2023 Drama Desk Nominees- Page 2

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:10pm

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. 

[raddersons]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:11pm

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

[bear88]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:17pm

I’m not sure how much the Drama Desk nominees are precursors for the Tonys, but there were only three lead actors in Broadway musicals nominated - Ghee, Burnap and Durand. And I’m not sure that Durand’s Beau in Shucked is a lead role. I would be very surprised if Groban and Platt are not nominated.

Shucked was nominated in almost every category in which it was eligible.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:19pm

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

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:24pm

bear88 said: "I’m not sure how much the Drama Desk nominees are precursors for the Tonys, but there were only three lead actors in Broadway musicals nominated - Ghee, Burnap and Durand. And I’m not sure that Durand’s Beau inShuckedis a lead role. I would be very surprised if Groban and Platt are not nominated.

Shuckedwas nominated in almost every category in which it was eligible."

They are not precursors for the Tonys. There really aren't any precursors for the Tonys; each awards body will do what it wants. There's zero overlap with the Tony nominating committee, which is comprised of people working in the industry, not journalists who cover it.

The DD nominating committee is as follows. Slightly more reputable group than the OCCs (and certainly more reputable than the Drama League), but not much. As with the OCCs, several of these people are not working critics, they are journalists.

Martha Wade Steketee (Chair; freelance: UrbanExcavations.com)
Linda Armstrong (New York Amsterdam News)
Daniel Dinero (Theatre is Easy)
Peter Filichia (Broadway Radio)
Kenji Fujishima (freelance: Theatermania)
Margaret Hall (Playbill)
Charles Wright (ex officio)

Updated On: 4/27/23 at 01:24 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:30pm

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)

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:30pm

There is a case to be made (MAYBE) that Mary & Charley are supporting to Franklin, but you can’t say that Mary is a lead and Charley is not.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:32pm

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. 

[yyys]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:36pm

I'm sure orchestrations for Sweeney Todd is way better than Some Like it Hot...

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:37pm

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

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:41pm

yyys said: "I'm sure orchestrations for Sweeney Todd is way better than Some Like it Hot..."

Well Jonathan Tunick's work on SWEENEY is among the best orchestration ever composed for the American theatre. It is also, rightly, ineligible since it was done in 1979.

SOME LIKE IT HOT is a fabulous pastiche of 1940s big band orchestration that Tunick himself would probably get great joy from.

Updated On: 4/27/23 at 01:41 PM

[Lola Getz2]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:55pm

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. 

 

[heybaby]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 1:58pm

The lack of DOWNSTATE love is... random. But otherwise some very fun nominees. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 2:26pm

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

[clearastheday]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 3:10pm

Interesting choice to go with Uzele over Soo for Best Leading Performance.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 3:34pm

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.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 3:39pm

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.

[ChorusKitty]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 3:47pm

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.  

 

 

 

 

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 3:49pm

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.

[ChorusKitty]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 4:05pm

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. 

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 4:07pm

Re: Platt and Groban. I think the point made above by Waymond is very important to consider with this group. It is only about 7 people deciding nominations. While it is commendable that these folks try to see truly everything in NY theater in a given season, the extremely small pool of voters allows for individualistic tastes to shine through. That Platt was snubbed for his acclaimed turn in Parade AND also for dear Evan Hansen, by the Drama Desk simply means there's a few people out of those 7 voters who don't care for him. 

Platt and Groban will be fine at the Tonys

 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 4:07pm

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.

[BJR]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 6:08pm

I think Ghee has a good shot. I think them and/or Newell winning is likely, with the community wanting to celebrate not only their talent and performance, but opening support the type of performers being attacked politically.

Though neither was nominated here, I've long had a hunch director of a musical for the Tonys will be Arden, or possibly Lear.

[bdn223]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 6:11pm

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.

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/27/23 at 6:34pm

No Arden is ridic.