Drama Desk Nominations ‘24- Page 2

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:34pm

Michael R. Jackson issued a correction on Twitter, pointing out he should not be the sole nominee for Outstanding Book for Teeth and should share the nomination with Anna K. Jacobs.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:35pm

I hope this is a slam dunk for Jaja's African Hair Braiding in the Wig and Hair category. Wish they could share in a costume nomination at the Tonys since the hair was integral to the storytelling and also quite magical to have pulled off in full view of the audience.

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:38pm

Given only Suffs' new elements were eligible, I take their slate of nominations as a huge accomplishment.  It would seem they pretty much got in everywhere they could.  I'm curious what the ruling was for text eligibility since music was nominated.  Wonder if it was also eligible in book and lyrics. 

Happy to see The Outsiders nominations - especially direction and choreography.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:41pm

MemorableUserName said: I noticed in TimeOut's (fake) "TONY" nominations they cited Esper in Featured Actor in a Play instead of Stoll. Now the Drama Desk nominations have done the same. Stoll still seems more likely for the Tony nod...or maybe not?

yyys said: "Esper is the better actor in that play so it makes sense.

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Corey Stoll is a great actor, but IMO he has one of the least interesting role inAppropriate.Esper has much more of an awards-bait kind of part I think.
 

I haven't seen Appropriate yet. I just found it interesting because most of the predictors have been saying Stoll and almost no one mentioned Esper. (kurtal was the only one in the predictions thread who did.) I also checked GoldDerby's predictions and none of the Editors or users have Esper predicted, while most have Stoll. One of the Experts has Esper; none of the others do. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Updated On: 4/29/24 at 12:41 PM

[FLarnhill]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:42pm

Kad said: "FLarnhill said: "The Other One said: "I am surprised by the lack of nominations for Jeremy Strong and An Enemy of the People."

Shameful but it doesn't matter. That Tony nom is still more than guaranteed."

"Shameful" is a little melodramatic. The Drama Desks are idiosyncratic and cast a much, much wider net in the productions they honor. A blockbuster revival and its celebrity star may not have gotten in, but a host of much smaller, less widely seen, and less heralded artists did instead."

In what world is Jeremy Strong considered a "celebrity"? Do paps follow him? Do his movies end up #1 on the box office? Does he have a million views on some platform? 
 

And "much smaller, less widely seen, and less heralded artists" like Leslie Odom Jr and Brian D'Arcy James?

[Bobster159]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:48pm

I can't make heads or tails of these, but Suffs seems to have done wildly well if it wasn't even eligible in some categories (though the whys or wherefores of that are beyond me). I'm a big fan of it, but the suggestion it has one of the best three scenic designs of new Broadway musicals (along with Outsiders & Gatsby) seems a bit generous. I'm glad the sound design got a nod, though; I feel like that aspect has been underpraised.

Otherwise, the continued praise for The Connector confuses me, but I love that Dead Outlaw is getting its time to shine. Not sure Broadway makes sense but it should have a longer life somewhere.

[scripps]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:50pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "11 nominations for Dead Outlaw and 8 forThe Connector."

Love to see it. Release that Dead Outlaw album sooner than later, please.

 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:53pm

kidmanboy said: "Given only Suffs' new elements were eligible, I take their slate of nominations as a huge accomplishment. It would seem they pretty much got in everywhere they could. I'm curious what the ruling was for text eligibility since music was nominated. Wonder if it was also eligible in book and lyrics."

I looked up last year's Drama Desk nominations, and Suffs wasn't nominated for anything. So it really was shut out of most of the major categories.

This year, maybe the Tonys should do what the Pulitzer Prizes sometimes do for the Drama category and just not give a Best Musical award, lol.

 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 12:59pm

FLarnhill said: "Kad said: "FLarnhill said: "The Other One said: "I am surprised by the lack of nominations for Jeremy Strong and An Enemy of the People."

Shameful but it doesn't matter. That Tony nom is still more than guaranteed."

"Shameful" is a little melodramatic. The Drama Desks are idiosyncratic and cast a much, much wider net in the productions they honor. A blockbuster revival and its celebrity star may not have gotten in, but a host of much smaller, less widely seen, and less heralded artists did instead."

In what world is Jeremy Strong considered a "celebrity?"

In the real world where he was a star of one of the most popular TV dramas in recent memory and was nominated and won multiple major awards for it?

 

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:03pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "kidmanboy said: "Given only Suffs' new elements were eligible, I take their slate of nominations as a huge accomplishment. It would seem they pretty much got in everywhere they could. I'm curious what the ruling was for text eligibility since music was nominated. Wonder if it was also eligible in book and lyrics."

I looked up last year's Drama Desk nominations, andSuffswasn't nominated for anything. So it really was shut out of most of the major categories.

This year, maybe the Tonys should do what the Pulitzer Prizes sometimes do for theDrama categoryand just not give a Best Musical award, lol.

"

Suffs was eligible in 2022 and only received a Lyrics nomination. However, the press release from this year clearly states that only new elements of Suffs were eligible this year - therefore it would not have been eligible for Best Musical. 
 

I find the doom and gloom over this year’s musical crop rather funny and think it may be because it’s such a huge crop that no one obviously stands out. But a handful of these shows are certainly as good or better than prior Best Musical nominees - and even winners (Memphis anyone!?)

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:04pm

This is a weird collection of nominations but honestly the off-Broadway productions really showed out this year and put Broadway to shame.

 

[FLarnhill]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:06pm

Kad said: "FLarnhill said: "Kad said: "FLarnhill said: "The Other One said: "I am surprised by the lack of nominations for Jeremy Strong and An Enemy of the People."

Shameful but it doesn't matter. That Tony nom is still more than guaranteed."

"Shameful" is a little melodramatic. The Drama Desks are idiosyncratic and cast a much, much wider net in the productions they honor. A blockbuster revival and its celebrity star may not have gotten in, but a host of much smaller, less widely seen, and less heralded artists did instead."

In what world is Jeremy Strong considered a "celebrity?"

In the real world where he was a star of one of the most popular TV dramas in recent memory and was nominated and won multiple major awards for it?

"

Succession was an awards darling but was unfortunately never a ratings hit like Game of Thrones or The Sopranos were. And being an actor who's that good at his job doesn't mean he's a celebrity. Daniel Day Lewis won a lot of awards, too. Is he a "celebrity"?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:06pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "This year, maybe the Tonys should do what the Pulitzer Prizes sometimes do for theDrama categoryand just not give a Best Musical award, lol."

They've tried this in the past for categories like Book of a Musical, and public outcry pressured them into including the category after the initial nominations.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:12pm

I know the Drama Desks do their own thing (and shows like Suffs, Merrily, and Here Lies Love were eligible for categories in other years), but for reference, here is the overlap of who is eligible tomorrow:


Musical
Illinoise
The Outsiders

Play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Mother Play
Stereophonic

Revival of a Musical
Cabaret
Gutenberg! The Musical!

Revival of a Play
Appropriate
Doubt
Purlie Victorious
Uncle Vanya (although, I assume this nomination is for the other Vanya)

Lead Performance in a Play
Jessica Lange, Mother Play
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson, Appropriate

Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots

Lead Performance in a Musical
Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Brody Grant, The Outsiders
Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses
Liam Pearce, How to Dance in Ohio (eligible in Featured)
Ricky Ubeda, Illinoise (eligible in Featured)

Featured Performance in a Play
Brittany Adebumola, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play
Kara Young, Purlie Victorious

Michael Esper, Appropriate
Will Keen, Patriots

Featured Performance in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot
Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen
Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook (eligible in Leading)
Emily Skinner, Suffs

Dorian Harewood, The Notebook (eligible in Leading)

Direction of a Play
Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate

Direction of a Musical
Rebecca Frecknall, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor, The Outsiders

Choreography
Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
Lorin Latarro, The Heart of Rock and Roll
Justin Peck, Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants 

Music
Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
Shaina Taub, Suffs

Lyrics
Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine, The Outsiders

Book of a Musical
Rebekah Greer Melocik, How to Dance in Ohio

Orchestrations
Timo Andres, Illinoise
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Michael Starobin, Suffs

Music in a Play
Will Butler, Stereophonic

Scenic Design of a Play
dots, Appropriate
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious
Scott Pask, Grey House
David Zinn, Stereophonic

Scenic Design of a Musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
Paul Tate dePoo III, The Great Gatsby
Riccardo Hernández, Suffs

Costume Design of a Play
Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic

Costume Design of a Musical
Loren Elstein, Once Upon a One More Time
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Lighting Design of a Play
Jane Cox, Appropriate
Natasha Katz, Grey House

Lighting Design of a Musical
Lap Chi Chu, Suffs
Bradley King, Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders

Projection and Video Design
Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen (eligible in Scenic Design of a Musical)

Sound Design of a Play
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic

Sound Design of a Musical
Jason Crystal, Suffs
Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Cody Spencer, The Outsiders
Walter Trarbach, Water for Elephants

Adaptation
An Enemy of the People, by Amy Herzog (eligible in Revival of a Play)

Ensemble Award
The Cast of Stereophonic (eligible in Featured categories)

Updated On: 4/29/24 at 01:12 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:12pm

FLarnhill said: "Kad said: "FLarnhill said: In what world is Jeremy Strong considered a "celebrity?"

In the real world where he was a star of one of the most popular TV dramas in recent memory and was nominated and won multiple major awards for it?

"Succession was an awards darling but was unfortunately never a ratings hit like Game of Thrones or The Sopranos were. And being an actor who's that good at his job doesn't mean he's a celebrity. Daniel Day Lewis won a lot of awards, too. Is he a "celebrity"?"

If you don't think Jeremy Strong is a celebrity, you're simply not paying attention. The show is pulling in over a million a week and playing to standing room crowds. Do you think that's because of the public's love of Ibsen? Sam Gold? Amy Herzog? Victoria Pedretti? They're there to see Strong.

 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:12pm

FLarnhill said: "Kad said: "FLarnhill said: "Kad said: "FLarnhill said: "The Other One said: "I am surprised by the lack of nominations for Jeremy Strong and An Enemy of the People."

Shameful but it doesn't matter. That Tony nom is still more than guaranteed."

"Shameful" is a little melodramatic. The Drama Desks are idiosyncratic and cast a much, much wider net in the productions they honor. A blockbuster revival and its celebrity star may not have gotten in, but a host of much smaller, less widely seen, and less heralded artists did instead."

In what world is Jeremy Strong considered a "celebrity?"

In the real world where he was a star of one of the most popular TV dramas in recent memory and was nominated and won multiple major awards for it?

"

Succession was an awards darling but was unfortunately never a ratings hit like Game of Thrones or The Sopranos were. And being an actor who's that good at his job doesn't mean he's a celebrity. Daniel Day Lewis won a lot of awards, too. Is he a "celebrity"?"

Unless you're trying to redefine "celebrity" to mean something more specific than "a famous and celebrated person," yes he is.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:14pm

The Tonys being co-administered by a trade organization of producers means that sensible things like reducing the number of nominees in a category –– or eliminating the category altogether –– when there aren't enough worthy candidates (such as the Covid year) will never, ever happen.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:32pm

Jeremy Strong, Daniel Day Lewis... both celebrities. Just because someone's not, like, Tom Hanks or Meryl Streep-level A+ list celebrities does not mean they're not celebrities. I definitely (admittedly) went to Enemy of the People for the starry cast, it wasn't because of a love of Ibsen. 

Unrelated, what a strange year for awards this is! 

[Soozie]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:37pm

Updated On: 4/29/24 at 01:37 PM

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 1:39pm

HeyMrMusic said: "I hope this is a slam dunk forJaja's African Hair Braidingin the Wig and Hair category. Wish they could share in a costume nomination at the Tonys since the hair was integral to the storytelling and also quite magical to have pulled off in full view of the audience."

I totally agree, the first thing I looked for in my Playbill after the show was who did the wig and hair design. Nikiya Mathis did incredible work.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 2:19pm

quizking101 said: "This is a weird collection of nominations but honestly the off-Broadway productions really showed out this year and put Broadway to shame."

To be fair, this does seem to be the trend in recent years.

[raddersons]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 3:46pm

Where in the world is The Comeuppance?? EASILY my favorite play last year. It seems to have been totally forgotten.

Edit: It got a nom for sound design, so it was clearly eligible but just didn’t get anything. I’m shook.

Updated On: 4/29/24 at 03:46 PM

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 4:17pm

Nice to see the How To Dance In Ohio access team being acknowledge, there is some kind of irony that it will likely be the only major award that show ends up winning. 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 5:30pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "This year, maybe the Tonys should do what the Pulitzer Prizes sometimes do for theDrama categoryand just not give a Best Musical award, lol."

I hardly think that's called for in a season with accomplished and unique musicals like Here Lies Love, Days of Wine and Roses, and Illinoise. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/29/24 at 5:48pm

Seeing the book nominations for HTDIO rankled me a bit mostly because I felt like the book was a weak point since it seemed like it was written by committee and never fully cohered beyond some cheap sentiment.

I actually got into an argument with someone who feels like the show is not fair game for criticism and to do so is ableist. I told them I understand the intentions were good, but whatever steps they took to make it as authentically correct as possible didn’t necessarily amount to compelling theatre.