Radcliffe, Bedford, Gad et al. to Present at Drama League Awards, 5/20

The Drama League has announced the rosters of stars who will appear as presenters at The 77th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 20, 2011 (noon) in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th Street). The ceremony will be hosted by Kathleen Turner (High).

This year's presenters include Daniel Radcliffe, who will present the award for Distinguished Production of a Musical; Brian Bedford, who will present the award for Distinguished Production of a Play; Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, who will present the award for Distinguished Revival of a Play; Patina Miller, who will present the award for Distinguished Revival of a Musical; and James Earl Jones, who will present the Distinguished Performance Award.

For the non-competitive awards, Douglas Aibel will present The Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing to Susan Stroman; Robin Williams will present the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award to Whoopi Goldberg; and John Kander will present the Distinguished Acheivement in Musical Theatre Award to Liza Minnelli.

As previously announced, the year's nominees for The Drama League's four major production award categories are as follows:

Distinguished Production of a Play (12)
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo | Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Diary of a Madman | Brooklyn Academy Of Music
The Dream of the Burning Boy | Roundabout Theatre Company
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity | Second Stage Theatre
Gatz | Elevator Repair Service/The Public Theater
Good People | Manhattan Theatre Club
Jerusalem | Music Box Theatre
Kin | Playwrights Horizons
The Motherf**ker with the Hat | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
Other Desert Cities | Lincoln Center Theatre
Sleep No More | Punchdrunk/The McKittrick Hotel
War Horse | Lincoln Center Theatre

Distinguished Production of a Musical (7)
The Book of Mormon | Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Catch Me If You Can | Neil Simon Theatre
Elf | Al Hirschfeld Theatre
In Transit | Primary Stages
The People in the Picture | Roundabout Theatre Company
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Palace Theatre
Sister Act | Broadway Theatre

Distinguished Revival of a Play (10)
Angels in America | Signature Theatre Company
Arcadia | Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Born Yesterday | Cort Theatre
The Collection and a Kind of Alaska | Atlantic Theatre Company
The House of Blue Leaves | Walter Kerr Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest | Roundabout Theatre Company
La Bête | Music Box Theatre
The Little Foxes | New York Theatre Workshop
The Merchant of Venice | The Public Theater/Broadhurst Theatre
The Normal Heart | John Golden Theatre

Distinguished Revival of a Musical (3)
Anything Goes | Roundabout Theatre Company
Hello Again | The Transport Group
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Al Hirschfeld Theatre

"What an amazing season this has been for Broadway and Off-Broadway theatergoers! In the Distinguished Production of a Play category, there were more than seventy new plays in contention this season -- a record for Drama League consideration," said Drama League President Jano Herbosch. "The nominating committee felt, as do we all, that the stunning bounty of work on display merited an expanded slate of nominees, given the extraordinary accomplishments in that area."

This season's Broadway transfers of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Brief Encounter, The Scottsboro Boys and Time Stands Still were nominated in 2010 for their original productions, and thus were not eligible for this year's awards.

The Drama League also pays tribute to the season's best performers by including the nominees of The Distinguished Performance Award on a dais.

The Distinguished Performance Award Nominees are:

Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday
Vanessa Aspillaga, underneathmybed
Daniel Beaty, Through The Night
Brian Bedford, The Importance of Being Earnest
Jim Belushi, Born Yesterday
Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Reed Birney, The Dream of the Burning Boy
Desmin Borges, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Christian Borle, Angels in America and Peter and the Starcatcher
André Braugher, The Whipping Man
Charles Busch, The Divine Sister
Bill Camp, Notes From Underground
Bobby Cannavale, The Motherf**ker With The Hat
Victoria Clark, Sister Act
Billy Crudup, Arcadia and The Metal Children
Colin Donnell, Anything Goes
Lisa Emery, The Collection/A Kind of Alaska
* Ensemble, Sleep No More
* Ensemble, Hello Again
Raúl Esparza, Arcadia
Edie Falco, The House of Blue Leaves and This Wide Night
Halley Feiffer, Tigers Be Still
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
Laura Heisler, Kin
John Benjamin Hickey, The Normal Heart
Marin Ireland, In the Wake and Three Sisters
John Larroquette, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Dan Lauria, Lombardi
John Leguizamo, Ghetto Klown
Judith Light, Lombardi
Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart
Elizabeth Marvel, The Little Foxes and Other Desert Cities
Frances McDormand, Good People
Laurie Metcalf, The Other Place
Patina Miller, Sister Act
Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture
Seth Numrich, War Horse
Al Pacino, The Merchant of Venice
Estelle Parsons, Good People
Alison Pill, This Wide Night
Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice
Daniel Radcliffe, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
Martin Rayner, Freud's Last Session
Vanessa Redgrave, Driving Miss Daisy
Paul Reubens, The Pee-Wee Herman Show
Chris Rock, The Motherf**ker With The Hat
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem and La Bête
Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made
Fiona Shaw, John Gabriel Borkman
Tony Sheldon, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Scott Shepherd, Gatz
Christopher Sieber, The Kid
Alexandra Socha, The Dream of the Burning Boy
Paul Sparks, Dusk Rings a Bell
Ben Stiller, The House of Blue Leaves
Will Swenson, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Kathleen Turner, High
Aaron Tveit, Catch Me If You Can
Robin Williams, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Tom Wopat, Catch Me If You Can

* The ensemble casts of Sleep No More and Hello Again will be honored collectively on the dais. The producers of each show may appoint one or two cast members to appear on the dais on behalf of the show's entire ensemble.

In addition, seven past recipients of The Distinguished Performance Award will be honored on the dais for their work this season. However, because an individual can only receive The Distinguished Performance Award once in his/her lifetime, they are ineligible for award consideration this year. Those past honorees are:

Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Stockard Channing, Other Desert Cities
Cherry Jones, Mrs. Warren's Profession
James Earl Jones, Driving Miss Daisy
Patti LuPone, Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown
Brian Stokes Mitchell, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Geoffrey Rush, The Diary of a Madman

Tickets for The 77th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon are now available by calling 212-244-9494.

For more information, visit www.dramaleague.org.

The Drama League was founded in 1916 as an association of theatre professionals and patrons dedicated to encouraging the finest in professional theatre. 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.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos