Sunday, May 18, 2014

Scenes from the 2014 Drama League Awards





















THE DRAMA LEAGUE
ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF
80th ANNUAL AWARDS

“A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER”
NAMED DISTINGUISHED MUSICAL

“ALL THE WAY”
NAMED DISTINGUISHED PLAY

“HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH”
NAMED DISTINGUISHED REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

“THE GLASS MENAGERIE”
NAMED DISTINGUISHED REVIVAL OF A PLAY

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD

STAR STUDDED CEREMONY HELD MAY 16TH
AT THE MARRIOTT MARQUIS TIMES SQUARE

New York, NY (May 16, 2014) – The Drama League (Executive Director, Gabriel Shanks) announced today the winners for the 80th Annual Drama League Awards:  Distinguished Production of a  Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder;  Distinguished Play,All The Way;  Distinguished Revival of a Musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch;  Distinguished Revival of a Play, The Glass Menagerie; and Distinguished Performance, Neil Patrick Harris at a star-studded luncheon ceremony hosted by Jesse Tyler Fergusonat the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway).

In addition to the competitive categories, Kennedy Center Honoree, Tony®, and Grammy® Award nominee, Barbara Cook was honored with the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award in recognition of her contribution to the musical theatre;  Key Brand Entertainment/Broadway Across America: John Gore was honored with the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award for the continuing efforts in promoting live theatre; and Tony®, Drama Desk and OBIE Award-winner John Tiffany was honored with The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing.

During the ceremony, director Michael Mayer introduced the 2014 Fellows of The Drama League Directors Project:  Zi Alikhan, Melissa Crespo, John Michael DiResta, Ellie Heyman, Lavina Jadhwani, Michael Leibenluft, Michael Osinki, Hannah Ryan, Teya Sugareva, Caitlin Sullivan, and Emma Weinstein.

The 80th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon included a nominees cocktail reception, luncheon, and awards presentation held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in the Broadway Ballroom (1535 Broadway) on Friday, May 16, 2014.  Drama League Board President Jano Herbosch was joined by Bonnie Comley as Co-Chair.  GenSpring Family Offices, National Life Group, PepsiCoand Financier Patisserie were the 2014 Sponsors of The 80th Annual Drama League Awards.

First awarded in 1922 and formalized in 1935, The Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honors in America. They are the only major theatergoer awards chosen by audience members — specifically, by the thousands of Drama League members nationwide who attend Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.

The Drama League Awards honor distinguished productions, performances, and exemplary career achievements in musical theatre and directing. The first Drama League Award was presented to Katharine Cornell in 1935. Since then, the Distinguished Performance Award has been accorded to a roster of theatre legends such as Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Liam Neeson, Hugh Jackman, Patti LuPone, Glenn Close, Liev Schreiber, Sir John Gielgud, Harvey Fierstein, Cherry Jones, Alec Guinness, James Earl Jones, Julie Harris, Helen Hayes, Jeremy Irons, Mary-Louise Parker, Sir Ian McKellen, Bernadette Peters, and Christopher Plummer.

2014 DRAMA LEAGUE AWARDS WINNERS

DISTINGUISHED PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder
Walter Kerr Theatre
Book and Lyrics by Robert L.  Freedman, Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak
Directed by Darko Tresnjak

Joey Parnes, S.D. Wagner, John Johnson, 50 Church Street Productions, Joan Raffe and Jhett Tolentino,
Jay Alix and Una Jackman, Catherine and Fred Adler, Rhoda Herrick, Kathleen K. Johnson, Megan
Savage, Shadowcatcher Entertainment, Ron Simons, True Love Productions, Jamie deRoy, Four Ladies
& One Gent, John Arthur Pinckard, Greg Nobile, Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, Exeter Capital/Ted Snowdon, Ryan Hugh Mackey, Cricket-CTM Media/Mano-Horn Productions, Dennis Grimaldi/Margot Astrachan, Hello Entertainment/Jamie Bendell, Michael T. Cohen/Joe Strola, Joseph and Carson Gleberman/William Megevick, Green State Productions, Robert Greenblatt, producers in association
with Hartford Stage and The Old Globe

* * *


DISTINGUISHED PRODUCTION OF A PLAY

All The Way
Neil Simon Theatre
by Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Bill Rauch

Jeffrey Richards, Louise Gund, Jerry Frankel, Stephanie P. McClelland, Double Gemini Productions, Rebecca Gold, Scott M. Delman, Barbara H. Freitag, Harvey Weinstein, Gene Korf, William Berlind, Caiola Productions, Gutterman Chernoff, Jam Theatricals, Gabrielle Palitz, Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Will Trice, producers

* * *

DISTINGUISHED REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Belasco Theatre
Book by John Cameron Mitchell, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Trask
Directed by Michael Mayer

David Binder, Jayne Baron Sherman, Barbara Whitman, Latitude Link, Patrick Catullo, Raise The Roof,
Paula Marie Black, Colin Callender, Ruth Hendel, Saron Karmazin, Martian Entertainment, Stacey Mindich, Eric Schnall and The Shubert Organization, producers


* * *
DISTINGUISHED REVIVAL OF A PLAY

The Glass Menagerie
Booth Theatre
by Tennessee Williams
Directed by John Tiffany

Jeffrey Richards, John N. Hart Jr., Jerry Frankel, Lou Spisto/Lucky VIII, Infinity Stages,
Scott M. Delman, Jam Theatricals, Mauro Taylor, Rebecca Gold, Michael Palitz, Charles E. Stone,
Will Trice, Gfour Productions, producers

* * *

DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD
Neil Patrick Harris
Hedwig and the Angry Inch

* * *

DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSICAL THEATRE
Barbara Cook

* * *

UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEATRE
Key Brand Entertainment/Broadway Across America: John Gore

* * *

FOUNDERS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTING
John Tiffany

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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi! some of these shots are pretty great. I think you may like my analysis on Paul Young's Christian PTSD novel, The Shack. I read a few of your play reviews and I decided I just HAD to follow you. Please feel free to connect with me if you're looking for creative collaborators. As Willy Loman implies in The Glass Menagerie over and over, networking is key to success. :)

Happy Tuesday !

Kindly, Analiz G.

June 25, 2014 at 7:31 PM

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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.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

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.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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