Bradley Cooper, Helen Mirren, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ewan McGregor, Elisabeth Moss and Bill Nighy are all in competition — in the same category — for the 2015 Drama League Awards.
For its annual round of theater nominations, the Drama League only has five competitive categories, but production categories can stretch to a dozen, and the single acting category (this year running to 47 nominees, not counting the nine who can’t win because they’ve won in previous years) encompasses performers in every sort of production: play and musical, Broadway and Off Broadway.
Mirren starrer “The Audience” and Gyllenhaal outing “Constellations” are among the Broadway contenders in the new play category, alongside “Wolf Hall,” “Hand to God” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” as well as Off Broadway titles such as “An Octoroon” and recent Pulitzer winner “Between Riverside and Crazy.”
“Finding Neverland” made the musical list (after missing out on an Outer Critics nom yesterday), as did “An American in Paris,” “Fun Home,” “Something Rotten!” and “It Shoulda Been You.” Off Broadway buzzmagnet “Hamilton” also is among the titles in the same category.
Stephen Daldry — currently represented on Broadway with “The Audience” and “Skylight” — and Joel Grey are among the previously announced winners of the Drama League’s special awards.
The League, a nonprofit dedicated to theater development, support and education, has been handing out awards since 1935, making them the oldest theater awards in the country. The 2015 winners will be named during a luncheon ceremony May 15 at the Marriott Marquis in midtown Manhattan.
And the 2015 Drama League Award nominees are:
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
The Audience
Between Riverside and Crazy
Bootycandy
Constellations
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Hand to God
An Octoroon
Punk Rock
Scenes from a Marriage
Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Big Love
The Elephant Man
The Heidi Chronicles
The Iceman Cometh
It’s Only a Play
Skylight
Tamburlaine, Parts I and II
This Is Our Youth
You Can’t Take It with You
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
An American in Paris
Finding Neverland
Fun Home
Ghost Quartet
Hamilton
It Shoulda Been You
Something Rotten!
The Visit
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Allegro
Into the Woods
The King and I
On The Town
On The Twentieth Century
NOMINEES FOR THE DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD
One winner is selected from this category. The recipient can only receive this award once during his or her career.
Usman Ally, The Invisible Hand
Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Sterling K. Brown, Father Comes Home from the Wars Parts 1, 2 & 3
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Kristin Chenoweth, On The Twentieth Century
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Jim Dale, Just Jim Dale
Tyne Daly, It Shoulda Been You
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Renee Fleming, Living on Love
Kelsey Grammer, Finding Neverland
Jake Gyllenhaal, Constellations
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Lisa Howard, It Shoulda Been You
Brian D’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Big Love
Cush Jumbo, Josephine and I, The River
Andy Karl, On The Twentieth Century
Judy Kuhn, Fun Homec
Lesley Manville, Ghosts
Jan Maxwell, The City of Conversation
Richard McCabe, The Audience
Rob McClure, Honeymoon in Vegas
Ewan McGregor, The Real Thing
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Helen Mirren, The Audience
Matthew Morrison, Finding Neverland
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Tam Mutu, Doctor Zhivago
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Kelli O’Hara, The King and I
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two
Bryce Pinkham, The Heidi Chronicles
Roger Rees, The Visit
Chita Rivera, The Visit
Alexander Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Douglas Sills, Living on Love
John Douglas Thompson, Tamburlaine, Parts I and II, The Iceman Cometh
Julie White, Airline Highway
Ruth Wilson, Constellations
Tony Yazbeck, On The Town
The Drama League also wishes to acknowledge the previous recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award who appeared in New York productions this season. As the Award can only be won once in a performer’s lifetime, they are ineligible this season. Their exemplary work, however, is recognized and applauded.
Kathleen Chalfant, A Walk in the Woods
Stockard Channing, It’s Only A Play
Glenn Close, A Delicate Balance
Rosemary Harris, Indian Ink
Hugh Jackman, The River
Cherry Jones, When We Were Young and Unafraid
James Earl Jones, You Can’t Take It With You
Nathan Lane, The Iceman Cometh, It’s Only A Play
John Lithgow, A Delicate Balance, King Lear
DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSICAL THEATER
Joel Grey
UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEATER
WNET: Neal Shapiro and David Horn
FOUNDERS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTING
Stephen Daldry
