March 29, 2006

Jersey Boys’ Director Des McAnuff Will Receive Award

March 29th, 2006

Broadwayworld.com’s News Desk reports that the Drama League is has announced the recipients of its three annual specialty awards which will be presented at The 72nd Annual Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 5, 2006 (12 p.m.). This year’s honorees include Jersey Boys’ director Des McAnuff, who will be honored with the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing.

Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Aaron Sorkin will present the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing to Des McAnuff. McAnuff, currently represented on Broadway with the musical Jersey Boys, is slated to direct Sorkin’s new stage drama, The Farnsworth Invention, at La Jolla Playhouse in 2007.

Des McAnuff is a two-time Tony Award-winning director and writer and the artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. Under his leadership, La Jolla Playhouse has won more than 200 theatre awards, including the 1993 Tony Award as America’s Outstanding Regional Theatre. Recent productions directed at the Playhouse include Zhivago (‘05); Palm Beach, The Screwball Musical (‘05); Private Fittings (‘05); Tom Donaghy’s Eden Lane (‘03); Molière’s Tartuffe (‘02); and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (‘01). Playhouse-to-Broadway credits: Jersey Boys (Playhouse ’04, Broadway ‘05); Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays (Playhouse ‘04; Broadway ‘04, Tony Award); Dracula: The Musical (Playhouse ‘01, Broadway ‘04); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Playhouse ‘94, Broadway ‘95), The Who’s Tommy (director/co-author with Pete Townshend; Playhouse ‘92, Broadway ‘93, Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical, London Olivier Award for Best Director ‘94), A Walk in the Woods (Playhouse ‘87, Broadway ‘88, Moscow and Lithuania ‘89-‘90); and Big River (Playhouse ‘84, Broadway ‘85, seven Tony Awards including Best Director of a Musical and Best Musical). Film credits include Cousin Bette (director), Iron Giant (producer), The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (director), and Quills (executive producer).

Other honorees at this year’s ceremony include Patti LuPone (Sweeney Todd) will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award, and Marian Seldes (Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams) will receive the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award.

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