Drama Desk Awards 2015

Live from Town Hall, the 60th annual Drama Desk Awards were hosted for the second year in a row by Tony and Drama Desk Award winner Laura Benanti.  The Drama desk awards are presented annually to honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway.  Winners are decided by theater critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton and An American in Paris led nominations with 13 and 12 respectively.  The night's big winners were Hamilton, An American in Paris, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. 

Some of the night's performance highlights included "Hold Down the Fort" by Kate Baldwin and Conor Ryan from John & Jen, "Beautiful" by Luba Mason from Pretty Filthy, Judy Kuhn's rendition of "Come the Wild, Wild Weather" during the in memoriam, Lisa Howard singing "Jenny's Blues" from It Shoulda Been You. 

A partial list of winners can be found below, and a full list of winners can be found here. 

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Christian Borle, Something Rotten!

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton

Unique Theatrical Experience
Queen of the Night

Outstanding Solo Performance
Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion

Outstanding Costume Design
Catherine Zuber, Gigi

Outstanding Set Design
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris

Outstanding Lighting Design
Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Outstanding Sound Design of a Play
Ian Dickinson, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical
Nevin Steinberg, Hamilton

Outstanding Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, An American in Paris

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take It With You

Outstanding Choreography
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Outstanding Director of a Play
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Thomas Kail, Hamilton

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Alexander Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Helen Mirren, The Audience

Outstanding Revival of a Play
The Elephant Man

Outstanding Play
Simon Stephens, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime 

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Outstanding Music
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Outstanding Lyrics
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Kristin Chenoweth, On the 20th Century

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
The King and I

Outstanding Musical
Hamilton

Critics' Choice Television Awards 2015 Recap

Tonight at the Beverly Hilton Hotel the 5th Annual Critics' Choice Awards hosted by Ms. Cat Deeley were held and all the stars from our favorite television shows and mini series were in attendance.

HBO lead all the networks with over 25 nominations and FX was a close second with over 15 nominations;the shows that got the most nominations were Justified (FX) and Olive Kitteridge (HBO). both with 5 nominations. Also Charlize Theron presented the Louis XII Genius Award to Seth McFarlane for his outstanding work in comedy. During his speech Seth thanked FOX for all their support through the years; but it wouldn't be a Seth McFarlane speech unless he went a little to far, he made a jab at A&E ( the network that hosted the award show) and Duck Dynasty for their religious views. 

The Critics' did release a list of the most exciting new shows that will hit television sets this fall; some of the new exciting shows that the Critics' liked were: Scream Queens, Aquarius, Unreal, The Muppets, Blindspot, Minority Report, and Super Girl. Also the show that the fans voted the most Bing worthy was The Walking Dead. The big winners on the night were Olive Kitteridge and Transparent!

Here are the list of nominations per category and the winners are bolded:

BEST COMEDY SERIES

• Broad City (Comedy Central) 

• Jane the Virgin (The CW)

• Mom (CBS)

• Silicon Valley (HBO)

• Transparent (Amazon)

• Veep (HBO)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Anthony Anderson, Blacklist (ABC) 

• Chris Messina, The Mindy Project (Fox)

• Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon) 

• Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

• Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley (HBO) 

• Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth (Fox)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)

• Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat, (ABC) 

• Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin (The CW)

• Ilana Glazer, Broad City (Comedy Central)

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO) 

• Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Adam Driver, Girls (HBO) 

• Cameron Monaghan, Shameless (Showtime) 

• Jamie Camil, Jane the Virgin (The CW)

• T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley (HBO)

• Tituss Burgress, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) 

• Tony Hale, Veep (HBO) 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Allison Janney, Moms (CBS)

• Carrie Brownstein, Portlandia (IFC) 

• Eden Sher, The Middle (ABC)

• Judith Light, Transparent (Amazon) 

• Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory (CBS) 

• Melanie Lynskey, Togetherness (HBO)

• BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES

• Becky Ann Baker, Girls (HBO)

• Bradley Whitford, Transparent (Amazon)

• Josh Charles, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central) 

• Laurie Metcalf, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

• Peter Gallagher, Togetherness (HBO) 

• Susie Essman, Broad City (Comedy Central) 

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION 

• Bessie (HBO) 

• Killing Jesus (National Geographic Channel)

• Nightingale (HBO) 

• A Poet in New York (BBC America) 

• Stockholm, Pennsylvania (Lifetime) 

BEST LIMITED SERIES 

•24: Live Another Day (Fox) 

•American Crime (ABC) 

•The Books of Negroes (BET) 

•The Honorable Women (Sundance) 

•Olive Kitteridge (HBO) 

•Wolf Hall (PBS)

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
• David Oyelowo – Nightingale (HBO)
• James Nesbitt – The Missing (Starz)
• Kiefer Sutherland – 24: Live Another Day (FOX)
• Mark Rylance – Wolf Hall (PBS)
• Michael Gambon – The Casual Vacancy (HBO)
• Richard Jenkins – Olive Kitteridge (HBO)

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
• Aunjanue Ellis – The Book of Negroes (BET)
• Felicity Huffman – American Crime (ABC)
• Frances McDormand – Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
• Jessica Lange – American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Honorable Woman (Sundance)
• Queen Latifah – Bessie (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
• Bill Murray – Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
• Cory Michael Smith – Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
• Elvis Nolasco – American Crime (ABC)
• Finn Wittrock – American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)
• Jason Isaacs – Stockholm, Pennsylvania (Lifetime)
• Jonathan Pryce – Wolf Hall (PBS)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
• Claire Foy – Wolf Hall (PBS)
• Cynthia Nixon – Stockholm, Pennsylvania (Lifetime)
• Janet McTeer – The Honorable Woman (Sundance)
• Khandi Alexander – Bessie (HBO)
• Mo’Nique – Bessie (HBO)
• Sarah Paulson – American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)

BEST DRAMA SERIES
• The Americans (FX)
• Empire (Fox)
• Game of Thrones (HBO)
• The Good Wife (CBS)
• Homeland (Showtime)
• Justified (FX)
• Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
• Eva Green – Penny Dreadful (Showtime)
• Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife (CBS)
• Keri Russell – The Americans (FX)
• Taraji P. Henson – Empire (FOX)
• Vera Farmiga – Bates Motel (A&E)
• Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
• Aden Young – Rectify (Sundance)
• Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Charlie Hunnam – Sons of Anarchy (FX)
• Freddie Highmore – Bates Motel (A&E)
• Matthew Rhys – The Americans (FX)
• Timothy Olyphant – Justified (FX)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
• Carrie Coon – The Leftovers (HBO)
• Christine Baranski – The Good Wife (CBS)
• Joelle Carter – Justified (FX)
• Katheryn Winnick – Vikings (History)
• Lorraine Toussaint – Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
• Mae Whitman – Parenthood (NBC)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
• Ben Mendelsohn – Bloodline (Netflix)
• Christopher Eccleston – The Leftovers (HBO)
• Craig T. Nelson – Parenthood (NBC)
• Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Mandy Patinkin – Homeland (Showtime)
• Walton Goggins – Justified (FX)

GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES
• Cicely Tyson – How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)
• Julianne Nicholson – Masters of Sex (Showtime)
• Linda Lavin – The Good Wife (CBS)
• Lois Smith – The Americans (FX)
• Sam Elliott – Justified (FX)
• Walton Goggins – Sons of Anarchy (FX)

BEST REALITY SERIES
• Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)
• Deadliest Catch (Discovery Channel)
• Married at First Sight (A&E)
• MythBusters (Discovery Channel)
• Undercover Boss 
• Shark Tank (ABC)

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES
• The Amazing Race (CBS)
• America’s Got Talent (NBC)
• Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
• Face Off (Syfy)
• Master Chef Junior (FOX)
• The Voice (NBC)

BEST REALITY SERIES HOST
• Anthony Bourdain – Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)
• Betty White – Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (Lifetime)
• Cat Deeley – So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
• James Lipton – Inside the Actors Studio (Bravo)
• Phil Keoghan – The Amazing Race (CBS)
• Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars (ABC)

BEST ANIMATED SERIES
• Archer (FX)
• Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
• Gravity Falls (Disney Channel)
• The Simpsons (FOX)
• South Park (Comedy Central)
• Star Wars Rebels (Disney XD)

BEST TALK SHOW
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
• The Graham Norton Show (BBC America)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
• The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)

Billboard Music Awards 2015

The biggest stars from all genres of music come together to celebrate the year's achievements and musical milestones in the musical showcase that is the Billboard Music Awards. This year's show began with the world premiere of Taylor Swift's music video for "Bad Blood." In the weeks leading up to the video's premiere she released various characters that were a part of the music video including Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Pompeo, Lily Aldridge, Lena Dunham, and Selena Gomez.

This year's show included performances by everyone from Van Halen to Britney Spears with Iggy Azalea.  Some of the night's performances included: Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa performing "Uma Thurman," Meghan Trainor and John Legend singing "Like I'm Gonna Lose You," "See You Again" performed by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea singing "Pretty Girls," the cast of Empire performing a medley of songs, Tori Kelly performing an incredible rendition of "Nobody Love," Simple Minds celebrating the 30th Anniversary of The Breakfast Club with "Don't You (Forget About Me)," and Imagine Dragons paying tribute to the late Ben E. King with "Stand By Me."


The BBMAs are about celebrating music and include myriad musical performances with the occasional award presented.  One of the night's biggest winners was Taylor Swift who took home awards for Top Female Artist, Top Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, and the fan-voted Billboard Chart Achievement Award among others. 

A full list of winners can be found here.