Recipients of the 65th annual Drama Desk Awards for outstanding achievements in New York theater (on, Off, and Off-Off Broadway) of the 2019-20 season were announced tonight by a star-studded roster of award-winning alumni and friends – Tituss Burgess, James Corden, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Beanie Feldstein, Santino Fontana, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jane Krakowski, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Cynthia Nixon, Ashley Park, Andrew Rannells, Ali Stroker, and Susan Stroman – in a special presentation of Spectrum News NY1, hosted by Frank DiLella.
The ceremony, featuring the unveiling of the new Drama Desk Awards statuette, was dedicated to former Drama Desk President William Wolf (lost to coronavirus complications on March 28) and honored iconic Broadway producer and director Hal Prince (January 30, 1928-July 31, 2019), who was posthumously celebrated with the organization’s first-ever lifetime achievement award. Named for him, The Harold Prince Award will be bestowed annually for outstanding contributions to theater.
Previously announced special recognitions went to the following:
The Ensemble Award: Adam Bashian, Kim Blanck, Starr Busby, Alex Gibson, Justin Gregory Lopez, J.D. Mollison, Margo Seibert, and Kuhoo Verma for Octet;
Sam Norkin Award: Actress Mary Bacon, for her compassionate searing work;
Special Awards: To The Actors Fund, Seth Rudetsky, and James Wesley for connecting members of the theater community and lifting spirits during the coronavirus crisis;
To The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit, which tours free Shakespeare throughout the five boroughs, including prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers;
To WP Theater and Julia Miles, the company’s founder, for an unwavering focus on women writers, directors, producers, performers, and craftspeople;
To Claire Warden for her pioneering work as an intimacy choreographer.
In addition to those special honorees, winners were recognized in 34 categories. And the winners are:
Outstanding Play: The Inheritance, by Matthew Lopez;
Outstanding Musical: A Strange Loop, by Michael R. Jackson;
Outstanding Revival of a Play: A Soldier’s Play;
Outstanding Revival of a Musical: Little Shop of Horrors;
Outstanding Actor in a Play: Edmund Donovan, Greater Clements;
Outstanding Actress in a Play: Liza Colón-Zayas, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven;
Outstanding Actor in a Musical: Larry Owens, A Strange Loop;
Outstanding Actress in a Musical: Adrienne Warren, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical;
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play: Paul Hilton, The Inheritance;
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play: Lois Smith, The Inheritance;
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Christian Borle, Little Shop of Horrors;
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill;
Outstanding Director of a Play: Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance;
Outstanding Director of a Musical: Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop;
Outstanding Choreography: Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge!;
Outstanding Music: Dave Malloy, Octet;
Outstanding Lyrics: Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop;
Outstanding Book of a Musical: Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop;
Outstanding Orchestrations: Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill;
Outstanding Music in a Play: Martha Redbone, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf;
Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play: Clint Ramos, Grand Horizons;
Outstanding Scenic Design for a Musical: Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge!;
Outstanding Costume Design for a Play: Rachel Townsend and Jessica Jahn, The Confession of Lily Dare;
Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical: Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge!;
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play: Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside;
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical: Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge!;
Outstanding Projection Design: Luke Halls, West Side Story;
Outstanding Sound Design for a Play: Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid, The Inheritance;
Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical: Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge!;
Outstanding Wig and Hair Design: Campbell Young Associates, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical;
Outstanding Solo Performance: Laura Linney, My Name is Lucy Barton;
Unique Theatrical Experience: Is This A Room;
Outstanding Fight Choreography: Thomas Schall, A Soldier’s Play;
Outstanding Adaptation: A Christmas Carol, by Jack Thorne;
Outstanding Puppet Design: Raphael Mishler, Tumacho.
Congratulations to all of the honorees, nominees, and recipients. Kudos to the Drama Desk Awards for its unwavering celebration of New York theater, and thanks to everyone involved.
