The Ferryman and The Prom were winners for best play and best musical at the 64th annual Drama Desk Awards, which honors achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway. Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish and The Waverly Gallery won best revivals.
Santino Fontana won best actor in a musical for Tootsie (which was on a roll, winning also for music, lyrics and book) and Stephanie J.Block best actress in a musical for The Cher Show (which also won for costume design.) Jay O. Sanders in Uncle Vanya and Elaine May in The Waverly Gallery won best actor and actress in a play.
“Hadestown,” which had been ruled ineligible to be nominated in the Outstanding Musical category (because it had run Off-Broadway in 2016) snagged four of the seven awards for which it had been nominated, including Rachel Chavkin as best director and Andre De Shields as best featured actor in a musical.
Full list below:
(Full list of 2019 Drama Desk Award Nominations)
(Check out New York Theater Awards 2019 Calendar and Guide)
Outstanding Play
The Ferryman
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Revival of a Play
“The Waverly Gallery”
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
“Fiddler on the Roof,” National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Outstanding Actor in a Play
Jay O. Sanders, “Uncle Vanya”
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Elaine May, “The Waverly Gallery”
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Santino Fontana, “Tootsie”
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, “The Cher Show”
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Tom Glynn-Carney, “The Ferryman”
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Celia Keenan-Bolger, “To Kill A Mockingbird”
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
André De Shields, “Hadestown”
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Ali Stroker, “Oklahoma!”
Outstanding Director of a Play
Sam Mendes, “The Ferryman”
Outstanding Director of a Musical
Rachel Chavkin, “Hadestown”
Outstanding Choreography
Warren Carlyle, “Kiss Me, Kate”
Outstanding Music
David Yazbek, “Tootsie”
Outstanding Lyrics
David Yazbek, “Tootsie”
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Robert Horn, “Tootsie”
Outstanding Orchestrations
Daniel Kluger, “Oklahoma!”
Outstanding Music in a Play
Jason Michael Webb and Fitz Patton, “Choir Boy”
Outstanding Set Design of a Play
Matt Saunders, “Daddy”
Outstanding Set Design for a Musical
David Korins, “Beetlejuice”
Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Toni-Leslie James, “Bernhardt/Hamlet”
Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
Bob Mackie, “The Cher Show”
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Amith Chandrashaker, “Boesman and Lena”
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Bradley King, “Hadestown”
Outstanding Projection Design
Peter England, “King Kong”
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Nick Powell, “The Ferryman”
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, “Hadestown”
Outstanding Wig and Hair Design
Charles G. LaPointe, “The Cher Show”
Outstanding Solo Performance
Mike Birbiglia, “The New One”
Unique Theatrical Experience
“All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914,” Theater Latté Da/Laura Little Theatrical Productions / Sheen Center
Outstanding Fight Choreography
Claire Warden, “Slave Play”
Outstanding Puppet Design
Sonny Tilders, “King Kong”
Special Awards
Ensemble Award: To the uncanny ensemble of Dance Nation for their pointed portrait of a dance troupe riven by competition but fused by the experiences of youth: Purva Bedi, Eboni Booth, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Dina Shihabi, Ellen Maddow, Christina Rouner, Thomas Jay Ryan, Lucy Taylor, and Ikechukwu Ufomadu.
Sam Norkin Award: To Montana Levi Blanco, who enriched this season with his vibrant and detailed costumes for Fairview, The House That Will Not Stand, Fabulation, Or the Re-Education of Undine, Eddie and Dave, “Daddy,” and Ain’t No Mo’. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a Blanco costume is worth considerably more, telling us a complete story about its wearer while giving us something fabulous to look at.
To Mia Katigbak, the backbone of the off-Broadway scene, we acclaim her for her performances this season in Henry VI: Shakespeare’s Trilogy in Two Parts, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Peace for Mary Francis and Recent Alien Abductions. This award also recognizes her vital presence as the artistic director of NAATCO and her sustained excellence as a performer and mentor.
To Repertorio Español for presenting a year-round rotating repertory of new and classic Spanish-language plays in its intimate Gramercy venue. For the past 51 years, Repertorio has been an indispensable theater for Spanish-speaking audiences, while inviting non-Spanish-speaking theatergoers to discover the delights of the Spanish-language canon and introducing New York audiences to the work of actors like Zulema Clares and Germán Jaramillo.
The Drama Desk is an organization of writers, editors, publishers, and broadcasters covering theatre in New York City. The Awards are one of few major theatre honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories.
