Drama Desk Announces Ensemble Awards

A squabbling Jewish family in the Bronx during the Depression. A parade of real-life people, including President Bush, who were involved in events leading up to the war in Iraq.

Two large casts in two very different plays — "Awake and Sing!" by Clifford Odets and David Hare's "Stuff Happens." And both are winners of special ensemble Drama Desk Awards for the 2005-2006 theater season.

The prizes, given by the organization of theater journalists and critics, will be presented May 21 at the F.H. LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center.

The Lincoln Center Theater cast of "Awake and Sing!" features Zoe Wanamaker, Ben Gazzara, Lauren Ambrose, Mark Ruffalo, Jonathan Hadary and Pablo Schreiber, among others. The production is on view at Broadway's Belasco Theatre.

"Stuff Happens," a hit in 2004 for the National Theatre in London, was directed here by Daniel Sullivan. His cast includes Jay O. Sanders as Bush, Byron Jennings as British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Gloria Reuben as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

By Michael Kuchwara