The 80th annual Drama League Awards will be presented May 16 at the Marriott Marquis, hosted by Emmy Award nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The ceremony includes a nominees cocktail reception, luncheon and awards presentation.

The Drama League will honor Kennedy Center Honoree, Tony winner and Grammy Award nominee Barbara Cook (The Music Man, She Loves Me) with the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award in recognition of her contribution to the musical theatre; Key Brand Entertainment/Broadway Across America with the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award for their work bringing New York productions to theatres across America; and Tony, Drama Desk and OBIE Award winner John Tiffany (Once, The Glass Menagerie) with The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing.

These Special Recognition Honors will be presented in addition to the five competitive categories: Distinguished Play, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Musical and Distinguished Performance Award. 

Light received Tony Awards for her performances in The Assembled Parties and Other Desert Cities and a nomination for Lombardi. The Emmy winner has appeared in "Ugly Betty" and "One Life to Live." Sieber received Tony Award nominations for Shrek the Musical and Spamalot. He can currently be seen in Matilda The Musical and also appeared in Pippin.

Ferguson currently stars on the Emmy Award-winning ABC-TV comedy series "Modern Family," now in its fifth season. His stage credits include On the Town, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Comedy of Errors. He also starred as Leo Bloom in The Producers at The Hollywood Bowl. The Drama League Awards were first awarded in 1922 and formalized in 1935. They are the only major theatregoer awards chosen by audience members — specifically, by the thousands of Drama League members nationwide who attend Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.

Call (212) 244-9494 or visit dramaleague.org for more information.