The 60th Annual Dram Desk Awards were held Sunday, May 31 at 8 PM at the Town Hall on 123rd West 43rd Street in New York City. Tony Award winner and two-time Drama Desk winner Laura Benanti (Gypsy, Sound of Music Live, ABC’s Nashville) hosted the event. The event was produced by Joey Parnes Productions with Gretchen Shugart as Managing Executive Producer of the event. Scripting the Awards event was Bill Rosenfeld, with additional material provided by Benanti. Jack cummings III (co-founder and artistic director of Transport Group) directed.
Tony Award winning actress , host of the 60th annual just walked in looking amazing!
— TheaterPizzazz ()
The Drama Desk Awards, which are presented annually, honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway. What sets the Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater, without any vested interest in the results. For this reason, Drama Desk Awards reflect both enthusiasm for all aspects of New York’s professional theater and a level of erudition and theatrical experience unparalleled in our industry’s other prize-giving organizations.
The Drama Desk was founded in 1949 to explore key issues in the theater and to bring together critics and writers in an organization to support the ongoing development of theater in New York. The organization began presenting its awards in 1955, and it is the only critics’ organization to honor achievement in the theater with competition among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions in the same categories.
The Drama Desk Awards provide a potential preview of the upcoming Tony Awards which will be held on Sunday, June 7.
Top winners were Hamilton with 7 wins, including Best Musical, Renee Elise Goldsberry winning for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Thomas Kail taking home the Best Director of a Musical Award; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time with 6 wins, including Best Play, Alexander Sharp winning Best Actor in a Play, Marianne Elliott as Best Director of a Play. Dame Helen Mirren took home the coveted Best Actress Award for her performance in The Audience, while Robert Fairchild won Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal in An American in Paris. Best Play Revival went to The Elephant Man.
See full list of winners below.
List of Winners
Winners are shown in bold blue font.
Best Play
“You Got Older”
“Airline Highway”
“The City of Conversation”
“Between Riverside and Crazy”
“My Manãna Comes”
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” – Winner
“Let the Right One In”
Best Musical
“An American in Paris”
“Hamilton“ – Winner
“Fly By Night”
“Pretty Filthy”
“Something Rotten”
“The Visit”
Best Revival of a Play
“The Elephant Man“ – Winner
“Fashions for Men”
“Ghosts”
“The Iceman Cometh”
“Tamburlaine the Great”
“The Wayside Motor Inn”
Best Revival of a Musical
“Into the Woods”
“The King and I“ – Winner
“On the Town”
“On the Twentieth Century”
“Pageant”
“Side Show”
Best Actor in a Play
Reed Birney, I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Bill Pullman, Sticks and Bones
Alexander Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Winner
Best Actress in a Play
Brooke Bloom, You Got Older
Kathleen Chalfant, A Walk in the Woods
Kristin Griffith, The Fatal Weakness
Jan Maxwell, The City of Conversation
Helen Mirren, The Audience – Winner
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Tonya Pinkins, Rasheeda Speaking
Best Actor in a Musical
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris – Winner
Jeremy Kushnier, Atomic
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Matthew Morrison, Finding Neverland
Ryan Silverman, Side Show
Best Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, John & Jen
Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century – Winner
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Erin Davie, Side Show
Lisa Howard, It Shoulda Been You
Chita Rivera, The Visit
Best Featured Actor in a Play
F. Murray Abraham, It’s Only a Play
Reed Birney, You Got Older
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway – Winner
Jonathan Hadary, Rocket to the Moon
Jason Butler Harner, The Village Bike
Jonathan Hogan, Pocatello
José Joaquin Perez, My Mañana Comes
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It with You – Winner
Beth Dixon, The City of Conversation
Julie Halston, You Can’t Take It with You
Paola Lázaro-Muñoz, To the Bone
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Julie White, Airline Highway
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Christian Borle, Something Rotten! – Winner
Peter Friedman, Fly By Night
Josh Grisetti, It Shoulda Been You
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Max von Essen, An American in Paris
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Carolee Carmello, Finding Neverland
Tyne Daly, It Shoulda Been You
Elizabeth A. Davis, Allegro
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton – Winner
Luba Mason, Pretty Filthy
Nancy Opel, Honeymoon in Vegas
Elizabeth Stanley, On the Town
Best Director of a Play
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Winner
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Anne Kauffman, You Got Older
Lila Neugebauer, The Wayside Motor Inn
Austin Pendleton, Between Riverside and Crazy
Joe Tantalo, Deliverance
John Tiffany, Let the Right One In
Best Director of a Musical
Carolyn Cantor, Fly By Night
Bill Condon, Side Show
John Doyle, The Visit
Thomas Kail, Hamilton – Winner
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Warren Carlyle, On the Twentieth Century
Steven Hoggett, The Last Ship
Austin McCormick, Rococo Rouge
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris – Winner
Best Music
Jason Robert Brown, Honeymoon in Vegas
Michael Friedman, The Fortress of Solitude
John Kander, The Visit
Dave Malloy, Ghost Quartet
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton – Winner
Sting, The Last Ship
Best Lyrics
Jason Robert Brown, Honeymoon in Vegas
Fred Ebb, The Visit
Michael Friedman, The Fortress of Solitude
Karey Kirkpatrick & Wayne Kirkpatrick, Something Rotten!
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton – Winner
Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion
Best Book of a Musical
Hunter Bell & Lee Overtree, Found
Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell, Something Rotten!
Craig Lucas, An American in Paris
Terence McNally, The Visit
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton – Winner
Kim Rosenstock, Will Connolly, & Michael Mitnick, Fly By Night
Best Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, An American in Paris – Winner
Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Allegro
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship
Don Sebesky, Larry Blank, Jason Robert Brown, & Charlie Rosen, Honeymoon in Vegas
Best Music in a Play
Cesar Alvarez, An Octoroon
Danny Blackburn & Bryce Hodgson, Deliverance
Sean Cronin, Kill Me Like You Mean It
Bongi Duma, Generations
Freddi Price, The Pigeoning
Arthur Solari & Jane Shaw, Tamburlaine the Great – Winner
Best Set Design
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris – Winner
Christine Jones, Let The Right One In
David Korins, Hamilton
Mimi Lien, An Octoroon
Scott Pask, The Visit
Daniel Zimmerman, Fashions for Men
Best Costume Design
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
Bob Crowley, The Audience
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton
Andrea Varga, The Fatal Weakness
Catherine Zuber, Gigi – Winner
Best Lighting Design
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Winner
Paule Constable & David Plater, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Maruti Evans, Deliverance
Natasha Katz, The Iceman Cometh
Ben Stanton, Our Lady of Kibeho
Best Projection Design
59 Productions, An American in Paris
Roger Hanna & Price Johnston, Donogoo
Darrel Maloney, Found
Peter Nigrini, Our Lady of Kibeho
Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Winner
Austin Switser, Big Love
Best Sound Design in a Musical
Peter Hylenski, Side Show
Scott Lehrer, The King & I
Scott Lehrer & Drew Levy, Honeymoon in Vegas
Brian Ronan, The Last Ship
Nevin Steinberg, Hamilton – Winner
Jon Weston, An American in Paris
Best Sound Design in a Play
Nathan Davis, The Other Mozart
Ien Denio, Deliverance
Ian Dickinson (for Autograph), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Winner
Gareth Fry, Let the Right One In
John Gromada, Lives of the Saints
Matt Tierney, Our Lady of Kibeho
Best Solo Performance
Christina Bianco, Application Pending
Jonny Donahoe, Every Brilliant Thing
Tom Dugan, Wiesenthal
Mona Golabek, The Pianist of Willesden Lane
Joely Richardson, The Belle of Amherst
Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion – Winner
Best Revue
Forbidden Broadway Comes Out Swinging!
Just Jim Dale – Winner
Lennon: Through a Glass Onion
Lonesome Traveler
Unique Theatrical Experience
Catch Me!
Everybody Gets Cake
The Human Symphony
Queen of the Night – Winner
A Rap Guide to Religion
is the winner of six – including BEST PLAY!
— Curious Incident ()
.'s wins for Outstanding Musical →
— TheaterMania ()
.'s wins for Outstanding Revival of a Musical →
— TheaterMania ()
Congratulations to Catherine Zuber on her win tonight! has the best costumes!
— GIGI ()
at the nominees reception <3
— J e n n i f e r ♔ ()
PIX: press room , & more →
— TheaterMania ()
Congrats ., Tommy Kail, Renee Elise Goldsberry, cast & crew of for the !
— Morris-Jumel Mansion ()