Book of Mormon and Anything Goes Big Drama Desk Winners

Book of Mormon and Anything Goes Big Drama Desk Winners

Big winners at New York’s 2011 Drama Desk Awards, were The Book of Mormon (Outstanding Musical) and Anything Goes (Outstanding Musical Revival), with five awards each. The Normal Heart (Outstanding Revival) and War Horse (Outstanding Play) took out the top awards in the drama categories. The awards presented at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Manhattan on May 23.

There was an Australian victory on the night, with Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner recognised for Outstanding Costume Design for Priscilla Queen of the Desert, but Tony Sheldon missed out on the award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.

Anything Goes received awards for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Sutton Foster), Outstanding Choreography (Kathleen Marshall), Outstanding Set Design (Derek McLane), and Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical (Brian Ronan).

The Book of Mormon won for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker), both Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone) and Oustanding Orchestrations (Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus).

In other awards:

Bobby Cannavale (The Motherf**ker With the Hat) and Frances McDormand (Good People) were chosen as Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Play, and Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me If You Can) won as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.

The Outstanding Featured Actor and Featured Actress in a Play awards went to Brian Bedford (The Importance of Being Earnest) and Edie Falco (The House of Blue Leaves), and the Outstanding Featured Actor and Actress in a Musical awards were won by John Larroquette (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and Laura Benanti (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).

The Outstanding Direction winners were Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe (The Normal Heart). Adam Mathias (See Rock City & Other Business) won for Outstanding Book of a Musical. Wayne Barker (Peter and the Starcatcher) won for Outstanding Music in a Play.56th Annual Drama Desk Award Winners 2-2-2

The Drama Desk for Outstanding Revue was given to Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles on Broadway. John Leguizamo won the Drama Desk for his Outstanding Solo Performance (Ghetto Klown). The Unique Theatrical Experience award was presented to Sleep No More.

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo won two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Lighting Design (David Lander) and Outstanding Sound Design (Acme Sound Partners and Cricket S. Myers).

Outstanding Ensemble Awards went to the companies of In Transit and The Normal Heart

Special awards recognized excellence and significant contributions to the theater in 2010-2011.

• To A.R. Gurney for his enduring, keenly observed portraits of American life over a prolific four-decade-long career.

• To Reed Birney for his versatile and finely nuanced performances over the past thirty-five years, and for his exceptional work this season in Tigers Be Still, A Small Fire and The Dream of the Burning Boy.

• To The New Group and Artistic Director Scott Elliott for presenting contemporary new voices, and for uncompromisingly raw and powerful productions.

• To The Pearl Theatre Company for notable productions of classic plays and nurturing a stalwart resident company of actors.

• To the creative team of War Horse for thrilling stagecraft: Paule Constable, Marianne Elliott, 59 Productions, Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for Handspring Puppet Company, Tom Morris, Rae Smith, Christopher Shutt, Toby Sedgwick, Adrian Sutton and John Tams.

Tony and Drama Desk Award winner Harvey Fierstein hosted he 56th annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony.

The Drama Desk Awards honor productions that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway during the 2010-2011 New York theatre season.

Image: Sutton Foster and company in Anything Goes. Photographer: Joan Marcus.

 

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