Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The 4th Annual David Desk Awards


Katie Thompson at the Drama Desk Awards
In the midst of Drama Desk, Obie, Outer Critics, Drama League, and Tony awards, what's one more? For the past four years, I've been listing my own choices for the best of the theater season on, Off- and Off-Off-Broadway. I do get to vote for the DDs, Outer Critics, Tonys, New York Drama Critics Circle, and the American Theater Critics Association, but these reflect my own taste as far as multiple nominees go. These are not meant as a criticism of the other awards, they're just for fun. There are a lot of shows, performances and designs which I felt were overlooked by the other critical bodies--especially Alan Cumming's Macbeth and the wonderful performances of Michele Pawk and Katie Thompson in Giant. I included up to six nominees in each category. Let me know if you agree with my picks or have any of your own.

Play:
“Detroit” (Lisa D’Amour)
“The Nance” (Douglas Carter Beane)
“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (Christopher Durang)
“Water by the Spoonful” (Quiara Alegria Hudes)
“The Whale” (Samuel D. Hunter)

Musical:
“Dogfight”
“Hands on a Hard Body”
“Here Lies Love”
"Kinky Boots"
“Matilda, the Musical”
“Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812”

Revival (Play):
“An Enemy of the People”
“Golden Boy”
“Macbeth”
“The Piano Lesson”
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Revival (Musical):
“Into the Woods”
“The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
“Pippin”

Actor (Play):
Tom Hanks, “Lucky Guy”
Shuler Hensley, “The Whale”
Nathan Lane, “The Nance”
Tracy Letts, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Seth Numrich, “Golden Boy”
Tom Sturridge, “Orphans”

Actress (Play):
Amy Morton, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Julia Murney, “Falling”
Kristine Nielsen, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
Vanessa Redgrave, “The Revisionist”
Yvonne Strahovski, “Golden Boy”
Cicely Tyson, “The Trip to Bountiful”

Actor (Musical):
Will Chase, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
PJ Griffith, “Giant”
Hunter Foster, “Hands on a Hard Body”
Brian D’Arcy James, “Giant”
Jim Norton, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Billy Porter, “Kinky Boots”

Actress (Musical):
Carolee Carmello, “Scandalous: The Life and Times of Aimee Semple McPherson”
Judy Kuhn, “Passion”
Lindsay Mendez, “Dogfight”
Ruthie Ann Miles, “Here Lies Love”
Donna Murphy, “Into the Woods”
Phillipa Soo, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812”

Featured Actor (Play):
Chuck Cooper, “The Piano Lesson”
Daniel Everidge, “Falling”
Peter Gerety, “Lucky Guy”
Zach Grenier, “Storefront Church”
Richard Kind, “The Big Knife”
Tony Shalhoub, “Golden Boy”

Featured Actress (Play):
Cassie Beck, “The Whale,” “Picnic”
Judith Ivey, “The Heiress”
Elizabeth Marvel, “Picnic”
Amanda Quaid, “Luck of the Irish”
Amy Ryan, “Detroit”
Sarah Sokolovic, “Detroit”

Featured Actor (Musical):
Bertie Carvel, “Matilda, the Musical”
K. Todd Freeman, “A Civil War Christmas”
Ivan Hernandez, “Into the Woods”
Andy Karl, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Jacob Ming-Trent, “Hands on a Hard Body”
Lucas Steele, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812”

Featured Actress (Musical):
Annaleigh Ashford, “Dogfight,” “Kinky Boots”
Andrea Martin, “Pippin”
Michele Pawk, “Giant”
Keala Settle, “Hands on a Hard Body”
Sarah Stiles, “Into the Woods”
Katie Thompson, “Giant”

Director (Play):
Anne Kauffman, “Detroit”
Pam McKinnon, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, “The Piano Lesson”
Bartlett Sher, “Golden Boy”
John Tiffany, Andrew Goldberg, “Macbeth”
George C. Wolfe, “Lucky Guy”

Director (Musical):
Rachel Chavkin, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812”
Tina Landau, “A Civil War Christmas”
Diane Paulus, “Pippin”
Neil Pepe, “Hands on a Hard Body”
Alex Timbers, “Here Lies Love”
Matthew Warchus, “Matilda, the Musical”

Choreography:
Peter Darling, “Matilda, The Musical”
Annie-B Parson, “Here Lies Love”
Sergio Trujillo, “Hands on a Hard Body”
Chet Walker, “Pippin”

Score:
Trey Anastasio, Amanda Green, “Hands on a Hard Body”
David Byrne, Fatboy Slim, “Here Lies Love”
Cyndi Lauper, “Kinky Boots”
Dave Malloy, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812”
Tim Minchin, “Matilda, The Musical”
Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, “Dogfight”

Book:
Peter Duncan, “Dogfight”
Harvey Fierstein, “Kinky Boots”
Dennis Kelly, “Matilda, The Musical”
Sybille Pearson, “Giant”
Paula Vogel, “A Civil War Christmas”
Doug Wright, “Hands on a Hard Body”

Set Design:
John Lee Beatty, “The Nance”
Michael Carnahan, “The Piano Lesson”
Rob Howell, “Matilda, The Musical”
Santo Loquasto, “The Assembled Parties”
Todd Rosenthal, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Louisa Thompson, “Detroit”

Costume Design:
Gregg Barnes, “Kinky Boots”
William Ivey Long, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Gregory A. Poplyk, “Scandalous: The Life and Times of Aimee Semple McPherson”
Emily Rebholz, “Into the Woods”
Ann Roth, “The Nance”
Albert Wolsky, “The Heiress”

Lighting Design:
Kevin Adams, “Hands on a Hard Body”
Natasha Chivers, “Macbeth”
Donald Holden, “Golden Boy”
Rui Rita, “The Piano Lesson,” “Talley’s Folly”
Hugh Vanstone, “Matilda, The Musical”
Scott Zienlinski, “A Civil War Christmas”

Sound Design:
Simon Baker, “Matilda the Musical”
Peter Hylenski, “Motown the Musical”
Mel Mercier, “The Testament of Mary”
Fergus O’Hare, “Macbeth”
Peter John Still, March Salzberg, “Golden Boy”
Matt Tierney, “Detroit”

Solo Performance:
Alan Cumming, “Macbeth”
Bette Midler, “I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers”
Fiona Shaw, “The Testament of Mary”
Holland Taylor, “Ann”
Michael Urie, “Buyer and Cellar”

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