About mid-morning on the twenty-ninth, the Drama Desk Award Nominations were announced in preparation for the award ceremony on May nineteenth. (Note: these are NOT the Tony Award nominations!) Hands on a Hardbody received nine nominations all together, tied with Giant. Hands on a Hardbody was nominated for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Music (Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green), Outstanding Book of a Musical (Doug Wright), Outstanding Lyrics (Amanda Green), Outstanding Orchestrations (Trey Anastastio and Don Hart), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Keith Carradine), Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical (Steve Canyon Kennedy), Outstanding Choreography (Sergio Trujillo), and Outstanding Featured Acress in a Musical (Keala Settle). Although Hardbody had a short run on Broadway, it certainly made a statement in the theatre world!
Other shows that are up for several awards include Pasek and Paul’s Dogfight, Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Kinky Boots, Pippin, Bring It On: The Musical, Matilda, and Chaplin: The Musical.
In other award show news, the Tony Award eligibility was announced, and it was noted that the four girls who play Matilda (Bailey Ryon, Milly Shapiro, Sophia Gennusa, and Oona Laurence) will not be eligible for Tony nominations due to the split stage time seen as the role. They have however received the 2013 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre award.
With Tony Award Noms being announced later this week, will we continue to see original and new shows like Hands on a Hardbody sweep in the nominations? Or will the revivals take over? Tune in to watch Sutton Foster and Jesse Tyler Ferguson announce the nominees on April thirtieth at eight-thirty AM!