Drama League's Distinguished performance Award 2020 — Page 2

The Play category is bizarre and omits some of the biggest successes and award-garnering productions in favor of things like... Seared.

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I'm constantly puzzled by the widespread award snub of The Thin Place.

Obviously it could very well be that I'm in the minority, and I fully respect anyone who didn't find the play to be as notable or captivating, but I thought it was just one of the most thrilling plays this season next to The Sound Inside- also snubbed.

Strange list. My money is on Danny Burstein.

shocked by a lot of the snubs here.

My heart gives it to Danny Burstein- but sadly Burstein is not in the type of role this award usually goes to. I am thinking they may give it to Deidre O'Connell who is a theater staple AND gave a phenomenal performance this season.

Updated On: 5/1/20 at 01:16 PM

This is a very odd list. Agree with many above, but a weird surprise that hasn’t been talked about is Brenock O’ Connor getting nominated for SING STREET and Gus Halper getting left out. I’m actually pretty excited that he got nominated, he really killed the performance and added so much charm to the show, but his nomination feels very out-of-the-blue, especially with Gus Halper not in the ring also.

From the list, I’m hoping Jake Gyllenhaal takes it for A LIFE. Emotionally devastating performance that he just nailed. I often think back to a moment in the play when I saw it when he was talking about his dad and all he did was touch the piano key before he recoiled into utter pain and grief. He’s also done so much for the NYC theatre scene in the past 5ish years with the amount of work he’s decided to do on stage rather than in film, and he’s consistently excellent. So fingers crossed for that.

I could see Pryce, Burstein, Warren, or Gyllenhaal taking it, in that order.

Winners announced:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Danny-Burstein-MOULIN-ROUGE-THE-INHERITANCE-and-More-Win-2020-Drama-League-Awards-20200618

And the winner is: Danny Burstein

I've said many times before on this board that I think Danny Burstein is talented, but his performances rarely ever move me in any way. I find him pretty boring, as a performer, personally (My favorite performance of his so far was actually Herr Schultz in Cabaret). That said, he's been a big presence in the theatre community for many years now, and he's undoubtedly a beloved performer - almost universally (I'm one of the few dissenters). So in this unusual year, with such a bizarre list of nominees, and no obvious winner, I think he's a decent choice. It's also some good news for Burstein in what I'm sure is an extremely difficult time for him. I do think I would have preferred Adrienne Warren over him, but she has a long career ahead of her, and will likely have many more chances.

Having said that, Moulin rouge winning best musical really irritates me. It was up against Girl From the North Country, Sing Street, Octet, Soft Power, Strange Loop, AND Secret Life of Bees - any one of which was exponentially more deserving than Moulin Rouge, IMO.

Also, it's worth noting that this is the first time since 2003 that someone has won for a supporting role (Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray was the last one)

EDIT: and actually I just remembered that Fierstein was considered Leading at the Tonys. But that was a weird call on their part, right? It's been a while since I've seen any version of the show, but isn't Edna really more of a supporting role, by usual standards?

Updated On: 6/18/20 at 11:09 AM

The Drama League is a bit different than the other awards-granting organizations, because the general public can be part of the Drama League. You just have to pay a membership fee. So you can get weird winners for Distinguished Performance, like Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton. Miranda is an extremely gifted songwriter, but he did not even give one of the three best performances in Hamilton, let alone the entire season. (IMO, all three Tony winners for Hamilton gave better performances than Miranda did.)

I think Moulin Rouge and Danny Burstein had an advantage here, because Moulin Rouge has been running a long time, and probably a lot more people saw Moulin Rouge than any of the other nominated musicals, especially with the spring "catch-up" opportunity being unavailable this year. That being said, Burstein gave an award-worthy performance, and I'm very happy he won. It was going to be him, Christian Borle, or Adrienne Warren, and any of the three would have been worthy.

I found it interesting that someone said Burstein gives "boring" performances. I can see why someone would say that, because he's not that charismatic in general (he's probably the most charismatic I've ever seen him in Moulin Rouge). But I think that his "everyman" demeanor is part of what makes him a great actor. He's very natural in his performances. I would say the same thing about Norbert Leo Butz. They are not flashy, and their singing voices don't draw attention. But they are very believable as actors.

I'm a little surprised A Soldier's Play won over Betrayal, though.

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I find it disheartening that people are criticizing instead of celebrating. Mr. Burstein deserves this award and I couldn't be happier for him!!

JBroadway said: "Also, it's worth noting that this is the first time since 2003 that someone has won for a supporting role (Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray was the last one)

EDIT: and actually I just remembered that Fierstein was considered Leading at the Tonys. But that was a weird call on their part, right? It's been a while since I've seen any version of the show, but isn't Ednareally more of a supporting role, by usual standards?"

Absolutely. I assume that Harvey was recognized for his contribution to Hairspray overall, unless it was a rotten year overall.

I have to admit that I never thought a supporting performance would win this, but his was the best performance in the show and he certainly has a lot of excellent performances in his portfolio, so i am seeing this as a career winning award; and I don't have a problem with that.

Re the NL Butz comparisons, I find it really interesting. IMO Burstein is more consistent; I have loved many NLB performances, and have disliked some in cases where I felt that he was overacting. (I will admit that he won a Tony award (in a mediocre category) for one of them).