Winners included the following: Distinguished Play, Other Desert Cities, presented by Philip Seymour Hoffman; Distinguished Revival of a Play, Death of a Salesman, presented by Christian Borle; Distinguished Production of a Musical, Once, presented by Cynthia Nixon; Distinguished Revival of a Musical, Follies, presented by Kelli O’Hara; and Distinguished Performance, Audra McDonald, presented by John Lithgow.
The Drama League also honored three theatre luminaries at this year’s awards ceremony: Tony Award winner Donna Murphy presented eight-time Academy Award winner, theatre and movie composer Alan Menken with the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award in recognition of his contribution to the musical theatre; Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein presented stage, television and movie star Rosie O’Donnell with the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award for her continuing efforts in promoting live theatre; and Tony nominee Gavin Creel presented Drama League Directors Project alum and Tony nominee Diane Paulus with The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing.
In addition, The Drama League introduced the 2012 Fellows of The Drama League Directors Project: Knud Adams, Amy Claussen, Vesselin Dimov, Shana Gozansky, Jess Jung, Swaine Kaui, Jesse Jou, David Mendizábal, Cat Miller, Patrick Walsh and Christopher Windom.
First awarded in 1922 and formalized in 1935, The Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honors in America. 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.
The 2011-12 Drama League Award nominees follow (winners are in bold preceded by an asterisk):
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| Stockard Channing in Other Desert Cities. | ||
| photo by Joan Marcus |
Clybourne Park
Walter Kerr Theatre
Jujamcyn Theatres, Jane Bergere, Roger Berlind/Quintet Productions, Eric Falkenstein/Dan Frishwasser, Ruth Hendel/Harris Karma Productions, JTG Theatricals, Daryl Roth, Jon B. Platt, Center Theatre Group, producers, in association with Lincoln Center Theater
The Columnist
Manhattan Theatre Club
Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer
The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures
Signature Theatre Company and The Public Theater
James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director, Signature Theatre Company; Erika Mallin, Executive Director
Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director, The Public Theater; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director
The Lyons
Vineyard Theatre/Cort Theatre
Kathleen K. Johnson, producer; Vineyard Theater, producer; Jonathan Tessero, Associate Producer
One Man, Two Guvnors
Music Box Theatre
Bob Boyett, The National Theatre of Great Britain, National Angels, Chris Harper, Tim Levy, Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Harriet Newman Leve, Stephanie P. McClelland, Broadway Across America, Daryl Roth, Jam Theatricals, Sonia Friedman, Harris Karma Productions, Deborah Taylor, Richard Willis, producers
*Other Desert Cities
Lincoln Center Theatre
Andre Bishop, Artistic Director; Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer, in association with Bob Boyett
Peter and The Starcatcher
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price, Tom Smedes, Disney Theatrical Productions, Suzan & Ken Wirth/DeBartola Miggs, Catherine Scheiber/Daveed Frazier & Mark Thompson, Jack Lane, Jane Dubin, Allan S. Gordon/Adam S. Gordon, Baer & Casserly/Nathan Vernon, Rich Affannato/Peter Stern, Brunish & Trinchero/Laura Little Productions, Larry Hirschhorn/Hummel & Greene, Jamie deRoy & Probe Prods./Radio Mouse Ent., Hugh Hysell/Freedberg & Dale, New York Theatre Workshop, producers
Tribes
Barrow Street Theatre
Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, and Scott Morfee, producers
Seminar
John Golden Theatre
Jeffrey Finn, Jill Furman, John N. Hart, Jr., Patrick Milling Smith, Roy Furman, David Ivan, David Mirvish, Amy Nauiokas and James Spry, producers
Septimus and Clarissa
Ripe Time/Baruch Performing Arts Center
Rachel Dickstein, Artistic Director; Wesley Middleton, Producing Director
Venus in Fur
Manhattan Theatre Club/Lyceum Theatre
Jon B. Platt, Scott Landis, Manhattan Theatre Club, Jessica R. Jene, Scott M. Delman and Classic Stage Company, producers
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| Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield in Death of a Salesman. | ||
| Photo by Brigitte Lacombe |
And God Created Great Whales
The Culture Project
Allan Buchman, Artistic Director; Nan Richardson, Executive Director
*Death of a Salesman
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Scott Rudin, Stuart Thompson, Jon B. Platt, Columbia Pictures, Jean Doumanian, Merritt Forrest Baer, Roger Berlind, Scott M. Delman, Sonia Friedman Productions, Ruth Hendel, Carl Moellenberg, Scott and Brian Zerlinger, Eli Bush, producers
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Infinity Stages, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Barbara Manocherian/Michael Palitz, The Broadway Consortium/Ken Mahoney, Kathleen K. Johnson, Andy Sandberg, Fifty Church Street Productions, Larry Hirschhorn/Bennu Productions, Patty Baker, Paul Boskind and Martian Entertainment, Wendy Federman, Mark S. Golub and David S. Golub, Cricket Hooper Jiranek, Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, Carl Moellenberg, Harold Thau, Will Trice, producers
How I Learned To Drive
Second Stage Theatre
Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director
Look Back in Anger
Roundabout Theatre Company
Todd Haimes, Artistic Director; Julia C. Levy, Executive Director
The Maids
Red Bull Theater
Jesse Berger, Artistic Director; Wendy Anderson, Director of Artistic/Strategic Development
Wit
Manhattan Theatre Club
Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer
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| Cristin Milioti and Steve Kazee in Once. | ||
| photo by Joan Marcus |
Ghost
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Colin Ingram, Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Donovan Mannato, MJE Productions, Patricia Lambrecht, Adam Silberman, producers
Leap of Faith
St. James Theatre
Michael Manheim, James D. Stern, Douglas L. Meyer, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, Annette Niemtzow, Daryl Roth, Robert G. Bartner, Steven and Shannon Silva, Endgame Entertainment, Patricia Monaco, Debi Coleman, Dancecap Productions, Inc., Steve Kaplan, Relativity Media LLC, Rich/Caudwell, Center Theatre Group, Jujamcyn Theatres, producers
Mission Drift
The TEAM/P.S. 122/Connelly Theatre
Rachel Chavkin, Founding Artistic Director
Newsies
Nederlander Theatre
Disney Theatrical Productions: Thomas Schumacher, Director
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Imperial Theatre
Scott Landis, Roger Berlind, Sonia Friedman Productions, Roy Furman, Standing CO Vation, Candy Spelling, Freddy DeMann, Ronald Frankel, Harold Newman, Jon B. Platt, Raise The Roof 8, Takonkiet Viravan, William Berlind/Ed Burke, Carole L. Haber/Susan Carusi, Buddy and Barbara Freitag/Sanford Robertson, Jim Herbert/Under The Wire, Emanuel Azenberg, The Shubert Organization, producers
*Once
New York Theatre Workshop/Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Barbara Broccoli, John N. Hart Jr., Patrick Milling Smith, Frederick Zollo, Brian Carmody, Michael G. Wilson, Orin Wolf, The Shubert Organization, Robert Cole, New York Theatre Workshop, producers
Queen of The Mist
The Transport Group
Jack Cummings III, Artistic Director; Lori Fineman, Executive Director
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| Bernadette Peters in Follies. | ||
| Photo by Joan Marcus |
Carrie
MCC Theater
William Cantler, Robert LuPone and Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director
*Follies
Marquis Theatre
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (David M. Rubenstein, Chairman; Michael M. Kaiser, President; Max A. Woodward, Vice President); Nederlander Presentations, Inc.; Adrienne Arsht; HRH Foundation; Allan Williams, producers.
Evita
Marquis Theatre
Hal Luftig, Scott Sanders Productions, Roy Furman, Yasuhiro Kawana, Allan S. Gordon/Adam S. Gordon, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Gutterman Fuld Chernoff/Pittsburgh CLO, Thousand Stars Productions, Adam Blanshay, Adam Zotovich, Robert Ahrens, Stephanie P. McClelland, Carole L. Haber, Richard Hornos, Carol Fineman, Brian Smith, Warren and Jale Trepp, producers
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Richard Rodgers Theatre
Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Rebecca Gold, Howard Kagan, Cheryl Wiesenfeld/Brunish Trinchero/Meredith Lucio TBC, Joseph and Matthew Deitch, Mark S. Golub and David S. Golub, Terry Shnuck, Freitag Productions/Koenigsberg Filerman, The Leonore S. Gershwin 1987 Trust, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Ken Mahoney, Judith Resnick, Tulchin/Bartner/ATG, Paper Boy Productions, Alden Badway, Broadway Across America, Christopher Hart, Irene Gandy, Will Trice, producers
Jesus Christ Superstar
Neil Simon Theatre
The Dodgers and The Really Useful Group, Latitude Link, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group, Waxman-Dokton, Joe Corcoran, Detsky/Sokolowski/Kassie, Florin-Blanshay-Fan/Broadway Across America, Rich/Caudwell, Shin/Coleman, TheatreDreams North America LLC, producers
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| Audra McDonald | ||
| photo by Michael J. Lutch |
One winner is selected from this category for which the recipient can only receive the award once during his or her career.
Jane Alexander, The Lady From Dubuque
Nina Arianda, Venus In Fur
Annaleigh Ashford, Rent
Angela Bassett, The Mountaintop
Simon Russell Beale, Bluebird
Tracie Bennett, End of the Rainbow
Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Matthew Broderick, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Kim Cattrall, Private Lives
Heather Christian, Mission Drift
James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors
Michael Cristofer, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures
Tyne Daly, Master Class
Jesse Eisenberg, Asuncion
Linda Emond, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures
Raúl Esparza, Leap of Faith
Santino Fontana, Sons of the Prophet
Andrew Garfield, Death of a Salesman
Russell Harvard, Tribes
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Death of a Salesman
Samuel L. Jackson, The Mountaintop
Jeremy Jordan, Newsies, Bonnie and Clyde
Steve Kazee, Once
Celia Keenan-Bolger, Peter and the Starcatcher
Christine Lahti, Dreams of Flying, Dreams of Falling
Angela Lansbury, Gore Vidal's The Best Man
John Larroquette, Gore Vidal's The Best Man
Linda Lavin, The Lyons
Norm Lewis, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
Ricky Martin, Evita
Jan Maxwell, Follies
Jefferson Mays, Blood and Gifts
Marin Mazzie, Carrie
*Audra McDonald, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
Ellen McLaughlin, Septimus and Clarissa
Cristin Milioti, Once
Jessie Mueller, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
Carey Mulligan, Through A Glass Darkly
Cynthia Nixon, Wit
Leslie Odom, Jr., Leap of Faith
Kelli O'Hara, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Denis O'Hare, An Iliad
Lily Rabe, Seminar
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Ghost
Molly Ranson, Carrie
Condola Rashad, Stick Fly
Matthew Rhys, Look Back In Anger
Alan Rickman, Seminar
Elena Roger, Evita
Jeremy Shamos, Clybourne Park
Kevin Spacey, Richard III
Stephen Spinella, An Iliad
Mary Testa, Queen of the Mist
Blair Underwood, A Streetcar Named Desire
Mary Louise Wilson, 4,000 Miles
The Drama League also "wishes to recognize the superb contributions to the season of its previous Distinguished Performance Award winners including":
Norbert Leo Butz, How I Learned To Drive
Zoe Caldwell, Elective Affinities
Kathleen Chalfant, Painting Churches
Stockard Channing, Other Desert Cities
Rosemary Harris, The Road To Mecca
Hugh Jackman, Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway
Sir Derek Jacobi, King Lear
James Earl Jones, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Frank Langella, Man and Boy
John Lithgow, The Columnist
Patti LuPone, An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin
Bebe Neuwirth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Bernadette Peters, Follies
Sam Waterston, King Lear
DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSICAL THEATRE
Alan Menken
UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEATRE
Rosie O’Donnell
FOUNDERS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTING
Diane Paulus
