Drama Desk Awards – Gentleman’s Guide Wins 7, Beautiful Takes 3 (Videos)

 

 

 

 

NY Theater News By Brian Scott Lipton and Sandi Durell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 59^th Annual Drama Desk Awards, presented by TheaterMania.com, took place on Sunday, June1 at The Town Hall. Tony Award winner Laura Benanti hosted the event. Top-honored shows included the musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,” which led the pack with 7 wins, as well as “All the Way,” “Rocky,” “The Bridges of Madison County,” “Twelfth Night,” “The Glass Menagerie,” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the red carpet and in the press room, Theater Pizzazz spoke with many of the evening winners, nominees, and prominent presenters including Neil Patrick Harris, Audra McDonald, Jessie Mueller, Jefferson Mays, Sutton Foster, Kelli O’Hara, Andy Karl, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Reed Birney, Veanne Cox, James Monroe Igleheart, Lauren Worsham, Lisa O’Hare, Adam Jacobs, Nick Cordero, Stephanie J. Block, Darko Tresnjak, Warren Carlyle, Robert Schenkkan, Steven Lutvak and Robert Freedman, Jason Robert Brown, Diane Paulus, Marin Ireland, Mark Nadler, and many others.

 

 

Below is the Complete List of Nominees and Winners in Bold:

 

Outstanding Play Nell Benjamin, The Explorers Club Steven Levenson, Core Values Conor McPherson, The Night Alive Richard Nelson, Regular Singing Bruce Norris, Domesticated Robert Schenkkan, All the Way John Patrick Shanley, Outside Mullingar

 

 

Outstanding Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Aladdin Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Fun Home Love’s Labour’s Lost Rocky The Bridges of Madison County Outstanding Revival of a Play I Remember Mama London Wall No Man’s Land Of Mice and Men The Cripple of Inishmaan The Model Apartment Twelfth Night* *Shakespeare’s Globe Production

 

Outstanding Revival of a Musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Les Misérables Violet

 

Outstanding Actor in a Play Bryan Cranston, All the Way Hamish Linklater, The Comedy of Errors Ian McKellen, No Man’s Land David Morse, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin Chris O’Dowd, Of Mice and Men Daniel Radcliffe, The Cripple of Inishmaan Denzel Washington, A Raisin in the Sun

 

Outstanding Actress in a Play Barbara Andres, I Remember Mama Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill Laurie Metcalf, Domesticated J. Smith-Cameron, Juno and the Paycock Harriet Walter, Julius Caesar

 

Outstanding Actor in a Musical  (a tie) Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Adam Jacobs, Aladdin Andy Karl, Rocky Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

 

Outstanding Actress in a Musical Sutton Foster, Violet Idina Menzel, If/Then Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Kelli O’Hara, The Bridges of Madison County Margo Seibert, Tamar of the River Barrett Wilbert Weed, Heathers: The Musical

 

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Reed Birney, Casa Valentina Chuck Cooper, Choir Boy Peter Maloney, Outside Mullingar Bobby Moreno, Year of the Rooster Bill Pullman, The Jacksonian Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie

 

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Betty Buckley, The Old Friends Julia Coffey, London Wall Diane Davis, The Model Apartment Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie Jan Maxwell, The Castle Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun

 

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Danny Burstein, Cabaret Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical Joshua Henry, Violet James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin Rory O’Malley, Nobody Loves You Bobby Steggert, Big Fish

 

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (tie) Stephanie J. Block, Little Miss Sunshine Anika Larsen, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (tie) Adriane Lenox, After Midnight Sydney Lucas, Fun Home Laura Osnes, The Threepenny Opera Jennifer Simard, Disaster! Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (tie)

 

Outstanding Director of a Play Joe Calarco, A Christmas Carol Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night Thomas Kail, Family Furniture Bill Rauch, All the Way Anna D. Shapiro, Domesticated Julie Taymor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

 

Outstanding Director of a Musical Sam Gold, Fun Home Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Bartlett Sher, The Bridges of Madison County Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical Alex Timbers, Rocky Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

 

Outstanding Choreography Warren Carlyle, After Midnight Steven Hoggett, Kelly Devine, Rocky Danny Mefford, Love’s Labour’s Lost Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical Sonya Tayeh, Kung Fu

 

Outstanding Music Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County Andrew Lippa, Big Fish Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Alan Menken, Aladdin Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, Heathers: The Musical Jeanine Tesori, Fun Home

 

Outstanding Lyrics Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin, Aladdin Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Michael Friedman, Love’s Labour’s Lost Michael Korie, Far from Heaven Lisa Kron, Fun Home

 

Outstanding Book of a Musical Chad Beguelin, Aladdin Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, Murder for Two Lisa Kron, Fun Home Douglas McGrath, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Marsha Norman, The Bridges of Madison County

 

Outstanding Orchestrations Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County John Clancy, Fun Home Larry Hochman, Big Fish Steve Sidwell, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Michael Starobin, If/Then Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

 

Outstanding Music in a Play Lewis Flinn, The Tribute Artist Elliot Goldenthal, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Rob Kearns, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle Tom Kochan, Almost, Maine Nico Muhly, The Glass Menagerie Duncan Sheik, A Man’s a Man

 

Outstanding Revue After Midnight I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Musik from the Weimar and Beyond Le Jazz Hot: How the French Saved Jazz Til Divorce Do Us Part What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined

 

Outstanding Set Design Christopher Barreca, Rocky Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Richard Hoover, Small Engine Repair Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical Ian MacNeil, A Doll’s House Donyale Werle, The Explorers Club

 

Outstanding Costume Design Constance Hoffman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical Zane Pihlstrom, Nutcracker Rouge Loren Shaw, The Mysteries Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night David C. Woolard, The Heir Apparent

 

Outstanding Lighting Design Christopher Akerlind, Rocky Jane Cox, Machinal David Lander, The Civil War Peter Mumford, King Lear Brian Tovar, Tamar of the River Japhy Weideman, Macbeth

 

Outstanding Projection Design Robert Massicotte and Alexis Laurence, Cirkopolis Sven Ortel, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Aaron Rhyne, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Shawn Sagady, All the Way Austin Switser, Sontag: Reborn Ben Rubin, Arguendo

 

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Kai Harada, Fun Home Peter Hylenski, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical Peter Hylenski, Rocky Brian Ronan, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Dan Moses Schreier, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Jon Weston, The Bridges of Madison County

 

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play M.L. Dogg, The Open House Katie Down, The Golden Dragon Paul James Prendergast, All the Way Dan Moses Schreier, Act One Christopher Shutt, Love and Information Matt Tierney, Machinal

 

Outstanding Solo Performance David Barlow, This is My Office Jim Brochu, Character Man Hannah Cabell, Grounded Debra Jo Rupp, Becoming Dr. Ruth Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned John Douglas Thompson, Satchmo at the Waldorf

 

Unique Theatrical Experience Charlatan Cirkopolis Mother Africa Nothing to Hide Nutcracker Rouge The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill Vol. Special Awards Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theater.

 

 

For 2013-2014, these awards are: To Soho Rep.: For nearly four decades of artistic distinction, innovative production, and provocative play selection. To Veanne Cox: For her ability to express the eccentricities, strengths, and vulnerabilities of a range of characters, and notably for her comedic flair as evidenced in this season’s The Old Friends and The Most Deserving. To Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: For his visionary directorial excellence. This season’s The Golden Dragon and The Mysteries exemplify his bold and strikingly original imagination. To the ensembles of Off-Broadway’s The Open House and Broadway’s The Realistic Joneses and to the creator of both plays, Will Eno: For two extraordinary casts and one impressively inventive playwright. The Open House: Hannah Bos, Michael Countryman, Peter Friedman, Danny McCarthy, and Carolyn McCormick The Realistic Joneses:Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, and Marisa Tomei Individual artists and productions singled out for these special awards are not eligible in their competitive categories.   PRODUCTIONS WITH MULTIPLE AWARDS 7 A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder 3 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 2 Twelfth Night* 2 After Midnight 2 All The Way 2 The Bridges of Madison County 2 The Glass Menagerie 2 Hedwig and the Angry Inch 2 Rocky *Shakespeare’s Globe Production

Interviews: Brian Scott Lipton      Video/Photos: Sandi Durell