Mario Cantone to Host 2012 Lucille Lortel Awards

Mario Cantone will host the 27th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards on May 6 at the NYU Skirball Center. Nominations for the awards, which honor outstanding achievement in off-Broadway productions, were announced on March 29 with Once and Tribes leading the pack with seven and six nominations respectively. As previoulsy announced producer Richard Frankel will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Presenters at this year's ceremony will include Laura Benanti, Alexis Bledel, Christian Borle, Will Chase, Anna Chlumsky, Oliver Chris, Willem Dafoe, Hugh Dancy, Tate Donovan, Halley Feiffer, Steve Guttenberg, Rose Hemingway, Steve Kazee, Fran Kranz, Lucy Liu, Constantine Maroulis, Cristin Milioti, Sarah Paulson and Stark Sands. 

Cantone has appeared on Broadway in Laugh Whore, Assassins and Love! Valour! Compassion! His off-Broadway credits include The Crumple Zone, The Taming of the Shrew and The Tempest. He is also well known for his stand-up comedy and work on TV's Sex and the City and its subsequent films.