MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT LEADS DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINATIONS
by Hans ten Cate
Monday, 2 May 2005

Spamalot has been nominated 12 times for this year's Drama Desk awards

The shortlists for the Drama Desk awards were announced on 28 April, with Spamalot leading the way with 12 nominations, including Outstanding Musical. Four of the show's actors were nominated, although breakout star Sara Ramirez was not one of them.

The Drama Desk, which was founded in 1949, honors both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. The awards show, hosted by Harvey Fierstein, will take place on Sunday, May 22, at the F.H. LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center.

The Drama Desk awards are often believed to foreshadow the picks for that year's Tony Awards. Incidentally, nominations for the Tony Awards will be announced on Tuesday, May 10 with the actual annual Tony Awards taking place on Sunday, June 5, 2005.

The nominations for the Drama Desk awards which include Monty Python's Spamalot include:

Outstanding Musical:

  • Altar Boyz
  • The Audience
  • Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
  • The Light in the Piazza
  • Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Outstanding Actor in a Musical:

  • Hank Azaria, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Mike Burstyn, On Second Avenue
  • Norbert Leo Butz, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
  • Matthew Morrison, The Light in the Piazza
  • David Hyde Pierce, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Bill Thompson, God Hates the Irish: The Ballad of Armless Johnny

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical:

  • Christian Borle, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Gregory Jbara, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
  • Norm Lewis, Dessa Rose
  • Tyler Maynard, Altar Boyz
  • Michael McGrath, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Denis O’Hare, Sweet Charity

Outstanding Director of a Musical:

  • Matthew Bourne, Play Without Words
  • Jack Cummings III, The Audience
  • Mark Dornford-May, The Mysteries
  • James Lapine, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
  • Mike Nichols, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Bartlett Sher, The Light in the Piazza

Outstanding Choreography:

  • Matthew Bourne, Play Without Words
  • Christopher Gattelli, Altar Boyz
  • Barry McNabb, Sailor’s Song
  • Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
  • Jerry Mitchell, La Cage aux Folles
  • Casey Nicholaw, Monty Python’s Spamalot

Outstanding Lyrics:

  • Gary Adler & Michael Patrick Walker, Altar Boyz
  • Douglas J. Cohen, Children’s Letters to God
  • Rick Crom, Newsical
  • William Finn, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
  • Eric Idle, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • David Yazbek, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Outstanding Book of a Musical:

  • Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe, Cam Jensen
  • Kevin Del Aguila, Altar Boyz
  • Mark Harelik, The Immigrant
  • Eric Idle, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Jeffrey Lane , Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
  • Rachel Sheinkin, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Outstanding Orchestrations:

  • Steven M. Alper, The Immigrant
  • Larry Hochman, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Doug Katsaros & Lynne Shankel, Altar Boyz
  • Kim Scharnberg, Little Women
  • Ted Sperling, Adam Guettel, Bruce Coughlin, The Light in the Piazza
  • Harold Wheeler, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Outstanding Set Design of a Musical:

  • Lez Brotherston, Play Without Words
  • Tim Hatley, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • Scott Pask, Sweet Charity
  • David Rockwell, All Shook Up
  • Anthony Ward, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  • Michael Yeargan, The Light in the Piazza

Outstanding Costume Design:

  • Lez Brotherston, Play Without Words
  • Tim Hatley, Monty Python’s Spamalot
  • William Ivey Long, La Cage aux Folles
  • Jeff Mahshie, Hurlyburly
  • Anthony Ward, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  • Catherine Zuber, The Light in the Piazza