Drowsy Chaperone Tops List of 2006 Drama Desk Nominees

Nominations for 2005-2006 Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced by A Chorus Line's composer and original star, Marvin Hamlisch and Donna McKechnie, at the New York Friars Club on April 27. The Drowsy Chaperone leads the list of nominees with 14, including Outstanding Musical.

Some notes on this year's nominations:

-Tarzan, which opens May 10, was not eligible because Disney Theatricals did not provide tickets to the Drama Desk nominating committee in time. It will be eligible next year. Well, Souvenir and Bridge & Tunnel were considered in previous seasons during their off-Broadway runs, though some design elements of their Broadway transfers were deemed eligible.

-The hit Broadway musical The Color Purple was completely snubbed; even leading lady LaChanze, thought to be a definite Tony contender, did not receive a nod.

-The Outstanding Musical category was evenly split by Broadway and off-Broadway entries with nominations going to Broadway's The Drowsy Chaperone, Jersey Boys and The Wedding Singer and off-Broadway's Grey Gardens, See What I Wanna See and Thrill Me the last two of which are closed. Off-Broadway made a particularly strong showing, with Grey Gardens receiving 12 nominations and See What I Wanna See netting nine.

-The Drama Desk, which typically announced six entries in each category, opted to nominate only three musical revivals Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, The Pajama Game and Sweeney Todd. Thus the committee notably snubbed the current critically derided Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera. Veteran actor Jim Dale drew the production's only nomination, for Outstanding Featured Actor.

Here is a complete list of the nominees:

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, The Pursuit 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, The Pursuit 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 & Roland 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

During the nomination announcement ceremony, it was revealed that the casts of Stuff Happens and Awake and Sing! would each receive special ensemble awards for acting. Because of the ensemble awards, individual cast members for these shows were not eligible for acting awards in the competitive categories. The Drama Desk also announced that special awards would be given to The BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, The York Theatre Company and to Sh-K-Boom Records and its label Ghostlight Records. This year's lifetime achievement award will be given to playwright Horton Foote.