2023 Drama Desk Nominees — Page 2

Drama desk awards are such clowns. Barely any recognition for Downstate or Wolf Play. None for Bright New Boise. What the hell.

I’m thrilled that Jennifer Weber got nominated for KPOP and not for & Juliet.

Wolf Play was eligible last year so only the new elements were considered this year. But also, was Twelfth Night not eligible last year, since I believe Kara Young did that production too?

Having Daniel Radcliffe as a featured performance, kind of makes sense compared to the other two but still feels a bit like category fraud. Happy for all the Between the Lines love, and I'm also excited that Jennifer Weber got the nomination for KPOP over & Juliet (I thought both were great choreo, but KPOP was just on a different level). It's a nice nod to Adam Schlesinger for The Bedwetter but I can't say the songs in that show were particularly notable to me, lyrics or otherwise. Having Plays for the Plague Year compete in the "Music in a Play" category also feels kind of strange, but I guess it's not a full musical either.

Also pleasantly surprised to see Kennedy Kanagawa get a nom for puppetry! Is it just because it's a solo puppet? I feel like the puppeteers usually don't get mentioned in the nominations (Wolf Play didn't last year)

I'm also surprised Christian Borle hasn't been nominated for anything so far. I thought he was really great in Some Like It Hot and he and J. Harrison Ghee have great chemistry together.

I'm THRILLED that Kennedy Kanagawa was recognized alongside the puppet designer for Into the Woods, it was really a delightful performance and I hope this is the start of a wonderful career for him.

Very happy to see the love for White Girl and Tarra Conner Jones, who also received a Drama League nomination this week.

EDSOSLO858 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "SOME LIKE IT HOT got nominated for Best Lyrics and Best Orchestrations but NOT Best Music?? Make it make sense!"

I actually thought the lyrics were stronger than the music here. Wittman was on top of his game."

I agree. The music is really a poor pastiche, enjoyable, but not anything too original. We have heard these songs before.

Really surprised no Groban or Platt.

Every awards group has its idiosyncrasies. The Drama Desk has but only 7-8 nominators, so their individual likes or dislikes are a significant factor in affecting the results. Among the performers who were snubbed for a Drama Desk nomination but would go on to win a Tony include: Kelli O'Hara (''The King and I'' ), Ben Platt (''Dear Evan Hansen'' ) and Aaron Tveit (''Moulin Rouge!'' ).

I imagine the Tony nominations will look quite different, and not just because they're limited to Broadway and have gendered categories. The Tony nominations will draw on a broader consensus from about 40 nominators. ... I recall when the Drama Desk showered ''9 to 5" with a record-breaking 15 nominations, and the Tonys only gave them 4 nominations and snubbed it for Best Musical. The Drama Desk gave ''A Catered Affair'' 12 nominations, more than any other that 2007-08 season, but the Tonys gave it only 3 and snubbed it for Best Musical. Etc., etc.

Updated On: 4/27/23 at 02:26 PM

I think we say that year after year after ''no precursors'', but Harrison Ghee and Newell being the only contenders to Actor and Featured Actor to get nominations at Drama League, Outer Critics and Drama Desk when people are saying around these boards that they are the favorites for their categories is telling something. They have buzz.

Clark and Milligan being ineligible to these awards really make their categories difficult to predict tho, as well as other ''Kimberly Akimbo'' nominations.

Wayman_Wong said:

"I imagine the Tony nominations will look quite different, and not just because they're limited to Broadway and have gendered categories. The Tony nominations will draw on a broader consensus from about 40 nominators. ... I recall when the Drama Desk showered ''9 to 5" with a record-breaking 15 nominations, and the Tonys only gave them 4 nominations and snubbed it for Best Musical. The Drama Desk gave ''A Catered Affair'' 12 nominations, more than any other that 2007-08 season, but the Tonys gave it only 3 and snubbed it for Best Musical. Etc., etc."

LOL I totally suppressed the Drama Desk love fest for "9 to 5." Probably because even with a competent cast, I basically forgot that whole show 5 minutes after sitting through it.

Despite the (imo) surprising total of "Shucked" nods today, I think it will have a better fate than "9 to 5" or "A Catered Affair" with the Tony committee though.

I don't know that we can read the tea leaves of what the Tony nominating committee will do. I wouldn't have thought "Ohio State Murders" would trump "Leopoldstat" for example.

Even if Groban and/or Platt miss a Tony nod, they are both playing to packed, adoring audiences which will lessen the sting, I'd wager.

MadsonMelo said: "chrishuyen said: "To be fair, Jaquel Spivey won both OCC and Drama Desk (as well as getting nominated for Drama League), only to lose the Tony to Myles Frost last year. So definitely I'd say Ghee and Newell are frontrunners in their respective categories, but by no means is that a lock to win."

Sure, but Myles Frost was also nominated for OCC, Drama Desk, Drama League AND Chita Rivera. That was always a two-way race that Myles won in the end, but he didn't came out of nowhere.

The lack of love for both Platt and Groban is telling, especially when their female co-stars got the nom, meaning that their shows were not actually not liked at all, but their performances in special."

Good point! For some reason I thought Myles Frost didn't get Drama League. I'm still a bit surprised at how much attention Anna Uzele is getting, like she was quite good in her role, but I don't know if I'd call her performance that outstanding.

chrishuyen said: "MadsonMelo said: "chrishuyen said: "To be fair, Jaquel Spivey won both OCC and Drama Desk (as well as getting nominated for Drama League), only to lose the Tony to Myles Frost last year. So definitely I'd say Ghee and Newell are frontrunners in their respective categories, but by no means is that a lock to win."

Sure, but Myles Frost was also nominated for OCC, Drama Desk, Drama League AND Chita Rivera. That was always a two-way race that Myles won in the end, but he didn't came out of nowhere.

The lack of love for both Platt and Groban is telling, especially when their female co-stars got the nom, meaning that their shows were not actually not liked at all, but their performances in special."

Good point! For some reason I thought Myles Frost didn't get Drama League. I'm still a bit surprised at how much attention Anna Uzele is getting, like she was quite good in her role, but I don't know if I'd call her performance that outstanding."

Also remember Spivey was out sick for several performances during awards season and many voters simply decided to not reschedule their tickets and not vote in the Lead Actor in a Musical category because of it.