At 11:30 this morning (Monday, April 29), stage and screen star Kathleen Turner announced the nominations for the 68th annual Drama Desk Awards on NBC’S New York Live. The Drama Desk, formed in 1949 by a group of New York theater critics, editors, reporters and publishers, first presented its prizes in 1955, as the Vernon Rice Award, in honor of the eponymous New York Post critic who had pioneered Off-Broadway coverage in the New York press. Initially recognizing productions Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity, the name was changed to the Drama Desk in 1964, and beginning in the 1968-69 season, Broadway productions were included in the awards. The Drama Desk Awards are the only major NYC theater awards for which Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions compete against each other in the same categories.
The 2023-2024 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of Martha Wade Steketee (Chair), Linda Armstrong, Daniel Dinero, Peter Filichia, Kenji Fujishima, Margaret Hall, and Charles Wright. Drama Desk co-presidents David Barbour and Charles Wright noted that the cut-off date for 2023-24 season’s awards was April 25. As was the case last year, all performance categories are gender-free, each with twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories. Voters will cast two votes for each category, and there will be two winners in each. If the case of a tie, there may be more than two winners in a category.
Leading the nominations this year are Dead Outlaw with eleven, followed by The Outsiders with nine, and Stereophonic, Suffs, and The Connector with eight each.
And the nominations for the 2024 Drama Desk Awards are:
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 Horizon; 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
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 US 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.
Congratulations to the nominees and thanks to all for their contributions to NYC theater.
The 68th annual Drama Desk Awards will be presented on Monday, June 10, 2024, at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 556 LaGuardia Place, NYC. Additional details will be announced soon.
