-show reception at the LaGuardia Concert Hall on Sunday, May 23, will be hosted by 'Mind The Art Entertainment,' a New York City based Collaborative Arts & Entertainment Company whose mission is to promote, enhance, workshop and produce new work and talent in the arts.

Major supporters of the Awards presentation include David Stone, The Smart Family Foundation, Richard I. Kandel, Ted Snowdon, Jamie deRoy & friends, Lubov Galleries, Alpha Graphics, Federico Salon, ForTalent.com, Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, Dance Times Square as well as The New York Times and show business bible Variety.

Robert R. Blume is Executive Producer of the 55th Annual Drama Desk Awards, which will be co-presented by Theatermania.com, and Blume Media Group Ltd. Lauren Class Schneider is Producer and Jeff Kalpak is Director of the Awards ceremony. For the production, the Associate Producers are Joseph Callari, Corine Dana Cohen, Ellis Nassour, Michael Rubenstein and Les Schecter, who also serves as Director of Publicity and Promotions. Marilyn Munder is the Talent Consultant. Felicia M. Lopes is the General Manager; and Randie Levine-Miller is Special Events Director for the Drama Desk.

The 2009/2010 Nominating Committee for the Drama Desk Awards includes: Barbara Siegel (Chairperson) TalkinBroadway.com, TheaterMania.com; Christopher Byrne, Gay City News; Patrick Christiano, TheaterLife.com, Dan's Papers; David Kaufman, freelance and author; Gerard Raymond, Back Stage, The Advocate; Richard Ridge, Broadway Beat TV; and PaulAnne Simmons, CurtainUp.com, NY Theatre-wire.com.

The Board of Directors of the Drama Desk for the 2009-2010 theater season consisted of' William Wolf, President; Leslie (Hoban) Blake, Vice President; Charles Wright, Treasurer and 2nd Vice President; Richard Ridge, Secretary, Randy Gener, Isa Goldberg, Susan Haskins, John Istel, David Kaufman, Ellis Nassour and Sam Norkin.