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In Fashion

Angela Lansbury, Carolee Carmello, Idina Menzel, and a host of other lovely ladies were dressed to the nines for the Drama Desk Awards.

New York City

The 51st annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony was held at the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts on Sunday, May 21. The event proved a joyous occasion for the many winners and also offered an opportunity for many of the theater’s female stars to show off their fashion sense. For example, the legendary Angela Lansbury — one of the evening’s presenters — was the epitome of casual elegance in a brown top and pants accessorized by a beautiful coral shawl.

Nominee Patti LuPone, whose performance as Mrs. Lovett in the current Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd is just as memorable yet entirely different than Lansbury’s in the original production, opted for a chic blank pantsuit and simple white top.

The Drowsy Chaperone‘s Sutton Foster exchanged her onstage 1920s duds for a thoroughly modern print dress.

Christine Ebersole, who bested LuPone and Foster in the Best Actress in a Musical category for her stunning work in Grey Gardens, was among the evening’s best dressed ladies.

Presenter Paige Davis (in Laundry by Shelli Segal) and Wedding Singer star Amy Spanger (in Valentino) found it was easy — and fun — being green!

Lauren Ambrose, part of the award-winning acting ensemble of Awake and SIng!, was pretty in pink.

Carolee Carmello, nominated for her performance in Lestat, was appropriately dressed to kill in this eye-popping outfit.

Choreographer-director Kathleen Marshall, who won a Drama Desk Award for her work on The Pajama Game, showed off her great gams in this sparkly number from BCBG Max Azria.

Fran Drescher, now starring Off-Broadway in Some Girl(s), was some looker in this gorgeous dress by Vera Wang.

Idina Menzel, nominated for her work in See What I Wanna See, was properly bewitching in this feminine take on a man’s tuxedo.

Best Actress in a Play nominee Julie White, who made her Desperate Housewives debut the same night, looked simply stunning in a long, cherry red skirt topped with a white blouse.

Kelli O’Hara, a Best Actress in a Musical nominee for her performance as Babe in The Pajama Game, looks great onstage in a pajama top but looked even more fabulous offstage in this beautiful beaded dress.

Supporting Actress nominee Michele Pawk proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s just fine to wear all-white before Memorial Day.

Stage and soap opera star Heather Tom, in a fun and flirty Jill Stuart dress, showed that she definitely knows how to work a red carpet!

Best Actress nominee Jan Maxwell got the last laugh in this dazzling black-and-white ensemble.