Friday, April 27, 2012

2012 Drama Desk Awards Nominees Announced

Desk Award winners Brian d' Arcy James and Donna Murphy announced the nominations for the 57th annual Drama Desk Awards at Feinstein's. The event was streamed live on www.dramadeskawards.com. The awards will be presented June 3 at Town Hall.
Outstanding Ensemble Performance

This year the nominators chose to bestow a special ensemble award for acting to

the cast of Sweet and Sad. Jon DeVries, Shuler Hensley, Maryann Plunkett, Laila

Robins, Jay O. Sanders, and J. Smith-Cameron are among New York's best actors,

who came together as one unforgettable stage family. Therefore, the individual cast

members were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories.


Special Awards

Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and

significant contributions to the theater. For 2011-2012, these awards are:

• To Mary Testa: For over three decades, she has dazzled audiences with

consistently outstanding work, including her tour-de-force performance in this

season's Queen of the Mist.

• To Nick Westrate: His versatility in Unnatural Acts, Love's Labor's Lost, and

Galileo was a highlight of the season.

• To New Victory Theatre: For providing enchanting, sophisticated children's

theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in

young people.

• To Stephen Karam, the newly created Sam Norkin Off Broadway Award: The

profoundly moving Sons of the Prophet confirmed his status as one of the most

promising playwrights of his generation.


The following are the nominations for the competitive categories. Winners will be

selected by the voting membership of the Drama Desk:

Outstanding Play

David Henry Hwang, Chinglish

Dan LeFranc, The Big Meal

Members of the Plastic Theatre, Unnatural Acts

Ita mar Moses, Completeness

Lynn Nottage, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

Nina Raine, Tribes

Nicky Silver, The Lyons

Outstanding Musical

Bonnie & Clyde

Death Takes a Holiday

Leap of Faith

Newsies The Musical

Nice Work If You Can Get It

Once

Queen of the Mist

Outstanding Revival of a Play

A Little Journey

Death of a Salesman

Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque

Gore Vidal's The Best Man

Lost in Yonkers

Richard III

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Carrie

Evita

Follies

Jesus Christ Superstar

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

The Threepenny Opera

Outstanding Actor in a Play

James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors

Hugh Dancy, Venus in Fur

Claybourne Elder, One Arm

Santino Fontana, Sons of the Prophet

Joseph Franchini, The Navigator

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Death of a Salesman

Kevin Spacey, Richard III 

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Tracie Bennett, End of the Rainbow

Sanaa Lathan, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

Linda Lavin, The Lyons

Jennifer Lim, Chinglish

Kim Martin-Cotten, A Moon for the Misbegotten

Carey Mulligan, Through a Glass Darkly

Joely Richardson, Side Effects


Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Danny Burstein, Follies

Kevin Earley, Death Takes a Holiday

Raul Esparza, Leap of Faith

Jeremy Jordan, Newsies The Musical

Norm Lewis, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

Ricky Martin, Evita

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Miche Braden, The DeviI's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith

Jan Maxwell, Follies

Audra McDonald, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

Kelli O'Hara, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Bernadette Peters, Follies

Molly Ranson, Carrie

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Bill Camp, Death of a Salesman

Jim Dale, The Road to Mecca

Tom Edden, One Man, Two Guvnors

Bill Irwin, King Lear

Jefferson Mays, Blood and Gifts

Will Rogers, Unnatural Acts

Morgan Spector, Russian Transport 

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Stephanie J. Block, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

Anna Camp, All New People

Kimberly Hebert Gregory, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

Lisa Joyce, The Ugly One

Joaquina Kalukango, Hurt Village

Angela Lansbury, Gore Vidal's The Best Man

Judith Light, Other Desert Cities

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Phillip Boykin, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

Matt Cavenaugh, Death Takes a Holiday

Michael Cerveris, Evita

Michael McGrath, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Patrick Page, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Andrew Samonsky, Queen of the Mist

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Marin Mazzie, Carrie

Jessie Mueller, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Elaine Paige, Follies

Sarah Sokolovic, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

Melissa van der Schyff, Bonnie & Clyde 

Outstanding Director of a Play

Jo Bonney, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

David Cromer, Tribes

Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, These Seven Sicknesses

Sam Mendes, Richard 11/

Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman

Tony Speciale, Unnatural Acts

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Christopher Ashley, Leap of Faith

Jack Cummings III, Queen of the Mist

Doug Hughes, Death Takes a Holiday

Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Eric Schaeffer, Follies

John Tiffany, Once 

Outstanding Choreography

Rob Ashford, Evita

Warren Carlyle, Follies

Breandan de Gallal, Noctu

Christopher Gattelli, Newsies The Musical

Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Sergio Trujillo, Leap of Faith

Outstanding Music

Glen Hansard and Marketa lrqlova, Once

Michael John LaChiusa, Queen of the Mist

Alan Menken, Leap of Faith

Alan Menken, Newsies The Musical

Frank Wildhorn, Bonnie & Clyde

Maury Yeston, Death Takes a Holiday 

Outstanding Lyrics

Don Black, Bonnie & Clyde

Jack Feldman, Newsies The Musical

Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

Glen Hansard and Marketa lrqlova, Once

Michael John LaChiusa, Queen of the Mist

Maury Yeston, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Douglas Carter Beane, Lysistrata Jones

Janus Cercone and Warren Leight, Leap of Faith

Joe DiPietro, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Joy Gregory, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

Michael John LaChiusa, Queen of the Mist

Thomas Meehan and Peter Stone, Death Takes a Holiday 

Outstanding Music in a Play

Mark Bennett, An Iliad

Mark Bennett, Richard III

Tom Kitt, All’s Well That Ends Well

Gina Leishman, Septimus and Clarissa

Grant Aiding, One Man, Two Guvnors

Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik, Carson McCullers Talks About Love

Outstanding Revue

Newsical the Musical: End of the World Edition

The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman


Outstanding Set Design

Jon Driscoll, Rob Howell and Paul Kieve, Ghost The Musical

David Gallo, The Mountaintop

Roger Hanna, A Little Journey

David Korins, Assistance

David Korins, Chinglish

Derek McLane, Follies

Outstanding Costume Design

Gregg Barnes, Follies

ESosa, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

William Ivey Long, Lucky Guy

Jessica Pabst, She Kills Monsters

Martin Pakledinaz, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Catherine Zuber, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Lighting Design

Kevin Adams, Carrie

Neil Austin, Evita

David Lander, One Arm

Brian MacDeviU, Death of a Salesman

Kenneth Posner, Death Takes a Holiday

Paul Pyant, Richard III 

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical

Acme Sound Partners, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

Jonathan Deans, Carrie

Clive Goodwin, Once

Kai Harada, Follies

Steve Canyon Kennedy, Jesus Christ Superstar

Jon Weston, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play

Quentin Chiappetta/mediaNoise, The Navigator

Gregory Clarke, Misterman

Gareth Fry, Richard 11/

John Gromada, Gore Vidal's The Best Man

Stowe Nelson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War

Shane Rettig, She Kills Monsters 

Outstanding Solo Performance

Baba Brinkman, The Rap Guide to Evolution

Suli Holum, Chimera

Jeff Key, The Eyes of Babylon

Cillian Murphy, Misterman

Denis O'Hare, An Iliad

Stephen Spinella, An Iliad

Unique Theatrical Experience

Give Me Your Hand

Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had It So Good)

Noctu

The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill, Vol. 1: Early

Plays/Lost Plays

The Ryan Case 1873

White

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

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All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

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Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

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