2018 Drama League Nominations announced

The winners of the 84th annual Drama League Awards will be announced during the May 18, 2018 ceremony

The nominations for Drama League Awards were announced on April 18, 2018. Among these are 55 actors who are in the running for the distinguished performance award. The winners of the five categories will be announced at the Ceremony at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

The Drama League is bridging the gap between the performers and the audience members.Founded in Chicago in 1910, the Drama League of America went on to establish chapters throughout many cities in the United States. As described on their site, “We harness this fruitful, essential engagement of the theater maker and the theater advocate to enhance the professional, personal and creative development of artists; to improve the quality of new work for the stage; and to imbue audiences with a richer, more informed experience.” Each year they produce over 100 theatre events right in New York City, not just on Broadway but all around the city. They hold events in the Drama League Center in Tribeca.

Playbill previously reported that Broadway and film actress Idina Menzel, and Casey Nicholaw, who is the director and choreographer of the musical Mean Girls, will be honored this year. Menzel is receiving the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater Award while Nicholaw is being honored with the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing.The National Endowment for the Arts will receive a special award called the Unique Contribution to the Theater Award.

Below is a list of nominees:

DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD

Jelani Alladin, Frozen
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Annaleigh Ashford, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Laura Benanti, Meteor Shower
MaameYaa Boafo, School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
Juan Castano, Oedipus El Rey
Billy Crudup, Harry Clarke
Eisa Davis, Kings
Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

Noma Dumenzweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
Deanna Dunagan, The Treasurer
Eve Ensler, In The Body of the World
Chris Evans, Lobby Hero
Johnny Flynn, Hangmen
Alfie Fuller, Is God Is
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Rebecca Hall, Animal

Harriet Harris, The Low Road
Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero
Joshua Henry, Carousel
Tom Hollander, Travesties
Oscar Isaac, Hamlet
Chukwudi Iwuji, The Low Road
Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women
Joshua Jackson, Children of a Lesser God
Hailey Kilgore, Once On This Island
LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

Katrina Lenk, The Band’s Visit
Robert Sean Leonard, Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Elizabeth Marvel, Julius Caesar
James McArdle, Angels in America
Laurie Metcalf, Three Tall Women
Jessie Mueller, Carousel
Patti Murin, Frozen
Alex Newell, Once On This Island

Sahr Ngaujah, Mlima’s Tale
Seth Numrich, Travesties
Deirdre O’Connell, Fulfillment Center
Ashley Park, Mean Girls and KPOP
Billie Piper, Yerma
Karen Pittman, Pipeline
Condola Rashad, Saint JoanLauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
Roslyn Ruff, X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation
Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower
Tony Shalhoub, The Band’s Visit

Paul Sparks, Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
John Douglas Thompson, Julius Caesar
Michael Urie, Torch Song and The Government Inspector
Denzel Washington, The Iceman Cometh
Dianne Wiest, Happy Days

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

Animal
Hangmen
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
In the Body of the World
Is God Is
Meteor Shower
Oedipus El Rey
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
Until the Flood

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

Angels in America
Children of a Lesser God
Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo
Hamlet
The Iceman Cometh
Lobby Hero
Saint Joan
Three Tall Women
Torch Song
Travesties
Yerma

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

The Band's Visit
Bella: An American Tall Tale
Frozen
Hundred Days
KPOP
Mean Girls
SpongeBob SquarePants
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

Carousel
My Fair Lady
Once On This Island
Pacific Overtures

Because the Distinguished Performance Award can only be awarded once in an actor’s life, the following people will be recognized, but they are deemed ineligible. They will be given special recognition for their performances on the great white way this season.

Norbert Leo Butz (My Fair Lady, The Whirligig)
Kathleen Chalfant (For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday)
Nathan Lane (Angels in America)
John Lithgow (Stories By Heart)
Bernadette Peters (Hello, Dolly!)
Mark Rylance (Farinelli and the King)

Do you have a favorite nominee on the list? Let us know below!