News & Views from the Drama Desk
L.S. PUBLIC RELATIONS
244 West 54th Street New York, NY 10019
Tel: 917/854-3286 Fax: 212/957-1616
E-Mail: lester.schecter@gmail.com
For Immediate Release
2009/2010 DRAMA DESK AWARDS NOMINATIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED
ON MONDAY, MAY 3, BY BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL AND CADY HUFFMAN
Announcement Ceremony to be Held at New York Friars Club at 9:30 AM
Nominations for the 55th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be announced at a news
conference on Monday, May 3, 2010, at 9:30 AM at the New York Friars Club, 57 East 55th
Street, in Manhattan. A continental breakfast will be available at 8:45 AM. Drama Desk and Tony
winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Cady Huffman will announce the nominations in the various
categories. In addition, there will be remarks by Drama Desk President William Wolf, Drama
Desk Awards Executive Producer Robert R. Blume, Nominating Committee Chairperson
Barbara Siegel and Randie Levine-Miller, Drama Desk Director of Special Events, who has
produced this event at the Friars Club for the past 14 years.
Mitchell, a member of the Friars Club, is serving his fourth term as President of the Actors
Fund. He won the Drama Desk and Tony Awards for his starring role in the Kiss me Kate revival;
and was Drama Desk and Tony nominated for Ragtime, King Hedly II and the Man of La Mancha revival. Huffman won Drama Desk and Tony Awards for her role as Ulla in The Producers, and
was Tony nominated for her role as ‘Ziegfeld’s favorite’ in The Will Rogers Follies.”
The Drama Desk, which was organized in 1949 and presented its first awards in 1955, is
the only organization of professional theater critics, writers and editors that bestows awards with
Broadway, Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway productions competing in the same categories.
The 55th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be held Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 9:00 PM in
the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center with Patti LuPone as host. The awards show will be
webcast live for the eighth year in a row by TheaterMania.com.
Drama Desk nominees will receive their Official Nomination Certificates at a gala Cocktail
Reception on Thursday, May 6, 3:30 to 5:45 PM, at the famed Churrascaria Plataforma, New
York’s authentic Brazilian Steak House at 316 West 49th Street. The General pre-show reception
at The Concert Hall will be hosted by 'Mind The Art' a New York City based Collaborative Arts &
Entertainment Company whose mission is to promote, enhance, workshop and produce new
work and talent in the arts. The VIP post-show party after the Drama Desk Awards ceremony on
Sunday, May 23, will take place at Brian and Carrie Packin’s plush, new upscale 48 Lounge on
the street level of the McGraw Hill Building, 1221 Avenue of Americas, entrance on 48th Street,
starting at 11:15 PM. The party will feature cuisine by the legendary Blue Ribbon Caterers.
The 2009/2010 Nominating Committee for the Drama Desk Awards includes: Barbara
Siegel (Chairperson) TalkinBroadway.com, TheaterMania.com; Christopher Byrne, Gay City
News; Patrick Christiano, TheaterLife.com, Dan’s Papers; David Kaufman, freelance and
author; Gerard Raymond, Back Stage, The Advocate; Richard Ridge, Broadway Beat TV; and
Paulanne Simmons, CurtainUp.com, NY Theatre-wire.com.
Robert R. Blume is Executive Producer of the 55th Annual Drama Desk Awards,
which will be co-presented by Theatermania.com, and Blume Media Group Ltd. Lauren Class
Schneider is Producer and Jeff Kalpak is Director of the Awards ceremony. For the production,
the Associate Producers are Joseph Callari, Corine Dana Cohen, Ellis Nassour and Les
Schecter, who also serves as Director of Publicity and Promotions. Randie Levine-Miller is
Special Events Director for the Drama Desk.
The Board of Directors of the Drama Desk is composed of William Wolf, President;
Leslie (Hoban) Blake, Vice President; Charles Wright, Treasurer and 2nd Vice President;
Richard Ridge, Secretary, Randy Gener, Isa Goldberg, Susan Haskins, John Istel, David
Kaufman, Ellis Nassour and Sam Norkin.
########
Press Contact:
Les Schecter/Matthew P. Donoghue (L.S. Public Relations)
Tel: 917-854-3286
E-Mail: lester.schecter@gmail.com
presented by
56TH ANNUAL DRAMA DESK AWARDS
TO BE TELEVISED NATIONALLY ON OVATION CREATING LARGE NATIONAL FOOTPRINT FOR THE AWARDS AND ALL OF NEW YORK THEATERS
Click here for details
Also Sponsored by:
For Sponsorship Information:
Christopher Raphael 845-987-0303
For Awards Program Advertising:
Allison H. Cohen 212-354-5124
For further information on this Ceremony and Events.
Go to www.DramaDeskAwards.com
