Kristin Chenoweth to Host Drama Desk Awards, May 20

Kristin Chenoweth, the star of the Broadway musical stage who recently concluded her critically acclaimed engagement in The Apple Tree for The Roundabout Theatre, will host the 52nd Annual Drama Desk Awards on Sunday, May 20, at 9:00 PM, it was announced by Robert R. Blume, Executive Producer of the awards ceremony, and William Wolf, President of the Drama Desk.

The awards ceremony will be held in the F.H. LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center and will be taped for subsequent broadcast on PBS stations nationwide, including Thirteen/WNET and NYC TV 25 in New York City.

"We are extremely excited that Kristin Chenoweth will be hosting this year," said Executive Producer Robert R. Blume. "She is a sensational performer whose multiple talents as a singer and actress have made her one of the biggest stars on Broadway and television. We've had a great relationship with Kristin in the past and we are thrilled to welcome her back into the Drama Desk Awards family."

William Wolf, President of the Drama Desk, an organization of theater critics, writers and editors, that honors excellence in all areas of New York theatre, including Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway and not-for-profit Theater, hailed the choice of Ms. Chenoweth as host. "Kristin Chenoweth is a dynamic star who has shown her enormous talent in an appealing assortment of productions. We are delighted that she has agreed to host our Drama Desk awards and look forward to the charm, energy and intelligence she will bring to the event."

Kristin Chenoweth seems to be at ease on any stage. While performing this year in The Apple Tree, she took a night off to perform a sold out solo concert at the Metropolitan Opera House. From May 10 – 14 of this year, she will star in the Encores series' first original production, Stairway to Paradise, a show celebrating some of the very best material from a half century of Broadway revues.

Many remember Chenoweth's show-stealing, Tony-winning performance in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and her star turn when she originated the role of Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, which earned her a Tony Award nomination. Chenoweth also performed in the Broadway comedy Epic Proportions and in the Kander and Ebb musical Steel Pier, for which she won a Theatre World award. Her performance in an Off Broadway production of Moliere's Scapin for the Roundabout Theatre Company also won raves.

Television fans know her as Annabeth Schott on "The West Wing," the librarian, Marian Paroo, in ABC's movie version of Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man," and Lily St. Regis in the television adaptation of "Annie." She also starred in her own series "Kristin" for NBC.  Moviegoers have seen her in Deck the Halls with Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick, RV with Robin Williams, Bewitched with Nicole Kidman, Running with Scissors with Annette Bening, and The Pink Panther with Steve Martin. Her film credits also include a cameo in Marc Forster's Stranger Than Fiction with Emma Thompson. She is currently developing a feature film based on the life of Dusty Springfield and is scheduled to make her Metropolitan Opera debut in March 2010 as Samira in John Corigliano's The Ghost of Versailles.

A veteran of the concert scene, Chenoweth took the stage in a solo sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall in 2004 and subsequently performed her SRO solo concert at Sam Mendes's acclaimed Donmar Warehouse in London as part of the Divas at Donmar series. Following her London concert, Chenoweth performed with various symphonies, including The New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony. One of her proudest accomplishments was performing Bernstein's Candide at Lincoln Center with The New York Philharmonic. Other performances include her sold-out Los Angeles solo debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, an evening at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, and the Washington National Opera's 50th Anniversary Gala with Placido Domingo.

She is also an accomplished recording artist and has released the albums Let Yourself Go and As I Am on Sony Classical, and is gearing up for her third album.

Robert R. Blume is Executive Producer of the 52nd Annual Drama Desk Awards.  Lauren Class Schneider is Producer and Jeff Kalpak is Director. Associate Producers are Jacki Barlia Florin, Corine Dana Cohen, Margot Astrachan and Les Schecter who is also Director of Publicity and Promotions. Elias EL-Hage is the General Manager. Randie Levine-Miller is Special Events Director for the Drama Desk... Roy A. Somlyo is Consulting Producer.

Visit www.dramadesk.org for more information.