Drama Desk Awards 2019 - And the Winners are...
The Prom and The Ferryman win big at The 64th Annual Drama Desk Awards at The Town Hall.
Last night the New York Theatre community came together to celebrate The 64th Annual Drama Desk Awards at The Town Hall, which was hosted (for a fourth consecutive time) by Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie. The ceremony also featured performances from Fiddler on the Roof, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future, and Be More Chill, with George Salazar singing the popular Broadway hit "Michael in the Bathroom". Lilias White also gave her version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" during the In Memoriam section of the ceremony.
The biggest winners of the night were the Broadway premieres of The Prom and The Ferryman, which took home the awards for "Outstanding Musical" and "Outstanding Play," respectively, whilst The Waverly Gallery and the Yiddish-language version of Fiddler on the Roof grabbed their respective awards for "Outstanding Revival of a Play" and "Outstanding Revival of a Musical".
It should be noted that the Broadway productions of Hadestown, Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song and Choir Boy had already been considered by the Drama Desk Awards for their off-Broadway premieres, allowing only new elements of the productions to be considered for their respective Broadway transfers. In addition, The Boys in the Band was not eligible for this season's Drama Desk Awards due to the fact that the production did not accommodate nominators during its limited Broadway owing to limited ticket availability.
The New York Theatre Guide was on hand to greet all of the winners (in attendance) and we'd like to share with you our celebratory photos along with the full list of this year's winners below...
The 2019 Winners (and Nominees) by category are:
Outstanding Play
Fairview, by Jackie Sibblies Drury, Soho Rep
The Ferryman, by Jez Butterworth - WINNER!!!
Lewiston/Clarkston, by Samuel D. Hunter, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
Usual Girls, by Ming Peiffer, Roundabout Theatre Company
What the Constitution Means to Me, by Heidi Schreck, New York Theatre Workshop and Broadway
Outstanding Musical
The Hello Girls, Prospect Theater Company
The Prom - WINNER!!!
Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future, Ars Nova
Outstanding Revival of a Play
Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine, Signature Theatre
Henry VI: Shakespeare's Trilogy in Two Parts, National Asian American Theatre Company
Our Lady of 121st Street, Signature Theatre
Summer and Smoke, Classic Stage Company/Transport Group
The Waverly Gallery - WINNER!!!
Uncle Vanya, Hunter Theater Project
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Carmen Jones, Classic Stage Company
Fiddler on the Roof, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and Off-Broadway - WINNER!!!
Kiss Me, Kate, Roundabout Theatre Company
Merrily We Roll Along, Fiasco Theater/Roundabout Theatre Company
Oklahoma!, Bard Summerscape/St. Ann's Warehouse and Broadway
Outstanding Actor in a Play
Jeff Biehl, Life Sucks
Edmund Donovan, Lewiston/Clarkston
Raúl Esparza, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Russell Harvard, I Was Most Alive With You
Jay O. Sanders, Uncle Vanya - WINNER!!!
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Midori Francis, Usual Girls
Zainab Jah, Boesman and Lena
Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery - WINNER!!!
Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Damon Daunno, Oklahoma!
Santino Fontana, Tootsie - WINNER!!!
Steven Skybell, Fiddler on the Roof
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show - WINNER!!!
Beth Leavel, The Prom
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Oklahoma!
Anika Noni Rose, Carmen Jones
Stacey Sargeant, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Charles Browning, Fairview
Arnie Burton, Lewiston/Clarkston
Hampton Fluker, All My Sons
Tom Glynn-Carney, The Ferryman - WINNER!!!
Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Harriett D. Foy, The House That Will Not Stand
Megan Hill, Eddie and Dave
Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill A Mockingbird - WINNER!!!
Alison Wright, Othello
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
André De Shields, Hadestown - WINNER!!!
Sydney James Harcourt, Girl from the North Country
George Salazar, Be More Chill
Patrick Vaill, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Stephanie Hsu, Be More Chill
Leslie Kritzer, Beetlejuice
Soara-Joye Ross, Carmen Jones
Sarah Stiles, Tootsie
Ali Stroker, Oklahoma! - WINNER!!!
Mary Testa, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Director of a Play
Sarah Benson, Fairview
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, The Jungle
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman - WINNER!!!
Tyne Rafaeli, Usual Girls
Taylor Reynolds, Plano
Jeff Wise, Life Sucks
Outstanding Director of a Musical
Noah Brody, Merrily We Roll Along
Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown - WINNER!!!
Scott Ellis, Tootsie
Daniel Fish, Oklahoma!
Joel Grey, Fiddler on the Roof
Outstanding Choreography presented by LaDuca Dance Shoes
Camille A. Brown, Choir Boy
Warren Carlyle, Kiss Me, Kate - WINNER!!!
Denis Jones, Tootsie
Lorin Latarro, Twelfth Night
Rick and Jeff Kuperman, Alice by Heart
David Neumann, Hadestown
Outstanding Music presented by Music Theatre International
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Joe Iconis, Be More Chill
Peter Mills, The Hello Girls
Mark Sonnenblick, Midnight at the Never Get
Shaina Taub, Twelfth Night
David Yazbek, Tootsie - WINNER!!!
Outstanding Lyrics presented by Music Theatre International
Chad Beguelin, The Prom
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Joe Iconis, Be More Chill
Peter Mills, The Hello Girls
David Yazbek, Tootsie - WINNER!!!
Outstanding Book of a Musical presented by Music Theatre International
Scott Brown and Anthony King, Beetlejuice
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Robert Horn, Tootsie - WINNER!!!
Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, The Prom
Dominique Morisseau, Ain't Too Proud
Outstanding Orchestrations
Larry Blank, Fiddler on the Roof
Simon Hale, Girl from the North Country
Daniel Kluger, Oklahoma! - WINNER!!!
Charlie Rosen, Be More Chill
Daryl Waters, The Cher Show
Outstanding Music in a Play
Paul Castles and Jongbin Jung, Wild Goose Dreams
Justin Ellington, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie
Justin Ellington, The House That Will Not Stand
Nick Powell, The Lehman Trilogy
Jason Michael Webb and Fitz Patton, Choir Boy - WINNER!!!
Outstanding Set Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, The Jungle
Es Devlin, Girls & Boys
Maruti Evans, The Peculiar Patriot
Mimi Lien, Fairview
Matt Saunders, "Daddy" - WINNER!!!
Outstanding Set Design for a Musical presented by Hudson Scenic
Rachel Hauck, Hadestown
Laura Jellinek, Oklahoma!
Laura Jellinek, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
David Korins, Beetlejuice - WINNER!!!
Rae Smith, Girl from the North Country
Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Dede M. Ayite, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Dede M. Ayite, If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka
Ãsta Bennie Hostetter, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie
Toni-Leslie James, Bernhardt/Hamlet - WINNER!!!
Nicole Slaven, Henry VI: Shakespeare's Trilogy in Two Parts
Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
William Ivey Long, Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long, Tootsie
Bobby Frederick Tilly II, Be More Chill
Michael Krass, Hadestown
Bob Mackie, The Cher Show - WINNER!!!
Paloma Young, Alice by Heart
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Amith Chandrashaker, Boesman and Lena - WINNER!!!
Amith Chandrashaker, Fairview
Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Jungle
Simon Cleveland, Spaceman
Yi Zhao, The House That Will Not Stand
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical presented by Production Resource Group
Adam Honoré, Carmen Jones
Bradley King, Hadestown - WINNER!!!
Jamie Roderick, Midnight at the Never Get
Barbara Samuels, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Scott Zielinski, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Projection Design
Peter England, King Kong - WINNER!!!
Katherine Freer, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy
Alex Basco Koch, Be More Chill
Peter Nigrini, Beetlejuice
Joshua Thorson, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Tyler Kieffer, Plano
Fitz Patton, Choir Boy
Nick Powell, The Ferryman - WINNER!!!
Jane Shaw, I Was Most Alive with You
Mikaal Sulaiman, Fairview
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Simon Baker, Girl from the North Country
Drew Levy, Oklahoma!
Brian Ronan, Tootsie
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown - WINNER!!!
Mikaal Sulaiman, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Outstanding Wig and Hair Design
Campbell Young Associates, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Cookie Jordan, Eddie and Dave
Paul Huntley, Tootsie
Charles G. LaPointe, Beetlejuice
Charles G. LaPointe, The Cher Show - WINNER!!!
Outstanding Solo Performance
Mike Birbiglia, The New One - WINNER!!!
Carey Mulligan, Girls & Boys
Liza Jessie Peterson, The Peculiar Patriot, National Black Theatre/Hi-Arts
Erin Treadway, Spaceman, Loading Dock Theatre
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Unique Theatrical Experience
All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, Theater Latté Da/Laura Little Theatrical Productions/The Sheen Center - WINNER!!!
Love's Labor's Lost, Shake & Bake
The B-Side: "Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons," The Wooster Group
What to Send Up When It Goes Down, The Movement Theatre Company
Outstanding Fight Choreography
U. Jonathan Toppo, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Claire Warden, "Daddy"
Claire Warden, Slave Play - WINNER!!!
Outstanding Puppet Design
Michael Curry, Beetlejuice
Sonny Tilders, King Kong - WINNER!!!
Tschabalala Self, "Daddy"
SPECIAL AWARDS
- Ensemble Award: To the uncanny ensemble of Dance Nation for their pointed portrait of a dance troupe driven by competition but fused by the experiences of youth: Purva Bedi, Eboni Booth, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Dina Shihabi, Ellen Maddow, Christina Rouner, Thomas Jay Ryan, Lucy Taylor, and Ikechukwu Ufomadu.
- Sam Norkin Award: To Montana Levi Blanco, who enriched this season with his vibrant and detailed costumes for Fairview, The House That Will Not Stand, Fabulation, Or the Re-Education of Undine, Eddie and Dave, "Daddy", and Ain't No Mo'. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a Blanco costume is worth considerably more, telling us a complete story about its wearer while giving us something fabulous to look at.
- To Mia Katigbak, the backbone of the Off-Broadway scene, we acclaim her for her performances this season in Henry VI: Shakespeare's Trilogy in Two Parts, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Peace for Mary Francisand Recent Alien Abductions. This award also recognizes her vital presence as the artistic director of NAATCOand her sustained excellence as a performer and mentor.
- To Repertorio Español for presenting a year-round rotating repertory of new and classic Spanish-language plays in its intimate Gramercy venue. For the past 51 years, Repertorio has been an indispensable theater for Spanish-speaking audiences, while inviting non-Spanish-speaking theatergoers to discover the delights of the Spanish-language canon and introducing New York audiences to the work of actors like Zulema Clares and Germán Jaramillo.
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.
(Photos by Shoshana Medney)
Originally published on