Critics circle perks up for ‘Drowsy’

“The Drowsy Chaperone,” the Broadway-bound musical that had its U.S. premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in November, led the nominations for the 37th annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards, earning eight nods for excellence in categories including production, direction, writing and musical score.

Winners of the awards, which honor 2005 theater productions in Los Angeles and Orange counties, will be announced March 13.

Another musical, “Gorey Stories,” presented at Sacred Fools Theater, did not make the nominations list for production but received six nods.

The other nominees for production were the Theater@Boston Court & Antaeus Company’s “Pera Palas”; “The Wild Party,” by Blank Theatre Company; “Yellowman,” produced by Bennett Bradley and the Fountain Theatre; and four Center Theatre Group presentations: “Play Without Words,” “Stuff Happens,” “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?” and “The Paris Letter.”