Tuesday, June 11, 2024

2024 Drama Desk Awards

Stereophonic, winner of 7 Drama
Desk Awards.
Credit: Chelcie Perry
Stereophonic, Water for Elephants and Dead Outlaw won the top honors at the 68th Drama Desk Awards, presented June 10 at NYU's Skirball Center. Stereophonic won the most accolades with seven including Outstanding Play. Water took the most musical prizes with four including Jessica Stone's direction. Dead Outlaw won Outstanding Musical, Lyrics, and Book. Outlaw is only the fifth Off-Broadway musical to take the DD's top prize (previous OB winners were Little Shop of Horrors, Hamilton, A Strange Loop, and Kimberly Akimbo). Unlike the Broadway-only Tonys, the Deskies consider Broadway and Off-Broadway in all of its multiple categories. There are whisperings that with all the prizes it has won (Outer Critics Circle and NY Drama Critics Circle), Dead Outlaw is planning a Broadway transfer.

Sutton Foster and Aaron Tveit
hosting the DD Awards
Tony winners Sutton Foster and Aaron Tveit who just completed a run co-starring in Sweeney Todd hosted the event. The ceremony opened with a funny specialty number reviewing the highlights of the past season working in a desk into the lyrics. (For Drama Desk, get it?) Andrew Rannells, Josh Breckinridge, Taylor Marie Daniel, Raymond J. Lee and Lindsay Joans joined Foster and Tveit in the opening. The ceremony was long at three hours, but never felt tedious thanks to smooth direction by Lorin Latarro and a witty script by Steve Rosen and David Rossmer. Executive producers Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jensen delivered a proficient event. At the midway point, Foster and Tveit announced the audience was in need of a sugar rush and threw Halloween-size candy packages to them (I copped a Peanut M&Ms.) Brenda Braxton supplied voice-overs, reading all of the nominees whose photos were displayed on a giant screen (Ido Levran is credited with video design). Braxton also had a funny segment announcing parody awards such as Outstanding Bathroom in a Broadway Theater (the winner was the renovated James Earl Jones Theater) and Outstanding Performance in a Made-Up Production (disgraced ex-Congressman George Santos in Starlight Express.)

The winners of the acting categories were almost all women. Last year, the Drama Desk joined the Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards by eliminating gender in all acting divisions due to the increasing number of non-binary performers. Except for the Solo Performance award, two winners are chosen in the acting slot with more than two winners possible in the case of ties. Only two males won--Patrick Page for his solo show All the Devils Are Here and Brian d'Arcy James of Days of Wine and Rose, co-winning Leading Performance in a Musical with his co-star Kelli O'Hara and Maleah Joi Moon of Hell's Kitchen. 

Presenters included newly-elected Equity president Brooke Shields, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, Andrew Rannells, Debra Messing, Brian d’Arcy James, Montego Glover, Lena Hall, Ruthie Ann Miles, Seth Rudetsky, Shoshana Bean, James Lapine, Corbin Bleu, Sarah Hyland, Miriam Silverman, Steven Pasquale, James Monroe Inglehart, DD winner Kecia Lewis, and (via audio) Carol Burnett. There were several musical numbers. Nikki M. James performed "Wait My Turn" from Suffs. Kelli O'Hara delivered an impassioned performance of "This Nearly Was Mine" from South Pacific in tribute to William Wolf Award winner Andre Bishop, artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater. Santino Fontana introduced the Harold Prince Award for Lifetime Achievement by singing a clever medley of phrases from the many shows Prince directed and/or produced. Matthew Broderick then introduced the recipient, his Lion King voice-over, Producers and Odd Couple co-star Nathan Lane who quipped, "This is the third Lifetime Achievement Award I've received recently. I'm beginning to think there's something my doctors aren't telling me... How did I suddenly get to be Angela Lansbury? Next after Lifetime Achievement, you wind up in the In Memorial segment. It's the Show-Biz Circle of Life." 

Kara Young (Featured Performance in a Play 
for Purlie Victorious) and
Irene Gandy (Special Award for 
Career Achievement)


This year's Drama Desk nominating committee comprised Martha Wade Steketee, Linda Armstrong, Dan Dinero, Peter Filichia, Kenji Fujishima, Margaret Hall, and Charles Wright. The winners were voted on by the 100 voting members of the DD, NY-based critics, reporters and editors.

A complete list of Drama Desk Winners follows: 

Outstanding Play
Infinite Life
, by Annie Baker
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
, by Jocelyn Bish
Mother Play
, by Paula Vogel
WINNER - Stereophonic, by David Adjmi

Swing State
, by Rebecca Gilman
The Ally
, by Itamar Moses

Outstanding Musical
WINNER - Dead Outlaw

Illinoise

Lizard Boy

Teeth

The Connector

The Outsiders

Outstanding Revival of a Play
WINNER - Appropriate

Doubt: A Parable

Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Uncle Vanya
 (Off-Broadway)

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Gutenberg! The Musical!

WINNER - I Can Get It for You Wholesale

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play
Nicole Cooper, Macbeth (an undoing)
William Jackson Harper, Primary Trust
WINNER - Jessica Lange, 
Mother Play
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
Tobias Menzies, The Hunt
Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
WINNER - Sarah Paulson, Appropriate

A.J. Shively, Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Juliet Stevenson, The Doctor
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots

Sarah Paulson and
Jessica Lange sharing their wins for
Outstanding Lead Performance
in a Play


Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical
Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Santino Fontana, I Can Get It for You Wholesale
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
WINNER - Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses

WINNER - Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen

WINNER - Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses

Liam Pearce, How to Dance in Ohio
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Ben Levi Ross, The Connector
Ricky Ubeda, Illinoise

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play
Brittany Adebumola, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Marylouise Burke, Infinite Life
Michael Esper, Appropriate
Marin Ireland, Uncle Vanya (Off-Broadway)
Will Keen, Patriots
WINNER - Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play

Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!
Sheila Tousey, Manahatta
Bubba Weiler, Swing State
WINNER - 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
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot
WINNER - Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen

WINNER - Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Steven Pasquale, Teeth
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Thom Sesma, Dead Outlaw
Emily Skinner, Suffs

Outstanding Direction of a Play
WINNER - Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic

Rupert Goold, The Hunt
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
Ciarán O’Reilly, Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Outstanding Direction of a Musical
David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Rebecca Frecknall, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Daisy Prince, The Connector
WINNER - 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
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
Lorin Latarro, The Heart of Rock and Roll
WINNER - Justin Peck, Illinoise

Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants

Outstanding Music
Jason Robert Brown, The Connector
Justin Huertas, Lizard Boy
Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
WINNER - 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
Michael R. Jackson, Teeth
Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
WINNER - David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Justin Huertas, Lizard Boy
Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs, Teeth
Michael John LaChiusa, The Gardens of Anuncia
Rebekah Greer Melocik, How to Dance in Ohio
WINNER - Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Orchestrations
Timo Andres, Illinoise
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Andy Evan Cohen, The Greatest Hits Down Route 66
WINNER - Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club

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
S T A R R Busby and JJJJJerome Ellis, (pray)
WINNER - Will Butler, Stereophonic

Dionne McClain-Freeney, The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents The 84th Annual Star-Burst Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel
Ben Steinfeld, Pericles

Outstanding Revue
WINNER - Amid Falling Walls

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play
Es Devlin, The Hunt
dots, Appropriate
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Scott Pask, Grey House
WINNER - David Zinn, Stereophonic

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
WINNER - Paul Tate dePoo III, The Great Gatsby

Riccardo Hernández, Suffs
Arnulfo Maldonado, Dead Outlaw
Grace Smart, Good Vibrations: A Punk Rock Musical

Outstanding Costume Design of a Play
Alex Berry, Macbeth (an undoing)
Karen Boyer, Warrior Sisters of Wu
WINNER - Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic

Lux Haac, Manahatta
Rodrigo Muñoz, Sally & Tom

Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite, Buena Vista Social Club
Márion Talán de la Rosa, The Connector
Loren Elstein, Once Upon a One More Time
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
WINNER - Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play
WINNER - Jane Cox, Appropriate

Stacey Derosier, Uncle Vanya (Off-Broadway)
Natasha Katz, Grey House
Lizzie Powell, Macbeth (an undoing)
Eric Southern, Swing State

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical
Lap Chi Chu, Suffs
Heather Gilbert, Dead Outlaw
Bradley King, Water for Elephants
WINNER - Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders

Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, The Connector

Outstanding Projection and Video Design
Eric Dunlap, Our Class
Jared Mezzocchi, Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy
WINNER - Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen

Olivia Sebesky, Melissa Etheridge: My Window
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, The Connector

Outstanding Sound Design of a Play
Adam Cork, The Hunt
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Palmer Hefferan, The Comeuppance
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
WINNER - Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic

Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical (three-way tie)
Jason Crystal, Suffs
Kai Harada and Joshua Millican, Dead Outlaw
WINNER - Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

WINNER - Cody Spencer, The Outsiders

WINNER - Walter Trarbach, Water for Elephants

Outstanding Wig and Hair
J. Jared Janas and Cassie Williams, Sally & Tom
Charles G. LaPointe, Suffs
WINNER - Nikiya Mathis, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Nikiya Mathis, The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents The 84th Annual Star-Burst Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel
Robert Pickens and Katie Gell, Stereophonic (Broadway)

Outstanding Solo Performance
Michael Cruz Kayne, Sorry for Your Loss
Madeleine MacMahon, Breathless
Wade McCollum, Make Me Gorgeous!
Robert Montano, SMALL
WINNER - Patrick Page, All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain

Unique Theatrical Experience
A Eulogy for Roman
A Simulacrum

ADRIFT: A Medieval Wayward Folly

I Love You So Much I Could Die

WINNER - Grenfell: in the words of survivors

Outstanding Fight Choreography
Michael G. Chin, Warrior Sisters of Wu
WINNER - Cha Ramos, Water for Elephants

Steve Rankin, The Who’s Tommy

Outstanding Adaptation
WINNER - Amy Herzog, An Enemy of the People

Zinnie Harris, Macbeth (an undoing)
Rebecca Martínez and Julián Mesri, The Comedy of Errors
Robert Icke, The Doctor
David Farr, The Hunt
Romina Paula, The Whole of Time

Outstanding Puppetry
Matt Acheson, Hotel Happy
Adrian Kohler and Handspring Puppet Company, Life & Times of Michael K
WINNER - Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille Labarre, Water for Elephants

David Valentine, Poor Yella Rednecks

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 theatremakers, 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 United States 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 theatre. A Broadway producer and Sardi’s honoree, she is a zealous advocate for inclusion, diversity, and equity in the arts.

Harold S. Prince Award for Lifetime Achievement
Nathan Lane

WilIiam Wolf Award for  “achievement, high standards and innovation, including generosity and ‘giving back’ to the entertainment community.”
Andre Bishop



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