Drama Desk Awards winners announced – Theatrical Musings

The winners are in for the 65^th Annual Drama Desk Awards.

This annual ceremony honors the best in Broadway, off and off-off-Broadway theater for the year that just passed. This year, the presentations took place virtually during a special presentation of Spectrum News NY1’s On Stage, hosted by Frank DiLella.

The Drama Desk Awards organization dedicated this year’s ceremony to former Drama Desk President William Wolf, who died of coronavirus complications on March 28. In addition, this year’s awards presentation honored legendary Broadway producer and director Hal Prince (1928-2019). The ceremony’s organizers posthumously celebrated Prince with the Drama Desk’s first lifetime achievement award. Named for him, The Harold Prince Award will annually honor outstanding contributions to theater.

The top winners were Moulin Rouge with five wins, The Inheritance with five wins, A Strange Loop with five wins, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical with two wins, as well as Jagged Little Pill, A Soldier’s Play and Little Shop of Horrors, each with two wins.

Theater critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater annually vote on and bestow The Drama Desk Awards. Below is a complete list of winners and those nominated. The winners are in bold.

Outstanding Play Cambodian Rock Band, by Lauren Yee, Signature Theatre Greater Clements, by Samuel D. Hunter, Lincoln Center Theater Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven, by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Atlantic Theater Company/LAByrinth Theater Company Heroes of the Fourth Turning, by Will Arbery, Playwrights Horizons

The Inheritance, by Matthew Lopez

Outstanding Musical Octet, Signature Theatre The Secret Life of Bees, Atlantic Theater Company Soft Power, The Public Theater

A Strange Loop, Playwrights Horizons/Page 73 Productions

The Wrong Man, MCC Theater

Outstanding Revival of a Play Fefu and Her Friends, Theatre for a New Audience for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, The Public Theater Mac Beth, Red Bull Theater/Hunter Theater Project Much Ado About Nothing, The Public Theater

A Soldier’s Play, Roundabout Theatre Company

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Little Shop of Horrors The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Transport Group

West Side Story

Outstanding Actor in a Play Charles Busch, The Confession of Lily Dare

Edmund Donovan, Greater Clements

Raúl Esparza, Seared Francis Jue, Cambodian Rock Band Triney Sandoval, 72 Miles to Go…

Kyle Soller, The Inheritance

Outstanding Actress in a Play Rose Byrne, Medea

Liza Colón-Zayas, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

Emily Davis, Is This A Room April Matthis, Toni Stone

Ruth Negga, Hamlet

Outstanding Actor in a Musical David Aron Damane, The Unsinkable Molly Brown Chris Dwan, Enter Laughing Joshua Henry, The Wrong Man Francis Jue, Soft Power

Larry Owens, A Strange Loop

Outstanding Actress in a Musical Tammy Blanchard, Little Shop of Horrors Beth Malone, The Unsinkable Molly Brown Saycon Sengbloh, The Secret Life of Bees Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill

Adrienne Warren, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Victor Almanzar, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven Esteban Andres Cruz, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven David Alan Grier, A Soldier’s Play

Paul Hilton, The Inheritance

Chris Perfetti, Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Patrice Johnson Chevannes, runboyrun & In Old Age Kristina Poe, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven Belange Rodríguez, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Elizabeth Rodriguez, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

Lois Smith, The Inheritance

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical George Abud, Emojiland

Christian Borle, Little Shop of Horrors

Jay Armstrong Johnson, Scotland, PA Conrad Ricamora, Soft Power

Ryan Vasquez, The Wrong Man

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Yesenia Ayala, West Side Story Paula Leggett Chase, The Unsinkable Molly Brown LaChanze, The Secret Life of Bees Alyse Alan Louis, Soft Power

Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill

Outstanding Director of a Play Jessica Blank, Coal Country

Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance

John Ortiz, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven Tina Satter, Is This A Room

Erica Schmidt, Mac Beth

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop Thomas Kail, The Wrong Man Kathleen Marshall, The Unsinkable Molly Brown Leigh Silverman, Soft Power

Annie Tippe, Octet

Outstanding Choreography Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, West Side Story Keone Madrid and Mari Madrid, Beyond Babel Kathleen Marshall, The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge!

Travis Wall, The Wrong Man

Outstanding Music Ross Golan, The Wrong Man Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop

Dave Malloy, Octet

Joshua Rosenblum, Einstein’s Dreams Duncan Sheik, The Secret Life of Bees

Jeanine Tesori, Soft Power

Outstanding Lyrics Susan Birkenhead, The Secret Life of Bees Adam Gwon, Scotland, PA

Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
Joanne Sydney Lessner and Joshua Rosenblum, Einstein’s Dreams

Dave Malloy, Octet

Mark Saltzman, Romeo & Bernadette

Outstanding Book of a Musical David Henry Hwang, Soft Power

Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop

Dave Malloy, Octet Lynn Nottage, The Secret Life of Bees Mark Saltzman, Romeo & Bernadette

Dick Scanlan, The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Outstanding Orchestrations
Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill Alex Lacamoire, The Wrong Man Or Matias and Dave Malloy, Octet Danny Troob, John Clancy, and Larry Hochman, Soft Power

Jonathan Tunick, West Side Story

Outstanding Music in a Play Steve Earle, Coal Country Frightened Rabbit, Square Go Jim Harbourne, Feral

Martha Redbone, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Adam Seidel, Jane Bruce, and Daniel Ocanto, Original Sound

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play Catherine Cornell, Mac Beth

Clint Ramos, Grand Horizons

Adam Rigg, Fefu and Her Friends Paul Steinberg, Judgment Day

B.T. Whitehill, The Confession of Lily Dare

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Musical Julian Crouch, Little Shop of Horrors Anna Louizos, Scotland, PA

Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge!

Clint Ramos, Soft Power

Amy Rubin and Brittany Vasta, Octet

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play Asa Benally, Blues for an Alabama Sky Montana Levi Blanco, Fefu and Her Friends Toni-Leslie James, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Antony McDonald, Judgment Day

Rachel Townsend and Jessica Jahn, The Confession of Lily Dare

Kaye Voyce, Coriolanus

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical Vanessa Leuck, Emojiland Jeff Mahshie, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Mark Thompson, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Anita Yavich, Soft Power

Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge!

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play Isabella Byrd, Heroes of the Fourth Turning Oona Curley, Dr. Ride’s American Beach House

Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside

Mimi Jordan Sherin, Judgment Day

Yi Zhao, Greater Clements

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical Betsy Adams, The Wrong Man Jane Cox, The Secret Life of Bees Herrick Goldman, Einstein’s Dreams Bruno Poet, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge!

Outstanding Projection Design David Bengali, Einstein’s Dreams Julia Frey, Medea

Luke Halls, West Side Story

Lisa Renkel and POSSIBLE, Emojiland

Hannah Wasileski, Fires in the Mirror

Outstanding Sound Design for a Play
Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid, The Inheritance Justin Ellington, Heroes of the Fourth Turning Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H. Palmer Hefferan, Fefu and Her Friends

Lee Kinney and Sanae Yamada, Is This A Room

Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical Tom Gibbons, West Side Story Kai Harada, Soft Power

Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge!

Hidenori Nakajo, Octet

Nevin Steinberg, The Wrong Man

Outstanding Wig and Hair Design
Campbell Young Associates, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Cookie Jordan, Fefu and Her Friends Nikiya Mathis, STEW Tom Watson, The Great Society

Bobbie Zlotnik, Emojiland

Outstanding Solo Performance David Cale, We’re Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time Kate del Castillo, the way she spoke

Laura Linney, My Name is Lucy Barton

Jacqueline Novak, Get on Your Knees

Deirdre O’Connell, Dana H

Unique Theatrical Experience Beyond Babel, Hideaway Circus Feral, Tortoise in a Nutshell/Cumbernauld Theatre/59E59

Is This A Room, Vineyard Theatre

Midsummer: A Banquet, Food of Love Productions/Third Rail Projects

Outstanding Fight Choreography Vicki Manderson, Square Go

Thomas Schall, A Soldier’s Play

UnkleDave’s Fight House, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

Outstanding Adaptation
A Christmas Carol, by Jack Thorne Judgment Day, by Christopher Shinn Mojada, by Luis Alfaro

Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow, by Halley Feiffer

Outstanding Puppet Design

Raphael Mishler, Tumacho

Rockefeller Productions, Paddington Gets in a Jam

Amanda Villaloobs, Is This A Room

Ensemble Award: “To the eight pitch-perfect performers in Dave Malloy’s a cappella musical Octet: Adam Bashian, Kim Blanck, Starr Busby, Alex Gibson, Justin Gregory Lopez, J.D. Mollison, Margo Seibert and Kuhoo Verma proved instrumental in giving a layered look at modern forms of addiction.”

Sam Norkin Award: “To actress Mary Bacon, who continued her versatile career of compassionate, searing work for such companies as The Mint, Primary Stages, The Public Theater and The Actors Theater Company, with two of Off-Broadway’s most humane performances this season in Coal Country at the Public Theater and Nothing Gold Can Stay presented by Partial Comfort Productions.”

Special Awards: “To The Actors Fund, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley for connecting members of the theater community and lifting spirits during the coronavirus crisis. The Actors Fund has worked tirelessly to provide financial and health resources to those impacted by the pandemic; Rudetsky and Wesley’s semi-daily Stars in the House webcast is raising funds for The Actors Fund, while providing performances, reunions, and medical updates.”

“To The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit, a reinvention of Joseph Papp’s “Mobile Theater” that began in 1957 and evolved into the New York Shakespeare Festival and The Public Theater. The current Mobile Unit tours free Shakespeare throughout the five boroughs, including prisons, homeless shelters and community centers, reminding audiences new and old that the play really is the thing. ”

“To WP Theater and Julia Miles, the company’s founder who died this spring. Formerly known as The Women’s Project and Productions, the company began in 1978 at American Place Theatre, where Miles served as associate to visionary artistic director Wynn Handman, who also died this spring. WP is the largest, most enduring American company that nurtures and produces works by female-identified creators. Over a little more than four decades, it has changed the demographics of American drama through an unwavering focus on women writers, directors, producers, performers and craftspeople.”

“To Claire Warden for her pioneering work as an intimacy choreographer in such recent projects as Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune and Linda Vista and her leadership in the rapidly emerging movement of intimacy direction. As part of the creative team of Intimacy Directors & Coordinators and Director of Engagement for and co-founder of Intimacy Directors International, she is helping create theater experiences that are safer for performers and more authentic for contemporary audiences.”

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