WNET to Air Drama Desk Awards, Hosted by Chenoweth, 5/27

The 2007 Drama Desk Awards will air on Thirteen/WNET in the New York area at 12:30 PM on Sunday, May 27th.  

"Tony Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth hosts the annual awards ceremony honoring excellence in all areas of New York theater, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and not-for-profit theater. The new musical LoveMusik, starring Donna Murphy and Michael Cerveris, leads the pack of distinguished nominees with 12 nominations, including one for Outstanding Musical. Four other productions received 10 nominations apiece: Curtains, Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening, and The Coast of Utopia," states the WNET website.

Nominations for the 52nd Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced April 26th at The New York Friars Club by previous winners James Naughton and Beth Leavel.  The awards will be presented on Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 9:00 PM, at the F.H. LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center, 100 Amsterdam Avenue. 

In addition to its WNET/Thirteen airings, NYC TV 25 will broadcast the awards twice: Thursday May 24, at 8:00 PM and Saturday May 26, at 10:00 PM. For the fifth year in a row, the awards will be webcast live by TheaterMania.com. The awards ceremony will also be broadcast live  -- for the first time -- by XM Satellite Radio's theater channel – XM-28 On Broadway. In keeping with the Drama Desk's unique mission, the nominators considered theatrical events that opened on Broadway, off Broadway and off-off Broadway during the 2006/2007 season in the same competitive categories. Deliberations by the nominators culminated in a marathon weekend session at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which ended Monday afternoon, April 23. 

Visit www.dramadesk.org for more information.  Visit www.thirteen.org for more on Thirteen/WNET.

Photo of Kristin Chenoweth by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.