Fierstein is the winner of three Drama Desk Awards and four Tony Awards. He was most recently seen on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof, playing Tevye. Before that, he won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his performance in Hairspray.

The Drama Desk Awards will be taped and subsequently broadcast nationwide on PBS stations. In New York, the program will be shown on Thirteen/WNET and on NYC-25 TV. The broadcast package was arranged by Roy A. Somlyo, who joined the Drama Desk Awards as consulting producer in 2004 after serving five years as President/CEO of the American Theatre Wing.

For the fourth year in a row, the awards ceremony will be webcast by TheaterMania.com.

The Drama Desk nominating committee for the 2005-06 season included Barbara Siegel, Committee Chair ("The Siegel Column" on TheaterMania.com and Siegel Entertainment Syndicate); Michael Buckley ("Channeling Theatre" column at Playbill.com); Christopher Byrne (Gay City News and The Villager); Matthew Murray (TalkinBroadway.com, Stage Directions magazine); Andy Propst (AmericanTheaterWeb.com and XM Satellite Radio); Richard Ridge (Broadway Beat TV); and William Wolf (wolfentertainmentguide.com ).

The Drowsy Chaperone, Grey Gardens, See What I Wanna See and Sweeney Todd lead the nominations for the 51st Annual Drama Desk Awards, which were announced April 27 by composer Marvin Hamlisch and actress Donna McKechnie. The History Boys claimed the most nods of any play: eight.

Outstanding Ensemble Performances Awards will be given to the cast of Stuff Happens and the cast of Awake and Sing!

Special Awards will be presented to: the BMI—Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop "for nurturing, developing and promoting new talent for the musical theater"; The York Theatre Company "for its vital contributions to theater by developing and presenting new musicals"; Sh-K-Boom and its label Ghostlight Records "for dedication to the preservation of musical theatre through cast recordings."

Also, the Drama Desk announced a special, lifetime achievement award to playwright Horton Foote. Foote's two plays produced in this season—The Trip to Bountiful and The Traveling Lady—both received nominations for Outstanding Revival of a Play.

The nominations are as follows:

Outstanding Play :
Alan Bennett, The History Boys
David Hare, Stuff Happens
Warren Leight, No Foreigners Beyond this Point
Martin McDonagh, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Terrence McNally, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams
Craig Wright, The Pavilion

Outstanding Musical :
The Drowsy Chaperone
Grey Gardens
Jersey Boys
See What I Wanna See
Thrill Me
The Wedding Singer

Outstanding Revival of a Play :
Awake and Sing!
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Philadelphia , Here I Come!
Soldier’s Wife
The Traveling Lady
The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Revival of a Musical :
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
The Pajama Game
Sweeney Todd

Outstanding Actor in a Play :
Vince Gatton, Candy & Dorothy
John Glover, The Paris Letter
Richard Griffiths, The History Boys
Zeljko Ivanek, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Nathan Lane , Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams
Brían F. O’Byrne, Shining City

Outstanding Actress in a Play :
Margaret Colin, Defiance
Cherry Jones, Faith Healer
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Abigail’s Party
Jan Maxwell, Entertaining Mr. Sloane
Lois Smith, The Trip to Bountiful
Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed

Outstanding Actor in a Musical :
Michael Cerveris, Sweeney Todd
Harry Connick, Jr., The Pajama Game
Marc Kudisch, See What I Wanna See
Stephen Lynch, The Wedding Singer
Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone
John Lloyd Young, Jersey Boys

Outstanding Actress in a Musical :
Nancy Anderson, Fanny Hill
Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens
Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone
Patti LuPone, Sweeney Todd
Idina Menzel, See What I Wanna See
Kelli O'Hara, The Pajama Game

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play :
Devon Abner, The Trip to Bountiful
Samuel Barnett, The History Boys
Dominic Cooper, The History Boys
Jason Butler Harner, The Paris Letter
Stephen Campbell Moore, The History Boys
David Pittu, Celebration/The Room

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play :
Frances de la Tour, The History Boys
Lisa Emery, Abigail’s Party
Judith Hawking, Soldier’s Wife
Michele Pawk, The Paris Letter
Lynn Redgrave, The Constant Wife
Marian Seldes, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical :
Jim Dale, The Threepenny Opera
Alexander Gemignani, Sweeney Todd
Christian Hoff, Jersey Boys
Eddie Korbich, The Drowsy Chaperone
John McMartin, Grey Gardens
Daniel Reichard, Jersey Boys

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical :
Carolee Carmello, Lestat
Leslie Kritzer, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Beth Leavel, The Drowsy Chaperone
Mary Louise Wilson, Grey Gardens
Amy Spanger, The Wedding Singer
Mary Testa, See What I Wanna See

Outstanding Director of a Play :
Alan Ayckbourn, Private Fears in Public Places
Gisela Cardenas, Agamemnon
Nicholas Hytner, The History Boys
Daniel Sullivan, Stuff Happens
Robert Wilson, Peer Gynt
Jerry Zaks, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Outstanding Director of a Musical :
John Doyle, Sweeney Todd
Michael Greif, Grey Gardens
Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game
Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Daniele Finzi Pasca, Rain

Outstanding Choreography :
Rob Ashford, The Wedding Singer
Angela Chang, Golden Dragon Acrobats
Graciela Daniele, Bernarda Alba
Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Sergio Trujillo, Jersey Boys

Outstanding Music :
Stephen Dolginoff, Thrill Me
Scott Frankel, Grey Gardens
Michael John LaChiusa, See What I Wanna See
Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone
Peter Mills, ThePursuit of Persephone
Matthew Sklar, The Wedding Singer

Outstanding Lyrics :
Chad Beguelin, The Wedding Singer
Mark Campbell, Songs from an Unmade Bed
Ryan Cunningham, I Love You Because
Michael Korie, Grey Gardens
Michael John LaChiusa, See What I Wanna See
Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone

Outstanding Book of a Musical :
Rick Elice & Marshall Brickman, Jersey Boys
Bob Martin & Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone
Doug Wright, Grey Gardens

Outstanding Orchestrations :
Larry Blank, The Drowsy Chaperone
Bruce Coughlin, Grey Gardens
Bruce Coughlin, See What I Wanna See
Peter Mills, ThePursuit of Persephone
Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd
Danny Troob & Dick Lieb, The Pajama Game

Outstanding Set Design of a Play :
Roger Hanna, Walking Down Broadway
Eugene Lee, The Ruby Sunrise
Derek McLane, Abigail’s Party
Robert Wilson, Peer Gynt
Michael Yeargan, Awake and Sing!
Michael Yeargan, Seascape

Outstanding Set Design of a Musical:
Michael Bottari & Ronald Case, Fanny Hill
John Doyle, Sweeney Todd
David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone
Thomas Lynch, See What I Wanna See
Allen Moyer, Grey Gardens
Scott Pask, The Wedding Singer

Outstanding Costume Design :
Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone
Eric Becker, Abigail’s Party
Gale Gregory, The Wedding Singer
William Ivey Long, Grey Gardens
Jacques Reynaud, Peer Gynt
Anita Yavich, The Wooden Breeks

Outstanding Lighting Design :
Christopher Akerlind, Awake and Sing!
Richard G. Jones, Sweeney Todd
Traci Klainer, The Asphalt Kiss
Martin Labrecque, Rain
John McKernon, The Trip to Bountiful
Robert Wilson, Peer Gynt

Outstanding Sound Design :
Acme Sound Partners, The Drowsy Chaperone
Acme Sound Partners, See What I Wanna See
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Jersey Boys
Daniel Moses Schreier, Sweeney Todd
Brian Ronan, Grey Gardens
Brian Ronan, The Pajama Game

Outstanding Solo Performance :
Judy Gold, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother
Marga Gomez, Los Big Names
Jon Peterson, George M. Cohan Tonight!
Antony Sher, Primo
Janis Stevens, Vivien
Michael Winther, Songs from an Unmade Bed

Unique Theatrical Experience :
Christine Jorgensen Reveals
The Frog Bride
Golden Dragon Acrobats
Peer Gynt
Rain
The Stones

SHOWS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS:
The Drowsy Chaperone: 14
Grey Gardens: 12
See What I Wanna See: 9
Sweeney Todd: 9
Jersey Boys: 8
The Wedding Singer: 8
The History Boys: 7
The Pajama Game: 7
Peer Gynt: 5
Abigail’s Party: 4
The Trip to Bountiful: 4
Awake and Sing!: 3
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial: 3
Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams: 3
The Paris Letter: 3
Rain: 3
Fanny Hill: 2
Golden Dragon Acrobats: 2
The Pursuit of Persephone: 2
Soldier’s Wife: 2
Songs from an Unmade Bed: 2
Stuff Happens: 2
Thrill Me: 2

*

Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway shows that opened in the Drama Desk 2005-2006 year, and which the nominating committee was able to see by the cutoff deadline of April 23, 2006, were eligible for awards. Disney's Tarzan, which opened May 10, 2006, will be considered in the 2006-2007 season. Well and Bridge and Tunnel were considered in previous seasons, though some design elements of their Broadway transfers were deemed eligible. The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which opened first Off Broadway in this season, was considered for its Off-Broadway production.