Five Show Albums Honored with Grammy Nominations

Five hit productions from the 2005-2006 Broadway season have drawn Grammy nominations for Best Musical Show Album. The award is given to the album producer and to the lyricists and composers of 51% or more of a new score. This year's awards honor recordings released from October 1, 2005, to September 30, 2006. And the nominees are:

The Color Purple
Jay David Saks, producer
Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell & Allee Willis, composers/lyricists
Angel Records

The Drowsy Chaperone
Kurt Deutsch, Joel Moss & Phil Reno, producers
Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison, composers/lyricists
Ghostlight Records

Jersey Boys
Bob Gaudio, producer
Bob Gaudio, composer; Bob Crewe, lyricist
Rhino Records

The Pajama Game
Harry Connick, Jr. & Tracey Freeman, producers
Richard Adler & Jerry Ross, composers/lyricists
Columbia

Sweeney Todd—The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Krasker, producer
Stephen Sondheim, composer/lyricist
Nonesuch

Several other nominees in the 108 Grammy categories have a connection to the theater world. Mel Brooks was nominated for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway," written for the movie version of The Producers. The movie's soundtrack was not nominated. Tony Award winner John Lithgow was nominated for Best Musical Album for Children for The Sunny Side of the Street. Jim Dale and Lynn Redgrave will compete for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for Peter Pan and The Witches, respectively. Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis were nominated for Best Spoken Word Album for With Ossie And Ruby: In This Life Together.

The 49th annual Grammy Awards will be handed out on February 11, 2007, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Stephen Colbert will be the host of the telecast.