Winners for the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards have been announced. It honors the best of the 2019-2020 theater season in Broadway, off and off-off-Broadway as voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater. This year the awards ceremony was held virtually, hosted by Frank DiLella on June 13.
Watch the almost hour-long ceremony below followed by the complete list of nominees and winners for all categories.
Here is a full list of 65th Drama Desk Awards:
Outstanding Play
Cambodian Rock Band
Greater Clements
Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven
Heroes of the Fourth Turning
The Inheritance – WINNER
Outstanding Musical
Octet
The Secret Life of Bees
Soft Power
A Strange Loop – WINNER
The Wrong Man
Outstanding Revival of a Play
Fefu and Her Friends
for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Mac Beth
Much Ado About Nothing
A Soldier’s Play – WINNER
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Little Shop of Horrors – WINNER
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
West Side Story
Outstanding Actor in a Play
Charles Busch, The Confession of Lily Dare
Edmund Donovan, Greater Clements – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
George Abud, Emojiland
Christian Borle, Little Shop of Horrors – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
Jacqueline Novak, Get on Your Knees
Deirdre O’Connell, Dana H.
Outstanding Director of a Play
Jessica Blank, Coal Country
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance – WINNER
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 – WINNER
Thomas Kail, The Wrong Man
Kathleen Marshall, The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Leigh Silverman, Soft Power
Annie Tippe, Octet
Outstanding Choreography
Camile 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! – WINNER
Travis Wall, The Wrong Man
Outstanding Music
Ross Golan, The Wrong Man
Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
Dave Malloy, Octet – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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 – WINNER
Adam Seidel, Jane Bruce and Daniel Ocanto, Original Sound
Outstanding Set Design of a Play
Catherine Cornell, Mac Beth
Clint Ramos, Grand Horizons – WINNER
Adam Rigg, Fefu and Her Friends
Paul Steinberg, Judgement Day
B.T. Whitehill, The Confession of Lily Dare
Outstanding Set Design for a Musical
Julian Crouch, Little Shop of Horrors
Anna Louizos, Scotland ,PA
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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! – WINNER
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 – WINNER
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! – WINNER
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid, The Inheritance – WINNER
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 in a Musical
Tom Gibbons, West Side Story
Kai Harada, Soft Power
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! – WINNER
Hidenori Nakajo, Octet
Nevin Steinberg, The Wrong Man
Outstanding Projection Design
David Bengali, Einstein’s Dreams
Julia Frey, Medea
Luke Halls, West Side Story – WINNER
Lisa Renkel and POSSIBLE, Emojiland
Hannah Wasileski, Fires in the Mirror
Outstanding Wig and Hair Design
Campbell Young Associates, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – WINNER
Cookie Jordan, Fefu and Her Friends
Nikiya Mathis, STEW
Tom Watson, The Great Society
Bobbie Zlotnik, Emojiland
Outstanding Fight Choreography
Vicki Manderson, Square Go
Thomas Schall, A Soldier’s Play – WINNER
UnkleDave’s Fight House, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven
Outstanding Puppet Design
Raphael Mishler, Tumacho – WINNER
Rockefeller Productions, Paddington Gets in a Jam
Amanda Villalobos, Is This A Room
Unique Theatrical Experience
Beyond Babel
Feral
Is This A Room – WINNER
Midsummer: A Banquet
Outstanding Adaptation
A Christmas Carol – WINNER
Judgment Day
Mojada
Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow
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.”
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