May 16, 2022 – The Guild congratulates all of the writers nominated for the 66th Annual Drama Desk Awards.
In keeping with the Drama Desk’s mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off Broadway during the 2021-2022 New York theatre season, that the Drama Desk determined ended as of May 1, 2022. Only live performances were eligible; if performances were also available for streaming, 21 or more unique live performances were required.
Due to the realities of COVID, the 2022 Drama Desk Awards ceremony will be different this year. Winners will be announced the week of June 6. The Awards will be presented during an abbreviated ceremony at Sardi’s (234 West 44th Street) on Tuesday, June 14 from 3:00 – 6:00PM.
Current DG members are indicated with an asterisk.
2022 DRAMA DESK NOMINATIONS:
OUTSTANDING PLAY
Cullud Wattah by Erika Dickerson-Despenza*, The Public Theater
English by Sanaz Toossi, Atlantic Theater Company
Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon*, Manhattan Theatre Club
Sanctuary City by Martyna Majok*, New York Theatre Workshop
Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury*, Playwrights Horizons
The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh*, The Public Theater
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL
Harmony, music and lyrics by Barry Manilow, book by Bruce Sussman*, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Intimate Apparel, music by Ricky Ian Gordon, libretto by Lynn Nottage*, Lincoln Center Theater
Kimberly Akimbo, book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire*, music by Jeanine Tesori*, Atlantic Theater Company
Six, book, music, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
The Hang, book and lyrics by Taylor Mac*, music by Matt Ray, HERE Arts Center
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange*
How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel*, Manhattan Theatre Club
Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Manhattan Theatre Club
Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau, Manhattan Theatre Club
Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, Roundabout Theatre Company
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith, Signature Theatre Company
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Assassins music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim*, book by John Weidman*, Classic Stage Company
Baby, music by David Shire*, lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr.*, book by Sybille Pearson*, based on a story developed with Susan Yankowitz*, Out of the Box Theatrics
Caroline, or Change book and lyrics by Tony Kushner*, music by Jeanine Tesori*, Roundabout Theatre Company
Company, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim*, book by George Furth
OUTSTANDING MUSIC
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
Jason Howland, Paradise Square
Matt Ray, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
Carrie Rodriguez, ¡Americano!
Jeanine Tesori*, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
OUTSTANDING LYRICS
Amanda Green*, Mr. Saturday Night
Taylor Mac*, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
David Lindsay-Abaire*, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Lynn Nottage*, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Shaina Taub*, Suffs, The Public Theater
OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel, Mr. Saturday Night
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
Lynn Nottage*, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Bruce Sussman*, Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
OUTSTANDING MUSIC IN A PLAY
Te’La and Kamauu, Thoughts of a Colored Man
Bill Sims Jr., Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theatre Club
Michael Thurber and Farai Malianga (drum compositions), Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
(Ed. Note: We acknowledge these performers also wrote these shows. Congratulations!)
Alex Edelman, Just for Us, Cherry Lane Theatre
Arturo Luís Soria, Ni Mi Madre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theatre Workshop
UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
Seven Deadly Sins, by Ngozi Anyanwu, Thomas Bradshaw, MJ Kaufman*, Moisés Kaufman*, Jeffrey Lahoste*, Ming Peiffer, and Bess Wohl*, Tectonic Theater Project & Madison Wells Live
OUTSTANDING ADAPTATION
Merry Wives, by Jocelyn Bioh*, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
The Alchemist, by Jeffrey Hatcher*, Red Bull Theater
HAROLD S. PRINCE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
In four decades as playwright, novelist, actor, and director, Alice Childress (1912-1994) challenged racism with engrossing stories and memorable characters. After an initial run off-Broadway, a New York producer demanded revisions to soften the impact of Trouble in Mind prior to its Broadway debut. Childress withdrew the script. Sixty-five years later, the Drama Desk celebrates the long-delayed Broadway premiere of this timeless masterpiece and salutes Childress as a towering figure in contemporary theatre history.
ADDITIONAL SPECIAL AWARD
With the category-defying Oratorio for Living Things, Heather Christian aims to encompass all human existence in a single inventive and startlingly beautiful work. In times of pandemic, war, and social upheaval, Christian’s work (directed by Lee Sunday Evans and brought to life by a superb cast and creative team) is an awe-inspiring reminder that, even in the darkest times, there will always be artistic peaks to scale.
The Drama Desk Awards are produced by Tony Award winner Scott Mauro/Scott Mauro Entertainment and the show is being written by six-time Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch.
In determining eligibility of the Broadway productions of A Strange Loop, for colored girls..., Hangmen, Is This a Room, Skeleton Crew, and The Lehman Trilogy which had recent off-Broadway runs in previous seasons, the nominating committee considered only those elements that constituted new work.
Additional productions on and off-Broadway not eligible as they were considered in their entirety in prior seasons included Beyond Babel, Coal Country, Dana H., Get on Your Knees, Girl from the North Country, The Patsy, and What to Send Up When It Goes Down.
Trouble in Mind was considered a revival due to its Drama Desk-eligible 1955 off-Broadway production.
The 2021-2022 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is composed of: Martha Wade Steketee (Chair; freelance, UrbanExcavations.com), Peter Filichia (Broadway Radio), Kenji Fujishima (freelance: TheaterMania), Juan Michael Porter II (TheBody.com; freelance: TDF Stages, Did They Like It?, New York Theatre Guide, Queerty), Ayanna Prescod (freelance: Variety, New York Theatre Guide, Today Tix), Zachary Stewart (TheaterMania), and Diep Tran (freelance: Backstage, American Theatre, Broadway News, New York Theatre Guide).