Bryan Cranston Up Against Jeff Daniels and Annette Bening at 2019 Drama League Awards

While the actors are vying for the coveted Distinguished Performance Award, Sam Mendes' 'The Ferryman' and Aaron Sorkin's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' will face off for Outstanding Production trophy.

Apr 18, 2019

AceShowbiz - Bryan Cranston, Jeff Daniels, Annette Bening, and Laurie Metcalf are among the stars nominated for the top prize at the 2019 New York Drama League Awards.

The actors are all in the running for the Distinguished Performance Award, which they can only win once during their lifetime, with Cranston competing for his role in "Network", Daniels for "To Kill a Mockingbird", Bening for "All My Sons", and Metcalf for "Hillary and Clinton".

Others up for the coveted honour include Jake Gyllenhaal ("Sea Wall/A Life"), Kerry Washington ("American Son"), Ethan Hawke ("True West"), Adam Driver ("Burn This"), Edie Falco ("The True"), Carey Mulligan ("Girls and Boys"), and Ruth Wilson ("King Lear").

Meanwhile, Sam Mendes' "The Ferryman", Ivo van Hove's "Network", and Aaron Sorkin's "To Kill a Mockingbird" adaptation, directed by Bartlett Sher, will be among those facing off for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play, and "All My Sons", "Burn This", "King Lear", and "Twelfth Night" included in the shortlist for Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play.

The category of Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical features the likes of "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations", "Beetlejuice", "The Cher Show", and "King Kong", and "Carmen Jones", "Kiss Me, Kate", and "Oklahoma!" are up for Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical.

Drama League officials also had special mentions for the "exemplary work" of previous Distinguished Performance Award honourees, such as Glenn Close ("Mother of the Maid"), Stockard Channing ("Apologia"), John Lithgow ("Hillary and Clinton"), Glenda Jackson ("King Lear"), and Nathan Lane ("Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus").

The winners of the 85th Annual Drama League Awards, which celebrate theatre work on and Off-Broadway, will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on May 17.

The 2019 New York Drama League Awards nominations:

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

"Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties", Written by Jen Silverman, Directed by Mike Donahue, MCC Theater
"Dance Nation", Written by Clare Barron, Directed by Lee Sunday Evans, Playwrights Horizons
"Fairview", Written by Jackie Sibblies Drury, Directed by Sarah Benson, Soho Rep
"The Ferryman" Written by Jez Butterworth, Directed by Sam Mendes, Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
"Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus", Written by Taylor Mac, Directed by George C. Wolfe
"The House That Will Not Stand", Written by Marcus Gardley, Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, New York Theatre Workshop
"The Jungle", Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, Directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, St. Ann's Warehouse
"The Lehman Trilogy", Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, Directed by Sam Mendes, Park Avenue Armory
"Network" Adapted by Lee Hall; Based on the film by Paddy Chayefsky, Directed by Ivo van Hove, Belasco Theatre
"Paradise Blue", Written by Dominique Morisseau, Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Signature Theatre Company
"Teenage Dick", Written by Mike Lew, Directed by Moritz von Steulpnagel, Public Theater
"To Kill a Mockingbird", Written by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the novel by Harper Lee, Directed by Bartlett Sher, Shubert Theatre
"What The Constitution Means to Me", Written by Heidi Shreck, Directed by Oliver Butler, New York Theatre Workshop/Barrow Street Theater/Hayes Theater

Editors' Pick

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

"All My Sons", Written by Arthur Miller, Directed by Jack O'Brien, Roundabout Theatre Company
"Boesman and Lena", Written by Athol Fugard, Directed by Yaël Farber, Signature Theatre Company
"Burn This", Written by Lanford Wilson, Directed by Michael Mayer, Hudson Theatre
"By The Way, Meet Vera Stark", Written by Lynn Nottage, Directed by Kamilah Forbes, Signature Theatre Company
"Choir Boy", Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Directed by Trip Cullman, Manhattan Theatre Club
"King Lear", Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Sam Gold, Cort Theatre
"Torch Song", Written by Harvey Fierstein, Directed by Moises Kaufman, Hayes Theatre
"Twelfth Night", Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Oskar Eustis and Kwame Kwei-Armah, Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival
"The Waverly Gallery", Written by Kenneth Lonergan, Directed by Lila Neugebauer, John Golden Theatre

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

"Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations" - Book by Dominique Morisseau; Music and Lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog, Directed by Des McAnuff, Imperial Theatre
"Beetlejuice" - Book by Scott Brown and Anthony King; Music by Eddie Perfect; Lyrics by Eddie Perfect, Directed by Alex Timbers, Winter Garden Theatre
"Be More Chill" - Book by Joe Tracz; Music and Lyrics by Joe Iconis, Directed by Stephen Brackett, Lyceum Theatre
"The Cher Show" - Book by Rick Elice; Music by Various Artists, Directed by Jason Moore, Neil Simon Theatre
"Hadestown" - Lyrics and Book by Anais Mitchell, Directed by Rachel Chavkin, Walter Kerr Theatre
"Head Over Heels" - Songs by The Go-Go's; Conceived by Jeff Whitty; Original Book by Jeff Whitty; Book adapted by James Magruder; Based on 'The Arcadia' by Sir Philip Sidney, Directed by Michael Mayer, Hudson Theatre
"The Hello Girls" - Music and Lyrics by Peter Mills; Book by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, Directed by Cara Reichel, Prospect Theatre Company/59 East 59 Theaters
"King Kong" - Written by Jack Thorne; Score Composed and Produced by Marius de Vries; Songs by Eddie Perfect, Directed by Drew McOnie
"The Prom", by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin; Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, Directed by Casey Nicholaw, Longacre Theatre
"Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future" - Book, Music and Lyrics by Andrew R. Butler, Directed by Joran Fein, Ars Nova
"Tootsie", by Robert Horn; Music by David Yazbek; Lyrics by David Yazbek, Directed by Scott Ellis, Marquis Theatre

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

"Carmen Jones" - Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy's adaptation of Prosper Merimee's 'Carmen'; Music by Georges Bizet, Directed by John Doyle, Classic Stage Company
"Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish" - Book by Joseph Stein; Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics By Sheldon Harnick, Directed by Joel Grey, The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene/Stage 42
"Kiss Me, Kate" - Book by Sam Spewack and Bella Spewack; Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter, Directed by Scott Ellis, Roundabout Theatre Company
"Oklahoma!" - Book by Oscar Hammerstein; Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, Directed by Daniel Fish, St. Ann's Warehouse/Circle in the Square Theatre
"Ordinary Days" - Music and Lyrics by Adam Gwon, Directed by Jonathan Silverstein, Keen Company
"Smokey Joe's Cafe" - Music and Lyrics by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Directed by Joshua Bergasse, Stage 42

NOMINEES FOR THE DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD

Brooks Ashmanskas, "The Prom"
Annette Bening, "All My Sons"
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, "Our Lady of 121st Street"
Stephanie J. Block, "The Cher Show"
Eboni Booth, "Dance Nation"
Alex Brightman, "Beetlejuice"
Josh Charles, "Straight White Men"
Paddy Considine, "The Ferryman"
Jordan E. Cooper, "Ain't No Mo'"
Bryan Cranston, "Network"
Jeff Daniels, "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Jessica Frances Dukes, "By The Way, Meet Vera Stark"
Andre De Shields, "Hadestown"
Adam Driver, "Burn This"
Edie Falco, "The True"
Santino Fontana, "Tootsie"
Harriett D. Foy, "The House That Will Not Stand"
Lynda Gravatt, "The House That Will Not Stand" and "The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd"
Amber Gray, "Hadestown"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Sea Wall/A Life"
Ammar Haj Ahmad, "The Jungle"
Ethan Hawke, "True West"
Marin Ireland, "Blue Ridge" and "Summer and Smoke"
Zainab Jah, "Boesman and Lena"
Nikki M. James, "Twelfth Night"
Celia Keenan-Bolger, "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Leslie Kritzer, "Beetlejuice"
Beth Leavel, "The Prom"
Tracy Letts, "All My Sons"
Elaine May, "The Waverly Gallery"
Janet McTeer, "Bernhardt/Hamlet"
Laurie Metcalf, "Hillary and Clinton"
Bonnie Milligan, "Head Over Heels"
Gregg Mozgala, "Teenage Dick"
Kelli O'Hara, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Jeremy Pope, "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations" and "Choir Boy"
Carey Mulligan, "Girls and Boys"
Anika Noni Rose, "Carmen Jones"
Debra Jo Rupp, "The Cake"
Stacey Sargeant, "Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future"
Heidi Schreck, "What The Constitution Means to Me"
Steven Skybell, "Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish"
Keith Randolph Smith, "Paradise Blue"
Ali Stroker, "Oklahoma!"
Michael Stuhlbarg, "Socrates"
Ephraim Sykes, "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations"
Ben Turner, "The Jungle"
Ana Villafane, "Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties"
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, "Fleabag"
Kerry Washington, "American Son"
Julie White, "Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus"
Ruth Wilson, "King Lear"
B.D. Wong, "The Great Leap"