Laura Benanti hosted the 60th Annual Drama Desk Awards at Town Hall in New York tonight. The Drama Desk Awards, which are presented annually, honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway.
The Public Theater’s production of the Broadway bound Hamilton was the big winner of the night in seven categories including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Renee Elise Goldsberry), Outstanding Director of a Musical (Thomas Kail), Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical (Nevin Steinberg); and three for Lin-Manuel Miranda in the categories of Outstanding Music, Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Lyrics. Andy Blankenbuehler also received a Special Drama Desk Award for his choreography for Hamilton.
Alex Sharp as Christopher and the cast of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Photo by Joan Marcus
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won for Outstanding Play (Simon Stephens) and in five other categories including Outstanding Actor in a Play (Alexander Sharp), Outstanding Director of a Play (Marianne Elliott), Outstanding Project Design (Finn Ross), Outstanding Lighting Design (Paule Constable), and Outstanding Sound Design in a Play (Ian Dickinson).
Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope in ‘An American in Paris’ (Photo: Angela Sterling)
An American in Paris won for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Robert Fairchild), Outstanding Choreography of a Musical (Christopher Wheeldon), Outstanding Orchestrations (Christopher Austin) and Outstanding Set Design (Bob Crowley).
Congrats to all of the winners in bold.
Outstanding Play
Clare Barron, You Got Older
Lisa D’Amour, Airline Highway
Anthony Giardina, The City of Conversation
Stephen Adly Guirgis, Between Riverside and Crazy
Elizabeth Irwin, My Manãna Comes
Simon Stephens, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time-winner
Jack Thorne, Let the Right One In
Alex Sharp as Christopher and the cast of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Photo by Joan Marcus
Outstanding Musical
An American in Paris
Hamilton-winner
Fly By Night
Pretty Filthy
Something Rotten
The Visit
Outstanding Revival of a Play
The Elephant Man-winner
Fashions for Men
Ghosts
The Iceman Cometh
Tamburlaine the Great
The Wayside Motor Inn
Bradley Cooper as John Merrick, Alessandro Nivola as Dr. Fredrik Treves & Patricia Clarkson as Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man. Photo by Joan Marcus
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Into the Woods
The King and I-winner
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century
Pageant
Side Show
Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe and company. Photo by Paul Kolnik
Outstanding 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
Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in ‘The Audience’ (Photo: Joan Marcus)
Outstanding 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
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Tonya Pinkins, Rasheeda Speaking
Outstanding 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
Kristin Chenoweth stars in ‘On the Twentieth Century’ on Broadway (Photo: Joan Marcus)
Outstanding 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
K. Todd Freeman and the cast of “Airline Highway” at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Joan Marcus
K. Todd Freeman wins a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in “Airline Highway.” Photo courtesy of K. Todd Freeman/Facebook
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
The cast of You Can’t Take It with You. Photo by Joan Marcus
Outstanding 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
Christian Borle (right) plays Shakespeare as rock star opposite Brian d’Arcy James’ rival playwright in “Something Rotten!”
Photo: Joan Marcus
Outstanding 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
The Schuyler sisters work it in Paul Tazewell’s costumes: Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who plays their sib and Hamilton’s mistress. Photo by Joan Marcus
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding Revue
Forbidden Broadway Comes Out Swinging!
Just Jim Dale-winner
Lennon: Through a Glass Onion
Lonesome Traveler
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Outstanding 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
Queen of the Night producer Randy Weiner shows off his Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience. Photo courtesy of Randy Weiner/Facebook
Outstanding 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
Unique Theatrical Experience
Catch Me!
Everybody Gets Cake
The Human Symphony
Queen of the Night-winner
A Rap Guide to Religion
Special Awards: Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theatre.
For 2014-15, these awards are:
This year the nominators chose to bestow a special award for outstanding ensemble to the actors who so brilliantly shared a room in the world of A. R. Gurney’s The Wayside Motor Inn: Kelly AuCoin, Jon DeVries, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Rebecca Henderson, Marc Kudisch, Jenn Lyon, Lizbeth Mackay, David McElwee, Ismenia Mendes, and Will Pullen.
To Bess Wohl, the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: For establishing herself as an important voice in New York theater, and having a breakthrough year with the eclectic American Hero, Pretty Filthy, and Small Mouth Sounds. Her writing expresses sensitivity, compassion, and humor with a sure hand.
To John Douglas Thompson: For invigorating theater in New York through his commanding presence, classical expertise, and vocal prowess. This season he demonstrated exceptional versatility in Tamburlaine the Great, and The Iceman Cometh.
To Ensemble Studio Theatre: For its unwavering commitment to producing new works by American playwrights since 1968, and enriching this season with productions of When January Feels Like Summer, Winners, and Five Times in One Night. EST’s Youngblood program fostered and nurtured Hand to God, setting Tyrone off on his devilish path to Broadway.
To Andy Blankenbuehler: For his inspired and heart-stopping choreography in Hamilton, which is indispensible to the musical’s storytelling. His body of work is versatile, yet a dynamic and fluid style is consistently evident. When it’s time to “take his shot,” Blankenbuehler hits the bull’s-eye.
The 2014-2015 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of: Barbara Siegel, chairperson, (author and freelance critic); Benjamin Coleman (literary associate, Samuel French, Inc.); Adrian Dimanlig (“Interludes,”www.adriandimanlig.com); Steve Garrin (broadcast producer; sound designer); Mahayana Landowne (theater director; interactive artist); and Steve Marsh (Director, Graduate Studies, Department of Theatre Arts, Stony Brook University).
Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. She has guest starred on “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and “New York Undercover.” Lia starred as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington and Roscoe Orman. She is profiled in Jade Magazine.
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