Winners of the 2022-23 Drama Desk Awards – voted on by theater critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater, and the only major NYC theater awards for which productions on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway compete in the same categories – were announced in a press release yesterday. This year the Awards returned to gender-free performance categories, with twice as many nominees, members casting two votes in each of those categories, and two winners in each. As was previously announced, this year’s awards also include three non-competitive honors.
Leading with eight awards was the musical Some Like It Hot, followed by the play Life of Pi with four. The winners and honorees will be celebrated in a ceremony at Sardi’s on Tuesday, June 6, 3-6 pm, hosted by Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody.
And the 2023 Drama Desk Awards recipients are:
Outstanding Play: Leopoldstadt;
Outstanding Musical: Some Like it Hot;
Outstanding Revival of a Play: The Piano Lesson;
Outstanding Revival of a Musical: Parade;
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play: Jessica Chastain, A Doll’s House; Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar;
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical: Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd; J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like it Hot;
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play: Miriam Silverman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window; Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt;
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical: Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like it Hot; Alex Newell, Shucked;
Outstanding Direction of a Play: Max Webster, Life of Pi;
Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Thomas Kail, Sweeney Todd;
Outstanding Choreography: Casey Nicholaw, Some Like it Hot;
Outstanding Music: Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, Shucked;
Outstanding Lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Some Like it Hot
Outstanding Book of a Musical: Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, Some Like it Hot;
Outstanding Orchestrations: Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, Some Like it Hot;
Outstanding Music in a Play: Suzan-Lori Parks, Plays for the Plague Year;
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play: Tim Hatley, Life of Pi;
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical: Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York;
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play: Emilio Sosa, Ain’t No Mo’;
Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, Some Like it Hot;
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play: Natasha Chivers and Willie Williams (video), Prima Facie;
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical: Natasha Katz, Sweeney Todd;
Outstanding Projection and Video Design: Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi;
Outstanding Sound Design of a Play: Ben & Max Ringham, A Doll’s House;
Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical: Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann, Into the Woods;
Outstanding Wig and Hair: Mia M. Neal, Ain’t No Mo’;
Outstanding Solo Performance: Jodie Comer, Prima Facie;
Unique Theatrical Experience: Peter Pan Goes Wrong;
Outstanding Fight Choreography: B.H. Barry, Camelot;
Outstanding Adaptation: A Doll’s House, by Amy Herzog;
Outstanding Puppetry: Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, Life of Pi;
Special Awards:
Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award: Stephen McKinley Henderson has been bringing in-depth, gripping portrayals of memorable characters to the stage for over four decades. With his return to Broadway this season as Pops in Between Riverside and Crazy, which the Drama Desk previously nominated in 2015, this year’s Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award marks Henderson’s role in this powerful production as a celebration of his brilliant career;
Ensemble Award: The cast of Soho Rep’s Public Obscenities – Tashnuva Anan, Abrar Haque, Golam Sarwar Harun, Gargi Mukherjee, NaFis, Jakeem Dante Powell, and Debashis Roy Chowdhury – embodied the transnational world of Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s bilingual play with memorable authenticity, remarkable specificity, and extraordinary warmth;
Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: From his standout performance in american (tele)visions, to writing and performing the autobiographical Dark Disabled Stories, Ryan J. Haddad’s work this season has expanded on and interrogated what the idea of “accessibility” really means. Whether riding a shopping cart like a throne, or relating his experiences on a “gay, pink bus,” Haddad shared with audiences an unabashed queer fabulosity that was both unforgettable and deeply human.
Congratulations to all the winners and Special Awards recipients.
