The 68th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be presented on Monday, June 10, 2024.
The Drama Desk Awards are the only major New York City theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories.
To be eligible for consideration for Drama Desk Awards this season, productions must open no later than Thursday, April 25, 2024. The nominations will be announced on Monday, April 29. Details and venues will be announced in the coming months.
As was the case last year, all performance categories will be gender-neutral and they are: Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play, Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical.
Each of these categories has twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories and voters will cast two votes for each category. These categories will also have two winners each. If there is a tie, there may be more than two winners in a category.
Staci Levine will produce this year’s ceremony, as she did last year.
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Wig and Hair Design goes to Nikiya Mathis, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Manhattan Theatre Club #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Puppetry goes to Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman, and Camille Labarre, Water for Elephants #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Unique Theatrical Experience goes to Grenfell: in the words of survivors, St. Ann’s Warehouse, National Theatre, and KPPL Productions #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Solo Performance goes to Patrick Page, All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Costume Design of a Play goes to Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical goes to Paul Tazewell, Suffs #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play goes to David Zinn, Stereophonic, Playwrights Horizons #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical goes to Paul Tate dePoo III, The Great Gatsby #DramaDeskAwards
The 2024 Drama Desk for Outstanding Revue goes to Amid Falling Walls, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene #DramaDeskAwards
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play Jessica Lange, Mother Play Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
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
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Outstanding Direction of a Play Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Outstanding Direction of a Musical Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
Outstanding Choreography Justin Peck, Illinoise
Outstanding Music Shaina Taub, Suffs
Outstanding Lyrics David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw
Outstanding Book of a Musical Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw
Outstanding Orchestrations Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club
Outstanding Music in a Play Will Butler, Stereophonic
Dreamboy3 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "I feel a bit more confident now that Kara Young will win featured actress in a play over Pidgeon."
She wasn’t competing against Pigeon. The entire cast of Stereophonic got an award and weren’t individually nominated."
Young also bested Pidgeon at the OCCs and has the potential "third time's a charm" narrative, as she just became the first Black performer to garner a nomination in 3 straight years.
EDSOSLO858 said: "Dreamboy3 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "I feel a bit more confident now that Kara Young will win featured actress in a play over Pidgeon."
She wasn’t competing against Pigeon. The entire cast of Stereophonic got an award and weren’t individually nominated."
Young also bestedPidgeon at the OCCs and has the potential "third time's a charm" narrative, as she just became the first Black performer to garner a nominationin 3 straight years."
She was great. So was Sarah Pigeon. But my point was that the outcome of the Drama Desk award has no bearing on the outcome of the Tony Award because they weren’t up against each other.
I know the the Drama Desks are not a reliable precursor but this just makes me think Best Musical continues to be wide open. Suffs won Music (and costumes?), Hells Kitchen won Lead, Illinoise won Choreography, Water For Elephants won Direction. None of them won Musical. It's still anyone's game.
CoffeeBreak said: "Shocked Stone won Direction. The choreography/movement/circus of the show is the star. The direction is weak on Elephants. That should have gone to Taymor or Cromer.
The DD always have some odd nominations and a few odd wins. Stone being one.
Jessica Stone also won the Outer Critics Circle award this season for Direction of a Musical -- I would hardly call her Drama Desk win odd.
It's a musical with a middling book and score. The only reason the whole comes together nearly as well as it does is due to the direction, her vision pulling together the acrobatics, the choreography, and the stage elements to keep the whole thing afloat. I know Stone's unlikely to beat Friedman at the Tonys, but I would love to see it happen, and it's great that multiple groups have recognized her.
blaxx said: "I don't really remember these awards having multiple ties in different categories, especially three way ties, is that common?"
I think since the categories are not gender specific, they choose two winners from the nominees. In the case of three winners, I would assume there's a tie. Interesting to note that Brian is the only male-identifying actor to win a performance award.
I know the acting categories are non-gender specific, but I see no point in having two winners. If one winner gets more than 90% of votes, the runner-up still gets an award?
bwaylyric said: "I know the acting categories are non-gender specific, but I see no point in having two winners. If one winner gets more than 90% of votes, the runner-up still gets an award?"
I really hate the two winner thing too. I don't care if it's divided up by gender or not but a division of some sort is so much better than two winners in a category. Just my personal opinion. I hope the Tonys don't go in this direction.
bwaylyric said: "I know the acting categories are non-gender specific, but I see no point in having two winners. If one winner gets more than 90% of votes, the runner-up still gets an award?"
I think one category should only have multiple winners if it was either a team effort or a tie.
I've heard they're tied up in a bit of red tape with Audible for the Broadway transfer, so that's been an ongoing process. I do hope that if it transfers to Broadway they restage some of it because it did feel a bit like it was staged with the end goal of it being an audio musical.
Voter said: "So I guess Dead Outlaw is transferring? 2026 season?"
Take with a grain of salt but based on what I've heard - Sonia Friedman and Lia Vollak (MJ) have picked up DEAD OUTLAW and very much want to get it to Broadway THIS season in a sub-1100-seat house.
I have mixed feelings about a potential Dead Outlaw transfer but trust Cromer and company can make this work. I'd hate for this to go the way of a Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.
Updated On: 6/11/24 at 11:59 AM