'Catered Affair' leads Drama Desk noms

NEW YORK, April 28 (UPI) -- The new musical, "A Catered Affair," led the way with 12 nominations Monday when the nominees were announced in New York for the 53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards.

The off-Broadway musical, "The Adding Machine," took nine nominations while the revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, "South Pacific," and "Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein" received eight nominations each, Playbill.com reported.

"August: Osage County," "Passing Strange," "Sunday in the Park with George" and "The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island" had seven nominations each.

The nominees for Outstanding Play are: Alan Ayckbourn, "Intimate Exchanges"; Rinde Eckert, "Horizon"; Liz Flahive, "From Up Here"; Horton Foote, "Dividing the Estate"; Tracy Letts, "August: Osage County"; and "Tom Stoppard, "Rock 'n' Roll."

The nominees for Outstanding Musical are: "A Catered Affair," "Adding Machine," "Passing Strange," "The Glorious Ones," "The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island" and "Xanadu."

The Drama Desk awards will also feature special honors for playwright Edward Albee and actor James Earl Jones.

The awards will be presented May 18 at Lincoln Center in New York.