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Nominees and Recipients

April 29, 2024: Nominations for the 68th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced today by stage and screen star Kathleen Turner. The Full List of Nominees Are Below.

In keeping with the Drama Desk’s mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway during the 2023-2024 New York theater season, that the Drama Desk determined ended as of April 25, 2024. Productions must run for 21 or more live performances to be considered eligible.

In determining the eligibility of productions with runs in prior seasons, the nominating committee considered only those elements that constituted new work. These productions included Appropriate, Cross That River, Gutenberg! The Musical!, Harmony, Here Lies Love, Just For Us, Mary Jane, Prayer for the French Republic, Public Obscenities, Suffs, and Sunset Baby.

Productions deemed not eligible, either because they were considered in their entirety in prior seasons or because they did not invite awards consideration in the current season, included Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Here We Are, Merrily We Roll Along, The Animal Kingdom, The White Chip, and Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice.

This year’s awards will be held on Monday, June 10 at The Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (556 LaGuardia Place). Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen will Executive Produce the Awards.

The Drama Desk Awards are the only major New York City theater awards for which productions on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories. David Barbour and Charles Wright are the Drama Desk co-presidents.

As was the case last year, all performance categories are gender-free. The updated gender-free categories are: Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical. 

Each of these categories has twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories and voters will cast two votes for each category. These categories will also have two winners each. If there is a tie, there may be more than two winners in a category.

What sets the Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater. The Drama Desk Awards honor all aspects of New York’s professional theater.

The 2023-2024 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of: Martha Wade Steketee (Chair; freelance: UrbanExcavations.com), Linda Armstrong (New York Amsterdam News), Dan Dinero (Theatre is Easy), Peter Filichia (Broadway Radio), Kenji Fujishima (freelance: Theatermania), Margaret Hall (Playbill) and Charles Wright (ex-officio).

DRAMA DESK NOMINATIONS 2023-2024

Outstanding Play

Infinite Life, by Annie Baker, Atlantic Theater Company
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, by Jocelyn Bioh, Manhattan Theatre Club
Mother Play, by Paula Vogel, Second Stage Theater
Stereophonic, by David Adjmi, Playwrights Horizons
Swing State, by Rebecca Gilman, Goodman Theatre
The Ally, by Itamar Moses, The Public Theater

Outstanding Musical

Dead Outlaw
Illinoise, Park Avenue Armory
Lizard Boy, Prospect Theater Company
Teeth, Playwrights Horizons
The Connector, MCC Theater
The Outsiders

Outstanding Revival of a Play

Appropriate, Second Stage Theater
Doubt: A Parable, Roundabout Theatre Company
Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Irish Repertory Theatre
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Uncle Vanya, OHenry Productions

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gutenberg! The Musical!
I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Classic Stage Company

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play

Nicole Cooper, Macbeth (an undoing), Theatre for a New Audience, Rose Theatre, and Royal
Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
William Jackson Harper, Primary Trust, Roundabout Theatre Company
Jessica Lange, Mother Play, Second Stage Theater
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane, Manhattan Theatre Club
Tobias Menzies, The Hunt, St. Ann’s Warehouse and Almeida Theatre
Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Sarah Paulson, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater
A.J. Shively, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Irish Repertory Theatre
Juliet Stevenson, The Doctor, Park Avenue Armory
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical

Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Santino Fontana, I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Classic Stage Company
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses, Atlantic Theater Company
Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses, Atlantic Theater Company
Liam Pearce, How to Dance in Ohio
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Ben Levi Ross, The Connector, MCC Theater
Ricky Ubeda, Illinoise, Park Avenue Armory

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play

Brittany Adebumola, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Manhattan Theatre Club
Marylouise Burke, Infinite Life, Atlantic Theater Company
Michael Esper, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater
Marin Ireland, Uncle Vanya, OHenry Productions
Will Keen, Patriots
Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play, Second Stage Theater
Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!
Sheila Tousey, Manahatta, The Public Theater
Bubba Weiler, Swing State, Goodman Theatre
Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical

Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club, Atlantic Theater Company
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot
Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen
Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Steven Pasquale, Teeth, Playwrights Horizons
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Thom Sesma, Dead Outlaw
Emily Skinner, Suffs

Outstanding Direction of a Play

Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons
Rupert Goold, The Hunt, St. Ann’s Warehouse and Almeida Theatre
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater
Ciarán O’Reilly, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Irish Repertory Theatre

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Rebecca Frecknall, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Daisy Prince, The Connector, MCC Theater
Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor, The Outsiders

Outstanding Choreography

Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
Graciela Daniele and Alex Sanchez, The Gardens of Anuncia, Lincoln Center Theater
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders (includes fight choreography)
Lorin Latarro, The Heart of Rock and Roll
Justin Peck, Illinoise, Park Avenue Armory
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants (includes circus choreography)

Outstanding Music

Jason Robert Brown, The Connector, MCC Theater
Justin Huertas, Lizard Boy, Prospect Theater Company
Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
Shaina Taub, Suffs
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Lyrics

Rachel Bloom, Eli Bolin, and Jack Dolgen, Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Show
Jason Robert Brown, The Connector, MCC Theater
Michael R. Jackson, Teeth, Playwrights Horizons
Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Justin Huertas, Lizard Boy, Prospect Theater Company
Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs, Teeth, Playwrights Horizons
Michael John LaChiusa, The Gardens of Anuncia, Lincoln Center Theater
Rebekah Greer Melocik, How to Dance in Ohio
Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Orchestrations

Timo Andres, Illinoise, Park Avenue Armory
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons
Andy Evan Cohen, The Greatest Hits Down Route 66, New Light Theater Project
Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club, Atlantic Theater Company
Erik Della Penna, Dean Sharenow, and David Yazbek, Dead Outlaw
Michael Starobin, Shaina Taub (vocal arrangements), and Andrea Grody (vocal arrangements), Suffs

Outstanding Music in a Play

Michael “Mikey J” Asante, The Effect, The Shed
S T A R R Busby and JJJJJerome Ellis, (pray), Ars Nova and National Black Theatre
Will Butler, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons
Dionne McClain-Freeney, The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents The 84th Annual Star
Burst Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel, New Georges and The Movement Theatre Company
Ben Steinfeld, Pericles, Classic Stage Company and Fiasco Theater

Outstanding Revue

Amid Falling Walls, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play

Es Devlin, The Hunt, St. Ann’s Warehouse and Almeida Theatre
dots, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Scott Pask, Grey House
David Zinn, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical

AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
Paul Tate dePoo III, The Great Gatsby (includes projections)
Riccardo Hernández, Suffs
Arnulfo Maldonado, Dead Outlaw
Grace Smart, Good Vibrations: A Punk Rock Musical, Irish Arts Center

Outstanding Costume Design of a Play

Alex Berry, Macbeth (an undoing), Theatre for a New Audience, Rose Theatre, and Royal
Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
Karen Boyer, Warrior Sisters of Wu, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons
Lux Haac, Manahatta, The Public Theater
Rodrigo Muñoz, Sally & Tom, The Public Theater

Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical

Dede Ayite, Buena Vista Social Club, Atlantic Theater Company
Márion Talán de la Rosa, The Connector, MCC Theater
Loren Elstein, Once Upon a One More Time
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play

Jane Cox, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater
Stacey Derosier, Uncle Vanya, OHenry Productions
Natasha Katz, Grey House
Lizzie Powell, Macbeth (an undoing), Theatre for a New Audience, Rose Theatre, and
Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
Eric Southern, Swing State, Goodman Theatre

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical

Lap Chi Chu, Suffs
Heather Gilbert, Dead Outlaw
Bradley King, Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim (projections), The Outsiders
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, The Connector, MCC Theater

Outstanding Projection and Video Design

Eric Dunlap, Our Class, MART Foundation and Arlekin Players Theatre
Jared Mezzocchi, Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy, Vineyard Theatre
Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen
Olivia Sebesky, Melissa Etheridge: My Window
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, The Connector, MCC Theater

Outstanding Sound Design of a Play

Adam Cork, The Hunt, St. Ann’s Warehouse and Almeida Theatre
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Palmer Hefferan, The Comeuppance, Signature Theatre
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate, Second Stage Theater
Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical

Jason Crystal, Suffs
Kai Harada and Joshua Millican, Dead Outlaw
Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Cody Spencer, The Outsiders
Walter Trarbach, Water for Elephants

Outstanding Wig and Hair

J. Jared Janas and Cassie Williams, Sally & Tom, The Public Theater
Charles G. LaPointe, Suffs
Nikiya Mathis, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Manhattan Theatre Club
Nikiya Mathis, The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents The 84th Annual Star-Burst
Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel, New Georges and The Movement Theatre Company
Robert Pickens and Katie Gell, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Solo Performance

Michael Cruz Kayne, Sorry for Your Loss
Madeleine MacMahon, Breathless, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Wade McCollum, Make Me Gorgeous!, triangle productions!
Robert Montano, SMALL, Penguin Rep Theatre
Patrick Page, All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain

Unique Theatrical Experience

A Eulogy for Roman, Through the Tollbooth Co.
A Simulacrum, Atlantic Theater Company
ADRIFT: A Medieval Wayward Folly, Happenstance Theater
I Love You So Much I Could Die, New York Theatre Workshop
Grenfell: in the words of survivors, St. Ann’s Warehouse, National Theatre, and KPPL Productions

Outstanding Fight Choreography

Michael G. Chin, Warrior Sisters of Wu, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Cha Ramos, Water for Elephants
Steve Rankin, The Who’s Tommy

Outstanding Adaptation

An Enemy of the People, by Amy Herzog
Macbeth (an undoing), by Zinnie Harris, Theatre for a New Audience, Rose Theatre,
and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
The Comedy of Errors, by Rebecca Martínez and Julián Mesri, The Public Theater Mobile
Unit
The Doctor, by Robert Icke, Park Avenue Armory
The Hunt, by David Farr, St. Ann’s Warehouse and Almeida Theatre
The Whole of Time, by Romina Paula, Joben Studios

Outstanding Puppetry

Matt Acheson, Hotel Happy, Houses on the Moon Theater Company
Adrian Kohler and Handspring Puppet Company, Life & Times of Michael K, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Baxter Theatre Centre, and Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus
Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille Labarre, Water for Elephants
David Valentine, Poor Yella Rednecks, Manhattan Theatre Club

SPECIAL AWARDS

Ensemble Award

The cast of Stereophonic – Will Brill, Andrew R. Butler, Juliana Canfield, Eli Gelb, Tom Pecinka, Sarah Pidgeon, and Chris Stack – who execute David Adjmi’s hypernaturalistic text with extraordinary care and precision, while also performing Will Butler’s music with the freshness and life that makes us believe we are witnessing, first-hand, the creation of a new American classic.

Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award

Cole Escola, who both wrote and stars in one of this season’s biggest hits Off Broadway, Oh, Mary! Following in the long legacy of queer artists who write themselves into American history, Escola’s new “gay fantasia on national themes” is a hilarious reminder of why we must continue to interrogate our past.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL AWARDS

How to Dance in Ohio Authentic Autistic Representation Team – Sammi Cannold, Nicole D’Angelo, Becky Leifman, Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt, Liz Weber, and Jeremy Wein  – for their steadfast support of autistic theatermakers, and their strides toward true accessibility for neurodiverse individuals both on and offstage.

Lighting designer Isabella Byrd, whose self-described technique as a “darkness designer” has earned her a cache of nominations and awards in the United States and abroad. During this season, Byrd illuminated two Broadway shows done in the round, An Enemy of the People and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Off Broadway, her spotlight on quiet, small-scale stories both enchanted us in Primary Trust and mesmerized us in Infinite Life, with a parking-lot sky that marked the passage of time.

Lady Irene Gandy, for career achievement. A press agent extraordinaire for over five decades, Lady Irene has always demonstrated her passion, dedication, and love for theater. A Broadway producer and Sardi’s honoree, she is a zealous advocate for inclusion, diversity, and equity in the arts.

Productions with multiple nominations:

Dead Outlaw – 11
The Outsiders – 9
Stereophonic – 8
Suffs – 8
The Connector – 8
Appropriate – 7
Water for Elephants – 7
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club – 5
Hell’s Kitchen – 5
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch – 5
The Hunt – 5
Illinoise – 4
Macbeth (an undoing) – 4
Teeth – 4
Buena Vista Social Club – 3
Grey House – 3
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding – 3
Lizard Boy – 3
Mother Play – 3
Philadelphia, Here I Come! – 3
Swing State – 3
Uncle Vanya (OHenry Productions) – 3
Days of Wine and Roses – 2
How to Dance in Ohio – 2
I Can Get It for You Wholesale – 2
Infinite Life – 2
Manahatta – 2
Patriots – 2
Sally & Tom – 2
The Doctor – 2
The Gardens of Anuncia – 2
The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents the 84th Annual Star-Burst Cotillion in the Grand
Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel – 2
The Notebook – 2
Warrior Sisters of Wu – 2

2022 AWARDS

This year’s Drama Desk Awards will take place at Sardi’s Restaurant (234 W 44th Street) on June 14th from 3:00 – 6:00pm. The full list of winners is available at the website www.DramaDeskAwards.com, and below.

Limited tickets to the ceremony are available at: www.DramaDeskAwards.com and to purchase an ad in the virtual program, please email Dustin Fitzharris at dfitz.geo@yahoo.com.

In keeping with the Drama Desk‘s mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway between July 2, 2021 and May 1, 2022 for this year’s Awards. Only live performances were eligible – if performances were also available for streaming, 21 or more unique live performances were required. 

The Drama Desk Awards are produced by Tony Award winner Scott Mauro/Scott Mauro Entertainment and the show is being written by six-time Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch.

Limited tickets to the ceremony are available at: www.DramaDeskAwards.com and to purchase an ad in the virtual program, please email Dustin Fitzharris at dfitz.geo@yahoo.com

About The Drama Desk 

The Drama Desk Awards, which are presented annually, honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off Off Broadway. What sets the Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater. 


The 2021-2022 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of: Martha Wade Steketee (Chair; freelance, UrbanExcavations.com), Peter Filichia (Broadway Radio), Kenji Fujishima (freelance: Theatermania), Juan Michael Porter II (TheBody.com; freelance: TDF Stages, Did They Like It?, New York Theatre Guide), Ayanna Prescod (freelance: Variety, New York Theatre Guide, Today Tix), Zachary Stewart (TheaterMania), and Diep Tran (freelance: Backstage, American Theatre, Broadway News, New York Theater Guide).

Follow the Drama Desk Awards: @DramaDeskAwards on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for updates.

2022 DRAMA DESK AWARD WINNERS

**Winners are highlighted and starred

Outstanding Play

Cullud Wattah, by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, The Public Theater

English, by Sanaz Toossi, Atlantic Theater Company

**Prayer for the French Republic, by Joshua Harmon, Manhattan Theatre Club

Sanctuary City, by Martyna Majok, New York Theatre Workshop (LAST NAME:  MY-ohk)

Selling Kabul, by Sylvia Khoury, Playwrights Horizons

The Chinese Lady, by Lloyd Suh, The Public Theater

Outstanding Musical

Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (PR: Folx-BEEN)

Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

**Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Six

The Hang, HERE Arts Center

Outstanding Revival of a Play

for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf

**How I Learned to Drive, Manhattan Theatre Club

Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theatre Club

Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club

Trouble in Mind, Roundabout Theatre Company 

Twilight: Lost Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Assassins, Classic Stage Company

Baby, Out of the Box Theatrics

Caroline, or Change, Roundabout Theatre Company

**Company

Outstanding Actor in a Play

Brandon J. Dirden, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out, Second Stage Theater

Jacob Ming-Trent, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)

**Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theatre Club

John Douglas Thompson, The Merchant of Venice, Theatre for a New Audience

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Tala Ashe, English, Atlantic Theater Company 

Ruth Negga, Macbeth

Andrea Patterson, Cullud Wattah, The Public Theater

**Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club

Shannon Tyo, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater

Michelle Wilson, Confederates, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Billy Crystal, Mr. Saturday Night

Myles Frost, MJ

Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire

**Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop

Chip Zien, Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (PR: Folx-BEEN)

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Kearstin Piper Brown, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo,Atlantic Theater Company

Sharon D. Clarke, Caroline, or Change, Roundabout Theatre Company

Jeanna de Waal, Diana

**Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square 

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Joshua Boone, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club

Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind, Roundabout Theatre Company

Daniel K. Isaac, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater

Billy Eugene Jones, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop

**Ron Cephas Jones, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater 

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

**Francis Benhamou, Prayer for the French Republic, Manhattan Theatre Club 

Stephanie Berry, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop

Sonnie Brown, what you are now, Ensemble Studio Theatre

Page Leong, Out of Time, NAATCO and The Public Theater

Kenita R. Miller, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf

Kara Young, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater 

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Justin Austin, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo,Atlantic Theater Company

**Matt Doyle, Company

Jared Grimes, Funny Girl

Tavon Olds-Sample, MJ

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Judy Kuhn, Assassins, Classic Stage Company

Tamika Lawrence, Black No More, The New Group

**Patti LuPone, Company

Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Jennifer Simard, Company 

Outstanding Director of a Play

Knud Adams, English, Atlantic Theater Company

Saheem Ali, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)

**Rebecca Frecknall, Sanctuary City, New York Theatre Workshop

Taibi Magar, Twilight: Lost Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre 

Whitney White, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop

Outstanding Director of a Musical

John Doyle, Assassins, Classic Stage Company

**Marianne Elliott, Company

Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, Six

Bartlett Sher, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo,Atlantic Theater Company 

Outstanding Choreography

Ayodele Casel (tap choreography), Funny Girl 

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, Six 

**Bill T. Jones, Garrett Coleman,and Jason Oremus (Irish + Hammerstep), Gelan Lambert and Chloe Davis (associates), Paradise Square

Liam Steel, Company

Christopher Wheeldon, Michael Balderrama (associate), Rich + Tone Taleuega (Michael Jackson movement), MJ (PR: Ta-LOW-Ga)

Outstanding Music

**Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six

Jason Howland, Paradise Square

Matt Ray, The Hang, HERE Arts Center

Carrie Rodriguez, ¡Americano!

Jeanine Tesori, Kimberly Akimbo,Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Lyrics 

Amanda Green, Mr. Saturday Night

Taylor Mac, The Hang, HERE Arts Center

**Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six

David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo,Atlantic Theater Company

Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Shaina Taub, Suffs, The Public Theater

Outstanding Book of a Musical 

Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel, Mr. Saturday Night

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six

Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater (

**Bruce Sussman, Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene 

Outstanding Orchestrations

Tom Curran, Six

Greg Jarrett, Assassins, Classic Stage Company

Mark Hartman and Yasuhiko Fukuoka, The Streets of New York, Irish Repertory Theatre 

**Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, MJ

Outstanding Music in a Play

Te’La and Kamauu, Thoughts of a Colored Man

**Bill Sims Jr., Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theatre Club 

Michael Thurber and Farai Malianga (drum compositions), Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park) 

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play

Beowulf Boritt, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)

Wilson Chin, Pass Over

Marsha Ginsberg, English, Atlantic Theater Company

**Takeshi Kata, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater

Junghyun Georgia Lee, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theatre Workshop 

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Musical 

Emma Bailey, Six

**Beowulf Boritt, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater

Bunny Christie, Company

David Zinn, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play

Linda Cho, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater

Gregory Gale, Fairycakes

Tilly Grimes, The Alchemist, Red Bull Theater

Qween Jean, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop

**Jennifer Moeller, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical 

Machine Dazzle, The Hang, HERE Arts Center

Susan Hilferty, Funny Girl

Santo Loquasto, The Music Man

**Gabriella Slade, Six

Catherine Zuber, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play

**Christopher Akerlind, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater

Reza Behjat, English, Atlantic Theater Company

Isabella Byrd, Sanctuary City, New York Theatre Workshop

**Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic, Manhattan Theatre Club

Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Cullud Wattah, The Public Theater

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical

Natasha Katz, Diana

**Natasha Katz, MJ

**Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater

Jennifer Tipton, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding Projection Design

**59 Productions, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater

David Bengali, Twilight: Lost Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre

Stefania Bulbarella and Alex Basco Koch, Space Dogs, MCC Theater

Shawn Duan, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater

Sven Ortel, Thoughts of a Colored Man

Outstanding Sound Design for a Play

Tyler Kieffer, Seven Deadly Sins, Tectonic Theater Project & Madison Wells Live

Hidenori Nakajo and Ryan Rumery, Autumn Royal, Irish Repertory Theatre

**Ben and Max Ringham, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Jamie Lloyd Company at Brooklyn Academy of Music

Mikaal Sulaiman, Sanctuary City, New York Theatre Workshop 

Lee Kinney, Selling Kabul, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical

Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Company

Paul Gatehouse, Six

Kai Harada, Kimberly Akimbo,Atlantic Theater Company

**Gareth Owen, MJ

Outstanding Wig and Hair

Matthew B. Armentrout, Paradise Square

**David Brian Brown, Mrs. Doubtfire

Paul Huntley, Diana

Charles G. LaPointe, MJ

Outstanding Solo Performance
Alex Edelman, Just for Us, The Cherry Lane Theatre

Arturo Luís Soria, Ni Mi Madre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
**Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theatre Workshop

Unique Theatrical Experience

**Seven Deadly Sins, Tectonic Theater Project & Madison Wells Live

Outstanding Adaptation 

**Merry Wives, by Jocelyn Bioh, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)

The Alchemist, by Jeffrey Hatcher, Red Bull Theater

Outstanding Puppet Design

Amanda Villalobos, Wolf Play, Soho Rep.

**James Ortiz, The Skin of Our Teeth, Lincoln Center Theater

Rockefeller Productions, Winnie the Pooh, The Hundred Acre Theatre at Theatre Row

Harold S. Prince Lifetime Achievement Award

In four decades as playwright, novelist, actor, and director, Alice Childress (1912-1994) challenged racism with engrossing stories and memorable characters. When a New York producer demanded revisions to soften the impact of Trouble in Mind, after an initial run Off Broadway and prior to its Broadway debut, Childress withdrew the script. Sixty-five years later, the Drama Desk celebrates the long-delayed Broadway premiere of this timeless masterpiece and salutes Childress as a towering figure in contemporary theater history.

Ensemble Award

In Six, Adrianna Hicks, Andrea Macasaet, Brittney Mack, Abby Mueller, Samantha Pauly, and Anna Uzele bring to musical life the women who married England’s King Henry VIII. The fanciful result is a buoyant dramatization of their individually purposeful and collectively empowering journeys.

The Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award

This season, as a woman hiding her brother from the Taliban in Sylvia Khoury’s Selling Kabul and an English instructor straddling two very different cultures in Sanaz Toossi’s English, Marjan Neshat embodied disparate characters so fully that it was hard to recognize the single actor in the two roles. Whether in drama or comedy, Neshat mines the playwright’s text for a vast panoply of emotions that yield vivid, intricate portrayals of the parts she undertakes.

Additional Special Awards

Dede Ayite seems to have costumed half the actors of this theater season with her designs for Merry Wives, Seven Deadly Sins, The Last of the Love Letters, Chicken and Biscuits, Slave Play, Nollywood Dreams, American Buffalo, and How I learned to Drive. Whether dressing working-class Marylanders of the 1960s, amateur criminals of the 1970s, or West African immigrants in today’s Harlem, Ayite has a knack for conveying characters’ means, values, and aspirations before the actors utter a word.

Adam Rigg enhanced storytelling through wildly varying scenic designs this season including: a house in wood, shadow, and reflective glass that draws the audience into the Flint, Michigan water crisis in Cullud Wattah; a community cul-de-sac where trauma and history are celebrated in On Sugarland; and the falling walls, flower-covered hillsides, and functional seaside fun ride of The Skin of Our Teeth.

With the category-defying Oratorio for Living Things, Heather Christian aims to encompass all human existence in a single inventive and startlingly beautiful work. In times of pandemic, war, and social upheaval, Christian’s work (directed by Lee Sunday Evans and brought to life by a superb cast and creative team) is an awe-inspiring reminder that, even in the darkest times, there will always be artistic peaks to scale.

Final tally of Awards

4 Wins

Clyde’s

Company

3 Wins

Flying Over Sunset

MJ

Prayer for the French Republic

Six: The Musical

2 Wins

Lackawanna Blues

Paradise Square

1 Win

A Strange Loop

Cyrano de Bergerac

Harmony

How I Learned to Drive

Kiimberly Akimbo

Kristina Wong: Sweatshop Overlord

Merry Wives

Mrs. Doubtfire

Sanctuary City

Seven Deadly Sins

Skeleton Crew

The Skin of Our Teeth

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