Friday, April 22, 2016

Danny Burstein, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ana Villafañe Among Those Nominated For 2016 Drama League Awards

The Drama League announced the 2016 Drama League Awards nominees on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at an event hosted by Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart, Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed (all cast members of the Broadway musical Aladdin) at the world famous bar Sardi's. The nominations, which include Broadway and off-Broadway productions, kick off a month of celebrations leading up to the 82nd annual Drama League Awards ceremony, which will be hosted by Megan Hilty and Zachary Levi and held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square on Friday, May 20, 2016.

Marco Ramírez's play The Royale is nominated for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play. Also nominated in that category is Dominique Morriseau's Skeleton Crew, which was directed by Rubén Santiago-Hudson. They are nominated with a field of off-Broadway and Broadway offerings– Anne Washburn's 10 Out of 12, Danai Gurira's Eclipsed, Florian Zeller's The Father, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Gloria, Taylor Mac's Hir, Stephen Karam's The Humans, Mike Bartlett's King Charles III, and Jordan Harrison's Marjorie Prime. [At left: Ramírez.]



Interesting to note that Latinos are prominent in the category of Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical. They include Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (who wrote the book to Duncan Sheik's musical American Psycho); César Álvarez (who wrote the book and lyrics, and co-composed the music with his band The Lisps, for Futurity); Lin-Manuel Miranda (who wrote the book, lyrics, and music to Hamilton); Alexander Dinelaris and the team of Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan (and Miami Sound Machine), for the book and score of On Your Feet! They are nominated alongside Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (Bright Star); Steven Levensen, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen); Todd Almond and Jenn Schwartz (iOW@); Andrew Lloyd Webber, Julian Fellowes, and Glenn Slater (School of Rock, the Musical); Claudia Shear, Tim Federle, Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen (Tuck Everlasting); and Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson (Waitress). [Above, clockwise from top left: Aguirre-Sacasa, Álvarez, Dinelaris, the Estefans. At above right: Miranda.]


Danny Burstein, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lupita Nyong'o and Ana Villafañe are among the 50 nominees for the Distinguished Performance Award. Only one winner is selected from this category. The recipient can receive this award only once during his or her career. [Above, left to right: Burstein, Villafañe.]

First awarded in 1922 and formalized in 1935, the Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honors in America. They are the only major theatrical awards chosen by the ENTIRE theatre community– specifically, by the thousands of Drama League members nationwide who attend Broadway and off-Broadway productions. They recognize work in five competitive categories, including Distinguished Play, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and Distinguished Performance. 
For more information on the Drama League Awards, click here or here.

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