2016-17 Drama Desk Awards

Hello Dolly Earns Most Nominations

By: Charles Giuliano - Apr 28, 2017

 

The 2016-17 Drama Desk Award nominations were revealed today. The awards ceremony, hosted this year by Drama Desk winner Michael Urie (Buyer & Cellar), will take place June 4 at New York's Town Hall.

The Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! tops the list with 10 nominations, while original Broadway musicals Anastasia and Come From Away follow close behind with nine nominations apiece. Lauded off-Broadway shows include the revival of Eugene O'Neill'sThe Hairy Ape, with eight nods, Atlantic Theater Company's production of The Band's Visit, with seven, and Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Barrow Street Theatre, also with seven.

The Drama Desk Awards, which are presented annually, honor outstanding achievement by professional theater artists on Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway. The awards are voted on by theater critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater.

The full list of nominees is below. Hyperlinked shows are still running at the time of publication. For tickets, click on the title of a show.

Outstanding Play
If I Forget, by Steven Levenson, Roundabout Theatre Company
Indecent, by Paula Vogel, Vineyard Theatre
A Life, by Adam Bock, Playwrights Horizons
Oslo, by J. T. Rogers, Lincoln Center Theater
Sweat, by Lynn Nottage, the Public Theater

Outstanding Musical
Anastasia
The Band's Visit, Atlantic Theater Company
Come From Away
Hadestown, New York Theatre Workshop
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

Outstanding Revival of a Play
The Front Page
The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
Jitney, Manhattan Theatre Club
The Little Foxes, Manhattan Theatre Club
"Master Harold"… and the Boys, Signature Theatre Company
Picnic, Transport Group

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Falsettos, Lincoln Center Theater
Hello, Dolly!
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweet Charity, the New Group
Tick, Tick…BOOM!, Keen Company

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Bobby Cannavale, The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
Daniel Craig, Othello, New York Theatre Workshop
Kevin Kline, Present Laughter
David Hyde Pierce, A Life, Playwrights Horizons
John Douglas Thompson, Jitney, Manhattan Theatre Club

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Cate Blanchett, The Present
Laura Linney, The Little Foxes
Laurie Metcalf, A Doll's House, Part 2
Amy Ryan, Love, Love, Love, Roundabout Theatre Company
Harriet Walter, The Tempest, St. Ann's Warehouse

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Nick Blaemire, Tick, Tick…BOOM!, Keen Theatre
Jon Jon Briones, Miss Saigon
Nick Cordero, A Bronx Tale — The Musical
Andy Karl, Groundhog Day
Jeremy Secomb, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Christy Altomare, Anastasia
Christine Ebersole, War Paint
Sutton Foster, Sweet Charity, the New Group
Patti LuPone, War Paint
Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly!
Laura Osnes, Bandstand

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Michael Aronov, Oslo, Lincoln Center Theater
Danny DeVito, The Price, Roundabout Theatre Company
Nathan Lane, The Front Page
Jeremy Shamos, If I Forget, Roundabout Theatre Company
Justice Smith, Yen, MCC Theater

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Jayne Houdyshell, A Doll's House, Part 2
Randy Graff, The Babylon Line, Lincoln Center Theater
Marie Mullen, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, BAM
Cynthia Nixon, The Little Foxes, Manhattan Theatre Club
Emily Skinner, Picnic
Kate Walsh, If I Forget, Roundabout Theatre Company

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Gavin Creel, Hello, Dolly!
Jeffry Denman, Kid Victory, Vineyard Theatre
George Salazar, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
Ari'el Stachel, The Band's Visit, Atlantic Theater Company
Brandon Uranowitz, Falsettos, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, Hello, Dolly!
Stephanie J. Block, Falsettos, Lincoln Center Theater
Jenn Colella, Come From Away
Mary Beth Peil, Anastasia
Nora Schell, Spamilton

Outstanding Director of a Play
Richard Jones, The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
Anne Kauffman, A Life, Playwrights Horizons
Richard Nelson, What Did You Expect? / Women of a Certain Age, the Public Theater
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Jitney, Manhattan Theatre Club
Daniel Sullivan, The Little Foxes, Manhattan Theatre Club
Daniel Sullivan, If I Forget, Roundabout Theatre Company

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Christopher Ashley, Come From Away
Bill Buckhurst, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Rachel Chavkin, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
David Cromer, The Band's Visit, Atlantic Theater Company
Jerry Zaks, Hello, Dolly!

Outstanding Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, Bandstand
Warren Carlyle, Hello, Dolly!
Aletta Collins, The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
Kelly Devine, Come From Away
Denis Jones, Holiday Inn, Roundabout Theatre Company

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Terrence McNally, Anastasia
Itamar Moses, The Band's Visit, Atlantic Theater Company
Richard Oberacker and Rob Taylor, Bandstand
Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come From Away
Joe Tracz, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

Outstanding Music
Stephen Flaherty, Anastasia
Dave Malloy, Beardo, Pipeline Theatre Company
Richard Oberacker, Bandstand
Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come From Away
David Yazbek, The Band's Visit, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Lyrics
Gerard Alessandrini, Spamilton
GQ and JQ, Othello: The Remix
Michael Korie, War Paint
Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come From Away
David Yazbek, The Band's Visit, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Orchestrations
Doug Besterman, Anastasia
Bruce Coughlin, War Paint
Benjamin Cox, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen, Bandstand
August Eriksmoen, Come From Away
Jamshied Sharifi, The Band's Visit, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Music in a Play
Daniel Ocanto, Graham Ulicny, and Sean Smith, Alligator, New Georges in collaboration with the Sol Project 
Marcus Shelby, Notes From the Field, Second Stage
Bill Sims Jr., Jitney, Manhattan Theatre Club

Outstanding Revue
Hello, Dillie!, 59E59
Life Is for Living: Conversations With Coward, 59E59

Outstanding Set Design for a Play
David Gallo, Jitney, Manhattan Theatre Club
Nigel Hook, The Play That Goes Wrong
Laura Jellinek, A Life, Playwrights Horizons
Stewart Laing, The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
Douglas W. Schmidt, The Front Page

Outstanding Set Design for a Musical
Lez Brotherston, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, St. Ann's Warehouse
Simon Kenny, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Mimi Lien, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Santo Loquasto, Hello, Dolly!
Jason Sherwood, The View UpStairs

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Jane Greenwood, The Little Foxes, Manhattan Theatre Club
Susan Hilferty, Present Laughter
Murell Horton, The Liar, CSC
Toni-Leslie James, Jitney, Manhattan Theatre Club
Stewart Laing, The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
Ann Roth, The Front Page

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
Linda Cho, Anastasia
Toni-Leslie James, Come From Away
Santo Loquasto, Hello, Dolly!
Anita Yavich, The View UpStairs
Paloma Young, Bandstand
Catherine Zuber, War Paint

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Christopher Akerlind, Indecent, Vineyard Theatre
James Farncombe, The Tempest, St. Ann's Warehouse
Rick Fisher, The Judas Kiss, Brooklyn Academy of Music 
Mimi Jordan Sherin, The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
Stephen Strawbridge, "Master Harold"…and the Boys, Signature Theatre Company
Justin Townsend, The Little Foxes, Manhattan Theatre Club

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Jeff Croiter, Bandstand
Mark Henderson, Sunset Boulevard
Bradley King, Hadestown, New York Theatre Workshop
Bradley King, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Amy Mae, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Malcolm Rippeth, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, St. Ann's Warehouse

Outstanding Projection Design 
Reid Farrington, CasablancaBox, HERE 
Elaine McCarthy, Notes From the Field, Second Stage
Jared Mezzocchi, Vietgone, Manhattan Theatre Club
John Narun, Gorey: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey, Life Jacket Theatre Company
Aaron Rhyne, Anastasia

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Mikhail Fiksel, A Life, Playwrights Horizons
Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin, The Encounter
Brian Quijada, Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, Ensemble Studio Theatre / Radio Drama Network
Leon Rothenberg, Notes From the Field, Second Stage
Jane Shaw, Men on Boats, Playwrights Horizons / Clubbed Thumb

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Simon Baker, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, St. Ann's Warehouse
Peter Hylenski, Anastasia
Scott Lehrer, Hello, Dolly!
Nicholas Pope, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Mick Potter, Cats
Brian Ronan, War Paint
Matt Stine, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Outstanding Wig and Hair
David Brian Brown, War Paint
Campbell Young Associates, Hello, Dolly!
John Jared Janas, Yours Unfaithfully, Mint Theatre Company
Jason Hayes, The View UpStairs
Josh Marquette, Present Laughter
Tom Watson, The Little Foxes, Manhattan Theatre Club 

Outstanding Solo Performance
Nancy Anderson, The Pen (Inner Voices), Premieres
Ed Dixon, Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose
Marin Ireland, On the Exhale, Roundabout Underground
Sarah Jones, Sell/Buy/Date, Manhattan Theatre Club
Brian Quijada, Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, Ensemble Studio Theatre / Radio Drama Network
Anna Deavere Smith, Notes From the Field, Second Stage

Unique Theatrical Experience
CasablancaBox, HERE
The Paper Hat Game, the Tank / 3-Legged Dog
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, National Theatre of Scotland
The Ephemera Trilogy, the Tank / Flint & Tinder

Outstanding Fight Choreography
J. David Brimmer, Yen, MCC Theatre
Donal O'Farrell, Quietly, Irish Repertory Theatre
Michael Rossmy and Rick Sordelet, Troilus and Cressida, New York Shakespeare Festival 
Thomas Schall, Othello, New York Theatre Workshop
Thomas Schall, The Hairy Ape, Park Avenue Armory
U. Jonathan Toppo, Sweat, the Public Theater

Outstanding Adaptation
David Ives, The Liar, Classic Stage Company
Ellen McLaughlin, The Trojan Women, the Flea Theatre

Outstanding Puppet Design
Basil Twist, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Lyndie Wright and Sarah Wright, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, St. Ann's Warehouse

SPECIAL AWARDS

Outstanding Ensemble
The Wolves, the Playwrights Realm: The superbly talented cast of Sarah DeLappe's debut play — Mia Barron, Brenna Coates, Jenna Dioguardi, Samia Finnerty, Midori Francis, Lizzy Jutila, Sarah Mezzanotte, Tedra Millan, Lauren Patten, and Susannah Perkins — jelled as one, proving that team spirit is just as alive on the stage as it is on the soccer field.

Special Award to Phil LaDuca: Proving that character comes from the ground up, the designer's innovative flexible dance shoe ensures that hoofers on any stage remain on point.

Sam Norkin Award: Lila Neugebauer: During a season that saw her helm the original works The Antipodes, Everybody, Miles for Mary, and The Wolves, and resurrect the works of esteemed playwrights Edward Albee, María Irene Fornés, and Adrienne Kennedy in Signature Plays, director Lila Neugebauer has shown that her dauntless insight into the human condition knows no bounds.