La Jolla Playhouse-born MEMPHIS Nominated for 8 Tony Awards

The Broadway production of Memphis, which originated at the La Jolla Playhouse during the 2008/09 season before transferring to New York, has garnered numerous award nominations this season, including eight Tony Award nominations. The Tony Award nominations include Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Joe DiPietro), Best Original Score (music: David Bryan; lyrics: Joe DiPietro and David Bryan), Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Chad Kimball), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Montego Glover), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Paul Tazewell), Best Direction of a Musical (Christopher Ashley) and Best Orchestrations (Daryl Waters & David Bryan).

"It has been an incredible journey to bring Memphis to audiences at La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle's 5^th Avenue Theatre, and on Broadway," said Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse and director of Memphis both at La Jolla Playhouse and on Broadway. "We are humbled by the response from Broadway audiences and deeply honored to be recognized with so many Tony Award nominations. It has been a rare privilege to work with this cast and creative team."

Memphis also received seven Drama Desk Award nominations, including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Book of a Musical (Joe DiPietro), Outstanding Music (David Bryan), Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Chad Kimball), Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Montego Glover), Outstanding Orchestrations (David Bryan and Daryl Waters) and Outstanding Choreography (Sergio Trujillo); seven Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, Outstanding New Score (David Bryan), Outstanding Director of a Musical (Christopher Ashley), Outstanding Choreographer (Sergio Trujillo), Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Chad Kimball), OutstandingActress in a Musical (Montego Glover) and Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Cass Morgan); as well as two Drama League Award nominations for Distinguished Production of a Musical (Joe DiPietro and David Bryan) and Distinguished Performance (Montego Glover).

"We are thrilled to see Memphis recognized with so many prestigious awards nominations; it's a testament to its wonderful cast and creative team - including, of course, our own Christopher Ashley -  and the entire La Jolla Playhouse staff," said Michael S. Rosenberg, Managing Director of La Jolla Playhouse. "La Jolla Playhouse is also delighted that our San Diego audiences were the first to experience this outstanding production."

Outer Critics Circle Award winners will be announced May 17, Drama League Award winners will be announced May 21 and Drama Desk Award winners on May 23. The 2010 Tony Award winners will be announced on June 13.

La Jolla Playhouse productions have previously received 26 Tony Awards from the American Theatre Wing.