65th Annual Drama Desk Awards Nominations announced

Nominations have been announced for the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards which are to be held digitally this year on 31 May due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards are to be held digitally on 31 May 2020 due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally slated for May 31 at New York City's Town Hall, the 65th annual ceremony will also occur online. This year’s awards will be presented in honour William Wolf, former Drama Desk president and longtime film and theatre critic, who died last month of complications related to the novel coronavirus.

The Drama Desk Awards, which honour the best in Broadway, off and off-off-Broadway theatre, have been awarded since 1955. The awards are voted on by journalists who cover New York theatre throughout the season. Additional details about the winners announcements will be determined as New York's COVID-19 situation allows and announced at a later date.

"Though these are challenging times, we knew we wanted to find some way to honour this year's Drama Desk Award nominees and recipients, as well as to bring some small sense of normalcy and hope to New York's theatre community," said Matt Britten, the Drama Desk Awards executive producer and Broadway Brands CEO. "I want to thank NY1, as well as the team at Joey Parnes Productions, for stepping up to make this happen for the New York theatre community and theatre fans everywhere. Good things happen when you work with good people. The Drama Desks also want to thank the John Gore Organization, Jujamcyn Theatres, the Nederlander Organization and the Shubert Organization for their collective support and leadership."

The 65th Annual Drama Desk awards special also will stream on NY1.com and DramaDeskAwards.com. Additional details will be announced over the coming weeks. The nominees for the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards are: 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 Villalobos, Is This A Room

Special Awards: 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. To The Actors Fund, Seth Rudetsky, and James Wesley for connecting members of the theatre 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 theatre experiences that are safer for performers and more authentic for contemporary audiences. VISIT OUR BROADWAY PAGE