School of the Arts Affiliates Among Drama Desk Nominees
Numerous productions including Columbia students, faculty, and alumni garnered nominations for this year’s Drama Desk Awards. The original Broadway musicals Anastasia, directed by Darko Tresnjak ’98, and Joel Glassman ’18 who was the Company Manager; and Come From Away, which faculty member Sue Frost is a producer on, assisted by alumna Natalie Gershtein ’15, and Dave Ehle 'xx who was the Company Manager, both earned nine nominations. (They were second only toHello, Dolly!, which earned ten.)
Professor Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat was nominated for Outstanding Play, and Rachel Chavkin ’08 was nominated for Outstanding Director for her production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.
Holiday Inn, whose production team included faculty member Michael Passaro, and alumni Kate Dial ’15,Shalyn Clark ’17, Scott Wray ’17, and Joan Wyatt ’17, was nominated for Outstanding Choreography. Director Scott Ebersold’s ’15 production of The View UpStairs received three nominations, while producing director Gershtein and the rest of Pipeline Theater Company celebrated the first nomination of one of their productions: Outstanding Music for Jason Craig & Dave Malloy's Beardo!
Drama Desk nominations also went to: The Front Page with Chris Taggart '10 as the Company Manager; Indecent with several Columbia affiliates, alum and faculty member Adam Hess the Associate Producer, Grant Rice '04, the show's General Manager, and faculty member, Lisa Poyer the Company Manager; The Little Foxes and Jitney with faculty member Barry Grove as Producer; War Paint with Barbara Whitman '05 as Co-Producer and Danielle Karliner '13 the Associate General Manager; The Band’s Visit with Orin Wolf as Producer and faculty member Steven Chaikelson as Associate Producer; Hadestown with Rachel Chavkin '08 as Director, and Jeremy Blocker '08 as Producer; Sweeney Todd with Karly Fischer '15 as the Company Manager; Present Laughter with Thom Clay '96 as Company Manager; Yen with Beth Dembrow '04 as the General Manager; and The View Upstairs with Scott Ebersold '15 as Director, Jenny Ainsworth '14 as Producer, Emily Comisar ‘15 as General Manager, and Elizabeth Goodman ’15 as Stage Manager.
The Drama Desk Awards are presented annually to honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway. The awards are voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater, without any vested interest in the results. The 62nd Annual Drama Desk Awards will take place on June 4, 2017.