Vanessa Williams & Michael Urie Set to Co-Host Drama League Awards Luncheon, 5/21

The Drama League (Jano Herbosch, President; Gabriel Shanks, Executive Director) has announced that Vanessa Williams (Sondheim on Sondheim) and her "Ugly Betty" co-star Michael Urie (The Temperamentals) will serve as co-hosts for The 76th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon.

This season's awards luncheon is set for Friday, May 21, 2010 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square (1535 Broadway at 46th St.). The event begins at noon.

Long considered the theatre season's most festive award ceremony, The Drama League Awards pays tribute to the season's best performers by including the nominees of The Distinguished Performance Award on a dais. The 76th Annual Drama League Awards dais will feature approximately 60-70 stars from the 2009-10 Broadway and Off-Broadway season.

In addition to The Distinguished Performance Award, The Drama League's 3,000 members vote on four other annual competitive awards: Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play and Distinguished Revival of a Musical.

Nominations for these five awards will be announced on Tuesday, April 20 at Sardi's Restaurant. Video of the nominations announcement will also be streamed live on the Internet at www.BroadwayWorld.com.

Tickets for The 76th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon are now available by calling 212-244-9494 ext 5.

Single Ticket Prices:
$450 -- VIP Ballroom Seats (includes pre-luncheon reception with nominees)
$350 -- Front Ballroom
$250 -- Mid Ballroom
$175 -- Rear Ballroom (only $150 if ordered on or before March 31)
$100 -- Mezzanine Seating (no lunch; open bar and seating only)

Table of Ten (10) Prices:
$4,300 -- VIP Ballroom Table (includes pre-luncheon reception with nominees)
$3,400 -- Front Ballroom
$2,500 -- Mid Ballroom
$1,750 -- Rear Ballroom (Only $1,500 if ordered on or before March 31)

Last season, Drama League Awards were presented to Geoffrey Rush (Distinguished Performance), God of Carnage (Distinguished Production of a Play), Billy Elliot (Distinguished Production of a Musical), Blithe Spirit (Distinguished Revival of a Play) and Hair (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, as well as the first audience-selected award for distinguished performance in a theatrical production.

Throughout the past 75 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 Patti LuPone, among others.

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