2007 Drama League Awards Announced; Schreiber Receives Top Acting Prize

Winners of the 2007 Drama League Awards were announced May 11 at a luncheon hosted by Les Miserables star Gary Beach. The Drama League honors both Broadway and off-Broadway shows and is the oldest theatrical institution to give awards pre-dating the Tony Awards by 12 years.

Talk Radio star Liev Schreiber won the coveted Distinguished Performance Award out of a list of more than 60 nominees, an honor that can be awarded only once in the lifetime of a stage performer.

Here is a complete list of the recipients:

Distinguished Production of a Play
The Coast of Utopia

Distinguished Production of a Musical
Spring Awakening

Distinguished Production of a Revival—Play
Journey's End

Distinguished Production of a Revival—Musical
Company

Distinguished Performance Award
Liev Schreiber, Talk Radio

In addition to awards in the competitive categories, some special honors were also bestowed at the event. John Kander and the late Fred Ebb received the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award, Michael Mayer Spring Awakening was honored with the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS received the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award.

Because so many actors from both Broadway and off-Broadway are introduced and have the opportunity to stand up and speak from the dais, the Drama League luncheon is always a lengthy and sometimes unpredictable affair. Before being named winner of the Distinguished Performance Award, Liev Schreiber paid tribute to the difficulty of stage acting and "the emotional and physical fortitude" necessary to do eight shows a week, citing the cast of The Coast of Utopia in particular. In his acceptance speech, he said, "I really have a great optimism about the theater right now."

Audra McDonald, star of 110 in the Shade, gave a touching speech about the importance of the theater community in her life after the death of her father in a plane crash less than two weeks ago. "I rushed back from my father's funeral to be onstage where I belong. Thank you for making me feel so safe."

Lin-Manuel Miranda, star and composer of In the Heights, performed an impromptu rap number that managed to work in the fact that he used to work at McDonald's and now found himself sitting in front of Ethan Hawke, comparing it to Salieri sitting next to Amadeus. Next up alphabetically was Debra Monk, who lamented having to follow Miranda and marveled at how many people on the dais she knew. "We were all kids together and now I'm having flashes," she quipped.

John Gallagher Jr. of Spring Awakening noted that he had played the brother of Blackbird star Alison Pill in one movie and the son of Grey Gardens' Christine Ebersole in another. His Broadway co-star Jonathan Groff drew big laughs when he said, "It's an honor to be sandwiched between Charlotte d'Amboise and the nametag of Vanessa Redgrave." The Tony winning star of The Year of Magical Thinking had made a pre-event appearance but left before lunch. Ethan Hawke then stood up and teasingly warned Groff, "It's tough to make fun of Vanessa Redgrave at your first event—I hope the theater gods will smile on you."

A highlight was playwright Tony Kushner's heartfelt introduction of his longtime friend and former NYU classmate Michael Mayer, winner of the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing. After noting that he feels there are fewer good theater directors than good actors, he quoted Shakespear in calling Mayer "a bringer of joy." In his acceptance speech, Mayer hailed several mentors, including his eighth grade drama teacher in Maryland, a man who doubled as the school's football coach and who gave Mayer his first role, the lead in Bye Bye Birdie. The crowd cheered when Mayer asked this special teacher, Michael D'Anna, to stand.