The 2024 Awards season is nearly over. Tonight Broadway legends Sutton Foster and Aaron Tveit hosted the 68th Annual Drama Desk Awards at the NYU Skirball Center, celebrating not only the great work happening on the Great White Way, but also that Off- and Off-Off Broadway.
It’s our second favorite night of the year (can’t wait for the Tony’s this weekend!!!) and is always so much fun. This year, the big winners were really spread amongst the musicals, with Off-Broadway musicals nabbing this year’s big prizes. The other big surprise came in a nearly all-female sweep of this year’s performance awards. Never have the Drama Desk Awards helped us so little with our Tony guesses…
See the total winners per musical for the full 2024 awards season here, and be sure follow us on the socials for fun as we live update during the Tony Awards on Sunday. Will they be as torn between this year’s musicals?
Here are the full list of Drama Desk nominees with winners marked as the stars they are.
Outstanding Play
Stereophonic
Infinite Life
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Mother Play
Swing State
The Ally
Outstanding Musical
Dead Outlaw
Illinoise
Lizard Boy
Teeth
The Connector
The Outsiders
Outstanding Revival of a Play
Appropriate
Doubt
Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Purlie Victorious
Uncle Vanya
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
Cabaret
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play
Jessica Lange, Mother Play
Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
Nicole Cooper, Macbeth (an undoing)
William Jackson Harper, Primary Trust
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
Tobias Menzies, The Hunt
Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious
A.J. Shively, Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Juliet Stevenson, The Doctor
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical
Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses
Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Santino Fontana, I Can Get It for You Wholesale
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
Liam Pearce, How to Dance in Ohio
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret
Ben Levi Ross, The Connector
Ricky Ubeda, Illinoise
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play
Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play
Kara Young, Purlie Victorious
Brittany Adebumola, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Marylouise Burke, Infinite Life
Michael Esper, Appropriate
Marin Ireland, Uncle Vanya
Will Keen, Patriots
Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!
Sheila Tousey, Manahatta
Bubba Weiler, Swing State
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical
Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen
Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret
Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Spamalot
Steven Pasquale, Teeth
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Thom Sesma, Dead Outlaw
Emily Skinner, Suffs
Outstanding Direction of a Play
Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Rupert Goold, The Hunt
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
Ciarán O’Reilly, Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Rebecca Frecknall, Cabaret
Daisy Prince, The Connector
Danya Taymor, The Outsiders
Outstanding Choreography
Justin Peck, Illinoise
Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
Graciela Daniele and Alex Sanchez, The Gardens of Anuncia
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
Lorin Latarro, The Heart of Rock and Roll
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants
Outstanding Music
Shaina Taub, Suffs
Jason Robert Brown, The Connector
Justin Huertas, Lizard Boy
Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw
Outstanding Lyrics
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw
Rachel Bloom, Eli Bolin, and Jack Dolgen, Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Show
Jason Robert Brown, The Connector
Michael R. Jackson, Teeth
Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw
Justin Huertas, Lizard Boy
Michael R. Jackson, Teeth
Michael John LaChiusa, The Gardens of Anuncia
Rebekah Greer Melocik, How to Dance in Ohio
Outstanding Orchestrations
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Timo Andres, Illinoise
Andy Evan Cohen, The Greatest Hits Down Route 66
Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club
Erik Della Penna, Dean Sharenow, and David Yazbek, Dead Outlaw
Michael Starobin, Shaina Taub, and Andrea Grody, Suffs
Outstanding Music in a Play
Will Butler, Stereophonic
Michael “Mikey J” Asante, The Effect
S T A R R Busby and JJJJJerome Ellis, (pray)
Dionne McClain-Freeney, The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents The 84th Annual Star-Burst Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel
Ben Steinfeld, Pericles
Outstanding Revue
Amid Falling Walls
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play
David Zinn, Stereophonic
Es Devlin, The Hunt
dots, Appropriate
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious
Scott Pask, Grey House
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical
Paul Tate dePoo III, The Great Gatsby
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
Riccardo Hernández, Suffs
Arnulfo Maldonado, Dead Outlaw
Grace Smart, Good Vibrations: A Punk Rock Musical
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play
Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic
Alex Berry, Macbeth (an undoing)
Karen Boyer, Warrior Sisters of Wu
Lux Haac, Manahatta
Rodrigo Muñoz, Sally & Tom
Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical
Paul Tazewell, Suffs
Dede Ayite, Buena Vista Social Club
Márion Talán de la Rosa, The Connector
Loren Elstein, Once Upon a One More Time
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play
Jane Cox, Appropriate
Stacey Derosier, Uncle Vanya
Natasha Katz, Grey House
Lizzie Powell, Macbeth (an undoing)
Eric Southern, Swing State
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders
Lap Chi Chu, Suffs
Heather Gilbert, Dead Outlaw
Bradley King, Water for Elephants
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, The Connector
Outstanding Projection and Video Design
Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen
Eric Dunlap, Our Class
Jared Mezzocchi, Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy
Olivia Sebesky, Melissa Etheridge: My Window
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, The Connector
Outstanding Sound Design of a Play
Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic
Adam Cork, The Hunt
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Palmer Hefferan, The Comeuppance
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical
Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret
Cody Spencer, The Outsiders
Walter Trarbach, Water for Elephants
Jason Crystal, Suffs
Kai Harada and Joshua Millican, Dead Outlaw
Outstanding Wig and Hair
Nikiya Mathis, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
J. Jared Janas and Cassie Williams, Sally & Tom
Charles G. LaPointe, Suffs
Nikiya Mathis, The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents The 84th Annual Star-Burst Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel
Robert Pickens and Katie Gell, Stereophonic
Outstanding Solo Performance
Patrick Page, All the Devils Are Here
Michael Cruz Kayne, Sorry for Your Loss
Madeleine MacMahon, Breathless
Wade McCollum, Make Me Gorgeous!
Robert Montano, SMALL
Unique Theatrical Experience
Grenfell: in the words of survivors
A Eulogy for Roman
A Simulacrum
ADRIFT: A Medieval Wayward Folly
I Love You So Much I Could Die
Outstanding Fight Choreography
Cha Ramos, Water for Elephants
Michael G. Chin, Warrior Sisters of Wu
Steve Rankin, The Who’s Tommy
Outstanding Adaptation
An Enemy of the People by Amy Herzog
Macbeth (an undoing) by Zinnie Harris
The Comedy of Errors by Rebecca Martínez and Julián Mesri
The Doctor by Robert Icke
The Hunt by David Farr
The Whole of Time by Romina Paula
Outstanding Puppetry
Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille Labarre, Water for Elephants
Matt Acheson, Hotel Happy
Adrian Kohler and Handspring Puppet Company, Life & Times of Michael K
David Valentine, Poor Yella Rednecks
Special Awards
The How to Dance in Ohio Authentic Autistic Representation Team
Lighting designer Isabella Byrd
Publicist Irene Gandy
Ensemble Award
The cast of Stereophonic
Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award
Cole Escola
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