The 15th Annual David Desk Awards

Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock
in Little Bear Ridge Road.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

The 2025-26 theater season is now over and that means it's time for the 15th annual David Desk Awards with my choices for the best onstage in NYC theater out of everything I've seen in the past twelve months. Shows like Cats: The Jellicle Ball and Libertation are not included because I considered them last year for their Off-Broadway runs. I categorize Masquerade, the immersive version of Phantom of the Opera as both a revival and a Unique Theatrical Experience. 

Play:
The Balusters (David Lindsay-Abaire)
Cold War Choir Practice (Ro Reddick)
Giant (Mark Rosenblatt)
Kyoto (Joe Murphy, Joe Robertson)
Little Bear Ridge Road (Samuel D. Hunter)
Meet the Cartozians (Talene Monahon)
Prince Faggot (Jordan Tannahill)
Punch (James Graham)

Musical:

The Lost Boys

Mexodus

My Joy Is Heavy

Saturday Church

Schmigadoon!

Revival of a Play:

Becky Shaw

Bug

Death of a Salesman

Galas

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

You Got Older

Revival of a Musical:

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The Baker’s Wife

The Gospel at Colonus

Masquerade

Ragtime

The Rocky Horror Show

Actor in a Play:

Jon Bernthal, Dog Day Afternoon

Will Harrison, Punch

John Krasinski, Angry Alan

Stephen Kunken, Kyoto

Nathan Lane, Death of a Salesman

John Lithgow, Giant

Okieriete Onaodowan, The Monsters

Micah Stock, Little Bear Ridge Road

Mark Strong, Oedipus

Actress in a Play:

Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Well, I’ll Let You Go

Carrie Coon, Bug

Lesley Manville, Oedipus

Laurie Metcalf, Little Bear Ridge Road

Aigner Mizzelle, The Monsters

Alia Shawkat, You Got Older

Actor in a Musical:

LJ Benet, The Lost Boys

Alex Brightman, Schmigadoon!

Nicholas Christopher, Chess

Luke Evans, The Rocky Horror Show

Joshua Henry, Ragtime

Actress in a Musical:

Abigail Bengson, My Joy Is Heavy

Sara Chase, Schmigadoon!

Caissie Levy, Ragtime

Marla Mindelle, Titanique

Post-Tony Thoughts

P!nk at the Tonys.
Yes, I took the picture from my TV set.

It's been more than a week since the Tony Awards and I've been struggling to figure out what I want to say about the annual celebration of all things Broadway. It was a fairly good production. When pop music star P!nk who has no theater credits at all and whose only connection to the Main Stem is a few of her songs are in the jukebox scores of Moulin Rouge and & Juliet, was announced as the hostess, I was skeptical. Was this merely a desperate ploy to get a new demographic to watch? Also there had been calls to boycott the Tonys because of CBS' parent company Paramount being taken over by the Trump-friendly Ellison family. (Also the producer of Tony winning Best Musical Schmigadoon! is evidently a big MAGA donor.)

To my surprise, P!nk acquitted herself quite well and humbly took on the role of an enthusiastic newcomer from another media not wishes to intrude on the party but to help make it fun. I could have done without the limp comic bits with Darren Criss pretending to be scared of leaping off the balcony and Ariana DeBose offering not-funny hostess advice. The opening number about leading ladies was clever, but I couldn't understand most of the lyrics. P!nk was spectacular in the Chicago tribute and it served as a knock-out audition for her to join the company. The Chorus Line tribute was unnecessary. Once again, the show ran close to four hours (if you count the Pluto TV pre-show) and just like last year they did not mention the Pluto winners on the CBS broadcast (except for the Outstanding Theater Teacher). And the Special Tony Honors winners--entertainment lawyer Loren Plotkin, stage manager Jake Bell, 1/52 Project, creative director Kenn Lubin and the League of Resident Theaters--weren't even mentioned at all. At least on the Oscars, they show clips of the Special Awards handed out earlier in the week.

I got 20 out of 26 right in my predictions. The only real surprise was Ali Louis Bourzgui winning Featured Actor in a Musical for The Lost Boys. I think the vote was split between Andre De Shields of Cats: The Jellicle Ball and Ben Levi Ross of Ragtime who won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. I was especially glad for Schmigadoon! winning Best Musical, Book and Score. Maybe this will lead to Schmicago (the Apple TV series's second season) making to Broadway and the third season, Into the Schmoods, getting filmed by Apple.

2026 Tony Award Predictions

For the past few years, I've combined my predictions for the Tonys with the Drama Desks because the two theater-award ceremonies were so close together. But this year, the DDs were held much earlier than the Tonys. So here are my predix for the upcoming Broadway-only Tonys. This has been an odd season with only 34 Broadway productions (if you count return engagements Mamma Mia and Beetlejuice) as opposed to 43 the previous season and 39 the season before that. There are only six new musicals, two of which have already closed (Queen of Versailles and Beaches). Some attribute this to the high volume of shows held-over from previous seasons including The Outlaws, Operation Mincemeat, Death Becomes Her, Buena Vista Social Club, and Maybe Happy Ending. Fewer theaters were available for new shows. 

Best Play
Prediction: The Balusters
Preference: Liberation

Will The Balusters triumph over Liberation?
Credit: Jeremy Daniel

The Balusters is still running and won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards. Liberation (my choice) did take the Pulitzer Prize but closed as did NY Drama Critics Circle winner Little Bear Ridge Road. Liberation was not eligible for the DD or the OCC since it was nominated last season during its Off-Broadway run. Giant is seen more as a vehicle for John Lithgow than a play that could stand on it own. 

Best Musical
Prediction and Preference: Schmigadoon

The Lost Boys could sneak in, but there is much affection for Schmigadoon, the parody tribute to the Golden Age of Musicals even though most of it was already seen on the Apple TV+ series.

Best Musical Revival

Prediction: Ragtime

Preference: Cats: The Jellicle Ball

I voted for Cats: The Jellicle Ball because it was such a radical rethinking of the original, recasting Andrew Lloyd Webber's cosy musicalization of TS Eliot's poems as a drag ball celebrating outsider queer culture. Ragtime is magnificent, but this Lincoln Center revival is essentially the same show as the first production. As with Liberation, Cats was considered last season by the DD and the OCC for its Off-Bway run. It's very close and could go either way, but I have a feeling the Tony voters will lean towards the traditional with Ragtime.

Best Play Revival:

Prediction and Preference: Death of a Salesman

Despite multiple revivals of Arthur Miller's classic, director Joe Mantello found new insights.

Best Actor in a Play

Prediction and Preference: John Lithgow, Giant

Is John Lithgow on the way to his third Tony?
Credit: Joan Marcus

John Lithgow has two Tonys, Nathan Lane has three. Not that it matters. It's between these two past Tony champs. Lithgow has the edge because his role requires more shifting emotions from rage to deceptively ingratiating wit as the anti-Semitic author Roald Dahl. Lane is brilliant but his Willy doesn't go through as many changes.

Best Actress in a Play:

Prediction and Preference: Lesley Manville, Oedipus

Best Actor in a Musical:

Prediction and Preference: Joshua Henry, Ragtime

Best Actress in a Musical:

Prediction: Caissie Levy, Ragtime

Preference: Sara Chase, Schmigadoon

I preferred Sara Chase in Schmigadoon who was funny and touching as the musical-loving doctor trapped in the titular fantasy town but Drama Desk winner Caissie Levy will probably be part of a Ragtime sweep.

Schmigadoon! Dances Away With Chita Rivera Awards

The dance ensemble of Schmigadoon!
Credit: Matthew Murphy and
Evan Zimmerman

Schmigadoon! dances away with the most Chita Rivera Awards, honoring excellence in dance in NYC theater and film, presented May 18 at NYU Skirball (after having won Outstanding Musical and Choreography at the Drama Desks the night before). The musical parody of Golden Age tuners based on the Apple TV + series won for Christopher Gattelli's Choreography, Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Dancers. Max Clayton and Isabella McCalla of Schmigadoon! shared the award with Robert "Silk" Mason of Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Show-biz legend Ann-Margret (Bye Bye Birdie, Carnal Knowledge) was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by Leslie Uggams) and the revue Gotta Dance! won the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics Choice Award.

This year's awarding committee was chaired by Sylviane Gold, and also included Gary Chryst, Peter Filichia, Robert LaFosse, Wendy Perron, Stephanie Pope, and Lee Roy Reams.

Broadway and film categories have a separate nominating committee that oversees the nominations. This year's Broadway nominating committee included Caitlin Carter, Gary Chryst, Don Correia, Sandy Duncan, Peter Filichia, Dr. Louis Galli, Sylviane Gold, Jonathan Herzog, Robert La Fosse, Joe Lanteri, Michael Milton, Mary Beth O'Connor, Wendy Perron, Stephanie Pope, Lee Roy Reams, Andy Sandberg, and Randy Skinner. The Film nominating committee, chaired by Jonathan C. Herzog, comprised Steven Caras, Wilhelmina Frankfurt, Mary Beth O’Connor, and Andy Sandberg.

List of winners:

Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show
WINNER - Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Lorin Latarro, Chess
Ellenore Scott, Ragtime
Ellenore Scott, Titaníque
Ani Taj, The Rocky Horror Show
Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show
Jonathan Burke, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Baby Byrne, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
WINNER - Max Clayton, Schmigadoon!
Zachary Downer, Schmigadoon!
Sydney James Harcourt, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Dava Huesca, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
WINNER - Robert “Silk” Mason, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
WINNER - Isabelle McCalla, Schmigadoon!
Sarah Meahl, Chess
Constantine Rousouli, Titaníque
Layton Williams, Titaníque
Lyrica Woodruff, Schmigadoon!

Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Chess
Ragtime
WINNER - Schmigadoon!
The Rocky Horror Show
Titaníque

B'way Review: Schmigadoon!

Sara Chase, Alex Brightman, and cast in
Schmigadoon!
Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman 
for MurphyMade

You don’t have to have seen Schmigadoon!, the Apple TV + series, or even any musicals at all in order to enjoy—or be totally enraptured by, as I was—Schmigadoon!, the Broadway show. In fact, it helps if you haven’t seen the series because you’ll be surprised by songwriter-librettist Cinco Paul’s magnificent wit and deep affection for the genre he’s parodying. Paul has pared down the six episodes of the first season, keeping the majority of songs and plot elements while adding a few new ones. All of his changes and reserves work. So does the expert, integrated direction and choreography of Christopher Gattelli. The team has created a smart, hilariously funny masterpiece which simultaneously satirizes and pays tribute to the conventions and values of the major midcentury musicals we’ve seen on stages from the Main Stem to our high schools. You don’t even have to like musicals to love this show, because that viewpoint—musicals are artificial, nobody sings and dances out of the blue—is also represented.

Sara Chase and Max Clayton in
Schmigadoon!
Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
for MurphyMade 

The ingenious premise from the series remains basically the same. Dating doctors Josh and Melissa have relationship issues—not just that she loves tuners and he hates them. She’s ready to take their live-in, unmarried status to the next level and he’s happy with things as they are. On a couples retreat, they get lost in the woods and happen upon the titular, secluded burg (first musical reference: Brigadoon) where the rustic citizens launch into a production number at the drop of a hat. The wrinkle is Josh and Melissa are prevented from leaving by magical forces until they discover “true love.” It seems they don’t have it together—yet. 

B'way Update: Schmigadoon

The cast of TV's Schmigadoon.
Credit: Apple TV

Schmigadoon, the musical based on the spoofy Apple TV original series satirizing the Golden Age of Broadway musicals, is coming to its natural home, Broadway.  After a successful run at the Kennedy Center (before it became the Trump Palace of Low Culture), the musical will begin previews at the Nederlander Theater on April 4 with an opening set for April 20 for a limited run until Sept 6.  

Featuring a book and Emmy-winning score score by Cinco Paul (Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets), Schmigadoon follows a married couple trapped in the title magical town, where the residents burst into song at the drop of a hat. 

“Schmigadoon is a love letter to the Golden Age of movie musicals,” said producer Lorne Michaels. “It’s a little bit nostalgic and a lot of fun. We’re very excited to bring it to Broadway.” Casting and creative team will be announced at a later date.