Are you ready to crown The Producer of the Year?

This is our fifth year of letting you decide who should sit in the Producer of the Year throne, with past winners including Broadway big wigs Gerald Schoenfeld, Kevin McCollum, Randy Adams/Sue Frost and the Man behind Spider-Man, Michael Cohl.

And this year, my secret nominating committee (who threaten to take away my complete symphonic recording of Les Miz if I ever reveal their identity), have come up with a very diverse group of nominees.

But only one can win!

Without further blah-blah build up, here are the nominees for Producer of the Year 2012!

1.  Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price & Tom Smedes

This quartet of lead Producers picked up Peter and The Starcatcher Off-Broadway when so many others would have let it die after its downtown success.  “I wouldn’t have touched it with starstuff,” said one of my nominators.  But not only did they take this incredible piece of artistry uptown, they also picked up nine Tony nominations along with the way.  Oh, and in case you hadn’t noticed.  Peter is the only straight play from last season still running.

2.  Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian and Tom Wirtshafter
This triumvirate are the Lead Producers of Tribes, the Off-Broadway show that announced its recoupment just a few weeks ago.  And well, having the courage to produce a commercial Off-Broadway show is almost enough to get them on this list, never mind recouping one.

3.  Jim Nicola, New York Theatre Workshop
Sure, Jim is an Artistic Director of a Non-Profit, but uh, have you looked around lately?  Both last year’s Tony Award winning Once and the aforementioned Peter and the Starcatcher were birthed at NYTW.  And their favorite-son, Rent, was Off-Broadway this past year as well.  “Watch out Public, NYTW is gaining on you,” said one nominator.

4.  Jeffrey Richards

“Jeffrey produces about 147 shows a year.  But he’s on my list this year for one:  Porgy & Bess.  Remember that Sondheim brouhaha?  Or when Ben Brantley reviewed the show out of town and didn’t really like it?   You don’t remember?  Me either.  That’s because Jeffrey believed in the project and in the people on it.  So he put his head down and produced the piss out of it.  And picked up a Tony Award in the process.”

5.  Stuart Thompson

Every single nominator threw Stuart’s name in the ring this year.  In the words of one:  “The man can get anyone to work with him, from Scott Rudin to Scarlet Johansson.  We should send him to DC to broker the fiscal cliff deal.  Not only would he get a deal, he’d probably sign Obama and Boehner to appear in a revival of The Odd Couple . . . for scale.”

So there they are!  This year’s nominees for Producer of the Year!

You can vote for your favorite (and even write in someone you think should have been on the list but wasn’t), by clicking here.

All votes must be cast by 12/27 at 11:59 EST.  The winner will be announced on Friday, 12/28.

Good luck to the nominees.  And vote today!

(Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below!  Click here then scroll down to say what’s on your mind!)