Christine Ebersole, a 2006 Distinguished Performance Award recipient, will present this year's award in that same category, with LuPone presenting the award for Distinguished Production of a Musical and Baranski bestowing the award for Distinguished Production of a Play.
Little Mermaid's Sierra Boggess and Cry-Baby's James Snyder will present the Distinguished Revival of a Musical Award, and Tony nominee Charles Busch will present the award for Distinguished Revival of a Play.
Gypsy producer Roger Berlind will present the first of the Drama League's specialty honors – the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award – to frequent Sondheim collaborator Paul Gemignani (Follies, Pacific Overtures). Also on hand will be former BAM executive director Harvey Lichtenstein, who will present the award for Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award to LaMaMa e.t.c. founder Ellen Stewart; and Lincoln Center Theater artistic director Andre Bishop will present the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing to Tony nominee Bartlett Sher (The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific).
Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein will host the awards, co-chaired by Bobby Cannavale (Mauritius), Laurence Fishburne (Thurgood), Peter Gallagher (The Country Girl), Terrence Howard (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu), Laura Linney (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) S. Epatha Merkerson (Come Back, Little Sheba), Rosie Perez (The Ritz), Martha Plimpton (Cymbeline) and Patrick Stewart (Macbeth).
The nominees for the 74th Annual Drama League Awards follow: Distinguished Production of a Play
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, Imperial Theatre/Music Box Theatre
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl, Second Stage Theatre
The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin, Music Box Theatre
November by David Mamet, Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard, Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
The Seafarer by Conor McPherson, Booth Theatre
Thurgood by George Stevens, Jr., Booth Theatre
The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow, based on a concept by Simon Corble, Nobby Dimon and the novel by John Buchan, Roundabout Theatre Company/Cort Theatre
Distinguished Production of a Musical
A Catered Affair, Book by Harvey Fierstein; Music and Lyrics by John Bucchino, Walter Kerr Theatre
Cry-Baby, Based on the film by John Waters, Book by Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell, Lyrics by David Javerbaum, Music by Adam Schlesinger, Marquis Theatre
Next to Normal, Music by Tom Kitt, Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey, Second Stage Theatre
Passing Strange, Book and Lyrics by Stew, Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen, The Public Theater/Belasco Theatre
The Adding Machine, Book by Jason Loewith, Book and Music by Joshua Schmidt, Minetta Lane Theatre
The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, Libretto by Ben Katchor, Music by Mark Mulcahy, Vineyard Theatre
Xanadu, Book by Douglas Carter Beane, Music and Lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, Helen Hayes Theatre
Young Frankenstein, Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks, Hilton Theatre
Distinguished Revival of a Play
Boeing-Boeing by Marc Camoletti, Longacre Theatre
A Bronx Tale by Chazz Palminteri, Walter Kerr Theatre
Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton, Irish Repertory Theatre
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos, Roundabout Theatre Company/American Airlines Theatre
Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Brooklyn Academy of Music/Lyceum Theatre
The Misanthrope by Moliere, New York Theatre Workshop
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival
The Ritz by Terrence McNally, Roundabout Theatre Company/Studio 54
Distinguished Revival of a Musical
Black Nativity, by Langston Hughes, adapted by Alfred Preisser, Classical Theatre of Harlem/The Duke on 42nd Street
Gypsy, Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, St. James Theatre
Seussical, Book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Theatreworks USA/Lucille Lortel Theatre
South Pacific, Book by Joshua Logan and Oscar Hammerstein II, Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Lincoln Center Theatre
Sunday in the Park with George, Book by James Lapine; Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Roundabout Theatre Company/Studio 54
The Drama League Awards, according to press notes, "pay tribute to the season's best performers by honoring the nominees of The Distinguished Performance Award on a dais." The 74th Annual Drama League Awards dais will feature dozens of performers from the 2007-08 Broadway and Off-Broadway season, including the honorary co-chairs.
This season's dais follows. One of these performers will be presented with the Distinguished Performance Award at the May 16 event.
Distinguished Performance Award
Lauren Ambrose, Romeo and Juliet
Hank Azaria, The Farnsworth Invention
Roger Bart, Young Frankenstein
Christine Baranski, Boeing-Boeing
Laura Benanti, Gypsy
Sierra Boggess, The Little Mermaid
Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange
Ellen Burstyn, The Little Flower of East Orange
Charles Busch, Die Mommie Die!
Kerry Butler, Xanadu
Bill Camp, The Misanthrope
Bobby Cannavale, Mauritius
Margaret Colin, Old Acquaintance
Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Andre de Shields, Black Nativity
Peter Dinklage, Things We Want
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County
Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
Sutton Foster, Young Frankenstein
Elizabeth Franz, The Piano Teacher
Morgan Freeman, The Country Girl
Peter Gallagher, The Country Girl
David Greenspan, The Beebo Brinker Chronicles
Harriet Harris, Old Acquaintance, Cry-Baby
Jayne Houdyshell, The Receptionist, The New Century
Terrence Howard, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cheyenne Jackson, Xanadu
Brian d’Arcy James, Next to Normal
Francis Jue, Yellow Face
Kevin Kline, Cyrano de Bergerac
Nathan Lane, November
Angela Lansbury, Deuce
Hoon Lee, Yellow Face
Laura Linney, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Patti LuPone, Gypsy
Elizabeth Marvel, Top Girls
Alli Mauzey, Cry-Baby
Jefferson Mays, Pygmalion
Frances McDormand, The Country Girl
S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba
David Morse, The Seafarer
Amy Morton, August: Osage County
Jim Norton, The Seafarer
Chazz Palminteri, A Bronx Tale
Rosie Perez, The Ritz
Martha Plimpton, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Cymbeline, Top Girls
Faith Prince, A Catered Affair
Bill Pullman, Peter and Jerry
Dallas Roberts, Peter and Jerry
Anika Noni Rose, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park with George
Tobias Segal, From Up Here
Marian Seldes, Deuce
Jeanine Serralles, The Black Eyed and The Misanthrope
Rufus Sewell, Rock 'n' Roll
Jimmi Simpson, The Farnsworth Invention
Lois Smith, 100 Saints You Should Know
James Snyder, Cry-Baby
David Staller, Gaslight
Bobby Steggert, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island
Stew, Passing Strange
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth
Paulo Szot, South Pacific
Julie White, From Up Here
Dianne Wiest, The Seagull
Mare Winningham, 10 Million Miles
Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair
Seven past recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award will also be honored on the dais for their work this past season. They are, however, ineligible for award consideration, as the Distinguished Performance Award is a one-time honor. The past honorees include:
Norbert Leo Butz, Is He Dead?
Kathleen Chalfant, A Hard Heart, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Vita and Virginia
Harvey Fierstein, A Catered Affair
James Earl Jones, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
John Lithgow, Stories By Heart
Ian McKellen, King Lear
Mary-Louise Parker, Dead Man’s Cell Phone
Tickets for the 74th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony are now available by calling (212) 244-9494 ext. 5 or by visiting www.DramaLeague.org.
