Importance of Being Earnest vies for stage awards
CBC News
Posted: Apr 29, 2011 4:02 PM ET
Last Updated: Apr 29, 2011 4:02 PM ET
Brian Bedford, left, and Charlotte Parry are shown in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of The Importance of Being Earnest, nominated for three Drama Desk Awards. (Joan Marcus/Boneau/Bryan-Brown/Associated Press)
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Brian Bedford's The Importance of Being Earnest has earned a trio of nominations for the Drama Desk Awards.
On Friday, organizers announced the nominees for the annual stage honours, which celebrate New York theatre productions on and off- Broadway.
Bedford's production of the Oscar Wilde classic — which he directs and also appears in as the formidable Lady Bracknell — debuted at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 2009.
The production is in the running for outstanding revival of a play, while the Stratford veteran's gender-bending turn earned him a nomination for featured actor in a play. The lavish costume design in Earnest, staged by New York's Roundabout Theatre Company, is also nominated for a prize.
Other contenders for the best play revival honour are: Born Yesterday, The House of Blue Leaves, The Merchant of Venice, The Normal Heart and Three Sisters.
Seven productions are being considered for the title of outstanding play:
- Other Desert Cities.
- A Small Fire.
- The Motherf--ker With the Hat.
- A Bright New Boise.
- Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.
- Good People.
- War Horse.
Book of Mormon tops nominees
The critically acclaimed and profane The Book of Mormon, created by the zany minds behind TV's South Park and the stage musical comedy Avenue Q, dominates the Drama Desk contenders with a leading 12 nominations. It will compete in categories including best musical, lyrics, direction, music and choreography, with several of its actors also vying for trophies.
Rivals for the best musical prize include In Transit, Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical, See Rock City & Other Destinations, Sister Act and The Kid.
Close behind Mormon with 10 nominations is the latest revival of the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes, including recognition for star Sutton Foster and director Kathleen Marshall. It faces two competitors for the best musical revival title: Hello Again and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
Other famous faces vying for trophies for their stage performances include:
- Actor Daniel Radcliffe, who made his musical debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
- Al Pacino, who earned raves for his turn in The Merchant of Venice.
- Cable TV stalwart Edie Falco in The House of Blue Leaves.
- Stage and screen star Geoffrey Rush in The Diary of a Madman.
- Stockard Channing for Other Desert Cities.
- Patti LuPone for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
A complete list of nominees is available on the Drama Desk website.
Award-winning actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein will host the 2011 Drama Desk Awards gala, slated for May 23 at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
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