Off Broadway hit “Hamilton” and Tony contender “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” topped the 2015 Drama Desk Awards, with “Hamilton” taking seven awards including the title for new musical, and “Curious Incident” claiming six including the award for outstanding play.
Broadway musical “An American in Paris,” one of the frontrunners in the Tony race with a dozen nominations, danced away with four trophies at Drama Desks. Bradley Cooper starrer “The Elephant Man” won for play revival and “The King and I” scored for musical revival, while Helen Mirren (“The Audience”) and Kristin Chenoweth (“On the 20th Century”) were among the names to take home acting trophies.
This year marks the first time an Off Broadway title has won the Drama Desk’s musical award since “Little Shop of Horrors” snagged the same trophy in 1983. “Hamilton” also snagged awards this year for featured actress (Renee Elise Goldsberry), director (Thomas Kail), and the three separate awards for music, lyrics and book (all by Lin-Manuel Miranda).
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The Drama Desk Awards, handed out this year a week before the Tony Awards ceremony, can serve as a good barometer of awards-season momentum ahead of the Tonys, but don’t offer much in the way of predicting next week’s outcome. “Hamilton,” for one thing, isn’t part of the Tony race this year because it played Off Broadway this season, and “Fun Home,” one of this year’s major Tony contenders, wasn’t eligible for the Drama Desks this year because it was considered last year in its Off Broadway incarnation.
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Still, the Drama Desk wins can be taken as encouraging signs. Many of the night’s honorees are also up for Tonys, including the lead actor (Alex Sharp) and director (Marianne Elliot) of “Curious Incident” as well as the lead actor (Robert Fairchild) in “American in Paris.” Mirren, Chenoweth and Christian Borle, who won the featured actor prize for “Something Rotten!,” also are in the Tony race.
The 60th annual Drama Desk Awards were handed out in a May 31 ceremony at Town Hall in midtown Manhattan. Winners were voted on by the membership of the Drama Desk, an organization of critics and writers.
The full list of 2015 Drama Desk Award winners follows:
(**Winners are in bold and starred)
Outstanding Play
Clare Barron, You Got Older
Lisa D’Amour, Airline Highway
Anthony Giardina, The City of Conversation
Stephen Adly Guirgis, Between Riverside and Crazy
Elizabeth Irwin, My Manãna Comes
**Simon Stephens, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Jack Thorne, Let the Right One In
Outstanding Musical
An American in Paris
**Hamilton
Fly By Night
Pretty Filthy
Something Rotten!
The Visit
Outstanding Revival of a Play
**The Elephant Man
Fashions for Men
Ghosts
The Iceman Cometh
Tamburlaine the Great
The Wayside Motor Inn
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Into the Woods
**The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century
Pageant
Side Show
Outstanding Actor in a Play
Reed Birney, I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Bill Pullman, Sticks and Bones
**Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Brooke Bloom, You Got Older
Kathleen Chalfant, A Walk in the Woods
Kristin Griffith, The Fatal Weakness
Jan Maxwell, The City of Conversation
**Helen Mirren, The Audience
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Tonya Pinkins, Rasheeda Speaking
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
**Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Jeremy Kushnier, Atomic
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Matthew Morrison, Finding Neverland
Ryan Silverman, Side Show
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, John & Jen
**Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Erin Davie, Side Show
Lisa Howard, It Shoulda Been You
Chita Rivera, The Visit
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
F. Murray Abraham, It’s Only a Play
Reed Birney, You Got Older
**K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Jonathan Hadary, Rocket to the Moon
Jason Butler Harner, The Village Bike
Jonathan Hogan, Pocatello
José Joaquin Perez, My Mañana Comes
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
**Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It with You
Beth Dixon, The City of Conversation
Julie Halston, You Can’t Take It with You
Paola Lázaro-Muñoz, To the Bone
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Julie White, Airline Highway
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
**Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Peter Friedman, Fly By Night
Josh Grisetti, It Shoulda Been You
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Max von Essen, An American in Paris
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Carolee Carmello, Finding Neverland
Tyne Daly, It Shoulda Been You
Elizabeth A. Davis, Allegro
**Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Luba Mason, Pretty Filthy
Nancy Opel, Honeymoon in Vegas
Elizabeth Stanley, On the Town
Outstanding Director of a Play
**Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Anne Kauffman, You Got Older
Lila Neugebauer, The Wayside Motor Inn
Austin Pendleton, Between Riverside and Crazy
Joe Tantalo, Deliverance
John Tiffany, Let the Right One In
Outstanding Director of a Musical
Carolyn Cantor, Fly By Night
Bill Condon, Side Show
John Doyle, The Visit
**Thomas Kail, Hamilton
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Outstanding Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Warren Carlyle, On the Twentieth Century
Steven Hoggett, The Last Ship
Austin McCormick, Rococo Rouge
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten
**Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Outstanding Music
Jason Robert Brown, Honeymoon in Vegas
Michael Friedman, The Fortress of Solitude
John Kander, The Visit
Dave Malloy, Ghost Quartet
**Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Sting, The Last Ship
Outstanding Lyrics
Jason Robert Brown, Honeymoon in Vegas
Fred Ebb, The Visit
Michael Friedman, The Fortress of Solitude
Karey Kirkpatrick & Wayne Kirkpatrick, Something Rotten!
**Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Hunter Bell & Lee Overtree, Found
Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell, Something Rotten!
Craig Lucas, An American in Paris
Terrence McNally, The Visit
**Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Kim Rosenstock, Will Connolly, & Michael Mitnick, Fly By Night
Outstanding Orchestrations
**Christopher Austin, An American in Paris
Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Allegro
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship
Don Sebesky, Larry Blank, Jason Robert Brown, & Charlie Rosen, Honeymoon in Vegas
Outstanding Music in a Play
Cesar Alvarez, An Octoroon
Danny Blackburn & Bryce Hodgson, Deliverance
Sean Cronin, Kill Me Like You Mean It
Bongi Duma, Generations
Freddi Price, The Pigeoning
**Arthur Solari & Jane Shaw, Tamburlaine the Great
Outstanding Revue
Forbidden Broadway Comes Out Swinging!
**Just Jim Dale
Lennon: Through a Glass Onion
Lonesome Traveler
Outstanding Set Design
**Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
Christine Jones, Let The Right One In
David Korins, Hamilton
Mimi Lien, An Octoroon
Scott Pask, The Visit
Daniel Zimmerman, Fashions for Men
Outstanding Costume Design
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
Bob Crowley, The Audience
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton
Andrea Varga, The Fatal Weakness
**Catherine Zuber, Gigi
Outstanding Lighting Design
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
**Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paule Constable & David Plater, Wolf Hall, Parts 1 & 2
Maruti Evans, Deliverance
Natasha Katz, The Iceman Cometh
Ben Stanton, Our Lady of Kibeho
Outstanding Projection Design
59 Productions, An American in Paris
Roger Hanna & Price Johnston, Donogoo
Darrel Maloney, Found
Peter Nigrini, Our Lady of Kibeho
**Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Austin Switser, Big Love
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Peter Hylenski, Side Show
Scott Lehrer, The King & I
Scott Lehrer & Drew Levy, Honeymoon in Vegas
Brian Ronan, The Last Ship
**Nevin Steinberg, Hamilton
Jon Weston, An American in Paris
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Nathan Davis, The Other Mozart
Ien Denio, Deliverance
**Ian Dickinson (for Autograph), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Gareth Fry, Let the Right One In
John Gromada, Lives of the Saints
Matt Tierney, Our Lady of Kibeho
Outstanding Solo Performance
Christina Bianco, Application Pending
Jonny Donahoe, Every Brilliant Thing
Tom Dugan, Wiesenthal
Mona Golabek, The Pianist of Willesden Lane
Joely Richardson, The Belle of Amherst
**Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion
Unique Theatrical Experience
Catch Me!
Everybody Gets Cake
The Human Symphony
**Queen of the Night
Rap Guide to Religion
Special Awards:
The ensemble of the actors in the Off Broadway production of A. R. Gurney’s The Wayside Motor Inn: Kelly AuCoin, Jon DeVries, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Rebecca Henderson, Marc Kudisch, Jenn Lyon, Lizbeth Mackay, David McElwee, Ismenia Mendes, and Will Pullen.
Playwright Bess Wohl, awarded the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award
Actor John Douglas Thompson
Off Broadway’s Ensemble Studio Theatre
“Hamilton” choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler
