70th Annual Drama Desk Awards Winners Announced
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Thursday, 21 May 2026 10:50
- Written by A&E Contributing Editor
Winners for the 70th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced this evening at The Town Hall marking the return of the awards to the historic venue since the 2020 theater shutdown. Titanique's Marla Mindelle hosted the ceremony.
This year's Drama Desk Awards were the largest gathering of Drama Desk winners and nominees, past and present, ever assembled for this celebration of artists, institutions, and communities that have defined seventy years of New York theater — from the Off-Off-Broadway movement to the great Broadway houses, from the city's longest-running musicals to its boldest new work.
NYC Theater: MJ Review – Spectacular, Electrifying, A Must See
The full list of winners is available below.
In keeping with the Drama Desk's mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway during the 2025-2026 season for this year's awards. Shows were eligible with 21 or more unique live performances.
At this year's ceremony, Thomas Schumacher, former President of Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, received the Harold S. Prince Award for Lifetime Achievement and songwriting partners Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire, collaborators since college and the writers behind Starting Here, Starting Now, Closer Than Ever, and this season's About Time, received the William Wolf Award.
What sets the Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater. The Drama Desk Awards honor all aspects of New York's professional theater.
NYC Theatre: Broadway is Back and Chicago is Superb
NYC Theater: Moulin Rouge The Musical Review - High Energy, Provocative, Rollicking Good Time
About The Drama Desk
For seventy years, the Drama Desk Awards have been a unique voice celebrating the artistry, innovation, and unstoppable creativity of New York's stages. Since 1955, they've been the only major theater award to honor excellence across all of New York City's theatrical landscape—from big-budget spectacles to boundary-pushing new works.
Over the decades, the Drama Desk Awards have recognized a remarkable roster of American theater legends and cultural icons. Winners include Cynthia Erivo, Bryan Cranston, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Viola Davis, Al Pacino, Jason Robards, James Earl Jones, Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Sondheim, August Wilson, Tony Kushner, Audra McDonald, Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Christopher Walken, Julie Taymor, George C. Wolfe, David Mamet, Laurie Metcalf, Sutton Foster, Glenn Close, Suzan-Lori Parks, Brian Dennehy, Tom Stoppard, Liev Schreiber, Harvey Fierstein, Cherry Jones, Tonya Pinkins, Bebe Neuwirth, Jefferson Mays, and André De Shields. These artists, and thousands of others recognized by the Drama Desks - spanning generations, genres, and disciplines - have helped shape the American stage. From breakthrough productions to career-defining roles, the Drama Desk Awards have long been a bellwether for excellence, honoring the visionaries who continue to redefine what theater is and what it can be.
The Drama Desk Awards are presented by the Drama Desk organization and produced by Drama Desk Awards Productions, a venture of Scene Partners in partnership with The Season. At the Drama Desk organization, David Barbour and Charles Wright are Co-Presidents. At The Season, Mike Karns and Steven Tartick are Co-Founders. Victoria Weinberg leads Drama Desk Awards Productions and Laura Luckenbaugh is the line producer.
The 2025-26 Drama Desk Nominating Committee is comprised of: Martha Wade Steketee (Chair; freelance: UrbanExcavations.com), Linda Armstrong (New York Amsterdam News), Dan Dinero (Theatre is Easy), Peter Filichia (Broadway Radio), Kenji Fujishima (freelance: Theatermania), Margaret Hall (Playbill), and Raven Snook (TDF Stages editor, Time Out New York).
NYC Theater: Wicked Review – An Entertaining, Enchanting, Captivating Good Time
2026 DRAMA DESK WINNERS:
(winners are starred)
Caroline, by Preston Max Allen
Cold War Choir Practice, by Ro Reddick
Meet the Cartozians, by Talene Monahon
Prince Faggot, by Jordan Tannahill
**The Balusters, by David Lindsay-Abaire
The Porch on Windy Hill, by Sherry Stregack Lutken, Lisa Helmi Johanson, Morgan Morse, and David M. Lutken
Well, I'll Let You Go, by Bubba Weiler
Outstanding Musical
Beau the Musical
Mexodus
**Schmigadoon!
The Seat of Our Pants
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Outstanding Revival of a Play
Becky Shaw
Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
**Death of a Salesman
Los Soles Truncos
Titus Andronicus
You Got Older
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Chess
**Ragtime
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The Baker's Wife
The Rocky Horror Show
London/NY/LA Theatre: The Play That Goes Wrong Review – Uproarious, Laugh Out Loud Funny
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Well, I'll Let You Go
Noah Galvin, The Reservoir
Synnøve Karlsen, Pygmalion
John Krasinski, Angry Alan
Nathan Lane, Death of a Salesman
**John Lithgow, Giant
**Lesley Manville, Oedipus
Laurie Metcalf, Death of a Salesman
Aigner Mizzelle, The Monsters
Patrick Page, Titus Andronicus
Anika Noni Rose, The Balusters
Kara Young, Gruesome Playground Injuries
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical
Nicholas Christopher, Chess
Micaela Diamond, The Seat of Our Pants
Luke Evans, The Rocky Horror Show
**Joshua Henry, Ragtime
Dulé Hill, Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole
Amber Iman, Goddess
**Caissie Levy, Ragtime
Brian Quijada, Mexodus
Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus
Matt Rodin, Beau the Musical
Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brandon Uranowitz, Ragtime
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play
Caroline Aaron, The Reservoir
Edoardo Benzoni, Are the Bennet Girls Ok?
Maria-Christina Oliveras, The Balusters
Nathan Darrow, (un)conditional
Emily Davis, Well, I'll Let You Go
West Duchovny, Diversion
**Alden Ehrenreich, Becky Shaw
Linda Emond, Becky Shaw
David Greenspan, Prince Faggot
River Lipe-Smith, Caroline
Lizan Mitchell, Cold War Choir Practice
**Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Richard Thomas, The Balusters
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical
Chris Blisset, Beau the Musical
Max Clayton, Schmigadoon!
Lilli Cooper, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Stephanie Hsu, The Rocky Horror Show
**Judy Kuhn, The Baker's Wife
McKenzie Kurtz, Schmigadoon!
Ruthie Ann Miles, The Seat of Our Pants
Erin Morton, Heathers the Musical
Jackson Kanawha Perry, Saturday Church
Jasmine Amy Rogers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
**Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime
Layton Williams, Titaníque
Outstanding Solo Performance
Savon Bartley, Holes in the Shape of My Father
**Jack Holden, Kenrex
Hailey McAfee, and her Children
Natalie Palamides, Weer
Julia McDermott, Weather Girl
Josh Sharp, ta-da!
Outstanding Direction of a Play
Jesse Berger, Titus Andronicus
David Cromer, Caroline
Trip Cullman, Becky Shaw
Kenny Leon, The Balusters
**Joe Mantello, Death of a Salesman
Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bijan Sheibani, The Brothers Size
Jack Serio, Well, I'll Let You Go
Outstanding Direction of a Musical
**Lear deBessonet, Ragtime
Gordon Greenberg, The Baker's Wife
Danny Mefford, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
David Mendizábal, Mexodus
Josh Rhodes, Beau the Musical
Leigh Silverman, The Seat of Our Pants
Outstanding Choreography (TIE)
**Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Edgar Godineaux and Jared Grimes (tap choreography), Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole
Natalie Malotke, Jonathan Platero, and Oksana Platero, Blood/Love
Toran X. Moore, Try/Step/Trip
**Omari Wiles & Arturo Lyons, CATS: The Jellicle Ball
Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant, The Lost Boys (includes aerial choreography)
Outstanding Music
The Lazours, Night Side Songs
Ethan Lipton, The Seat of Our Pants
Ethan D. Pakchar & Douglas Lyons, Beau the Musical
Michael Thurber, Goddess
**Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus
Outstanding Lyrics
**Jim Barne & Kit Buchan, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Dahlak Brathwaite, Try/Step/Trip
Ethan Lipton, The Seat of Our Pants
Douglas Lyons, Beau the Musical
Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Dahlak Brathwaite, Try/Step/Trip
Ethan Lipton, The Seat of Our Pants
Douglas Lyons, Beau the Musical
Jesse Malin & Lauren Ludwig, Silver Manhattan
**Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus
Outstanding Orchestrations
Bryan Carter (music supervisor and arranger), The Fear of 13
Daniel Kluger, The Seat of Our Pants
**David M. Lutken, Morgan Morse, Lisa Helmi Johanson, and Sherry Stregack Lutken, The Porch on Windy Hill
John McDaniel, Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole
The Bengsons & Or Matias, My Joy is Heavy
Outstanding Music in a Play
**John Patrick Elliott, Kenrex
Donald Lawrence, Oh Happy Day!
Stan Mathabane (composer) and Munir Zakee (musician), The Brothers Size
Johnathan Moore, The Imaginary Invalid (Molière in the Park)
Ro Reddick, Cold War Choir Practice
Darron L West and Alexander Sovronsky, The Wild Duck
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play
Harry Feiner, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
Soutra Gilmour, Waiting for Godot
Tatiana Kahvegian, Meet the Cartozians
**Chloe Lamford, Death of a Salesman
Derek McLane, The Adding Machine
Derek McLane, The Balusters
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical
Daniel Allen, Beau the Musical
dots, The Rocky Horror Show
Rachel Hauck, CATS: The Jellicle Ball
**Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys
Arnulfo Maldonado, Goddess
Jason Sherwood, The Baker's Wife
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play
Kindall Almond, Initiative
Enver Chakartash, Meet the Cartozians
Enver Chakartash, Tartuffe (New York Theatre Workshop)
Qween Jean, Oh Happy Day!
Emilio Sosa, The Balusters
**Paul Tazewell, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical
**Qween Jean, CATS: The Jellicle Ball
Qween Jean, Saturday Church
David I. Reynoso, The Rocky Horror Show
Kaye Voyce, The Seat of Our Pants
Catherine Zuber, The Baker's Wife
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play
Isabella Byrd, Prince Faggot
Jeff Croiter, The Adding Machine
Stacey Derosier, Well, I'll Let You Go
**Jack Knowles, Death of a Salesman
Kate McGee, without mirrors
Studio Luna (Brandon Sterling Baker), Marcel on the Train
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical
Mextly Couzin, Mexodus
Adam Honoré, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Adam Honoré & Donald Holder, Ragtime
Bradley King, The Baker's Wife
**Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys
Japhy Weideman, Beau the Musical
Outstanding Sound Design of a Play
Angela Baughman, Initiative
Caroline Eng, The Unknown
**Tom Gibbons, Oedipus
Kieran Lucas, Weather Girl
Nevin Steinberg, Anna Christie
Giles Thomas, Kenrex
Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical
Jordana Abrenica, Beau the Musical
Jason Crystal, The Baker's Wife
**Mikhail Fiksel, Mexodus (includes looping systems architecture)
Kai Harada, Ragtime
Alex Hawthorn & Drew Levy, Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole
Outstanding Projection and Video Design
David Bengali, My Joy is Heavy
Akhila Krishnan, Kyoto
Johnny Moreno, Mexodus
**Tal Yarden, Oedipus
Outstanding Wig and Hair Design
Alberto "Albee" Alvarado, The Rocky Horror Show
David Brian Brown, The Lost Boys
David Brian Brown and Victoria Tinsman, Fallen Angels
**Nikiya Mathis, CATS: The Jellicle Ball
Robert Pickens, Tartuffe (New York Theatre Workshop)
Outstanding Puppetry
**Axtell Expressions, Amaze
Emily Batsford (creator) and Yuliya Tsukerman (puppet design), Cumulo
Julian Crouch, Goddess
Monkey Boys Productions, The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire
Outstanding Fight Choreography
**Gerry Rodriguez, The Monsters
Thomas Schall, The Balusters
Rick Sordelet, Titus Andronicus
Rick Sordelet, Ulster American
Sordelet Inc., The Lost Boys
Outstanding Adaptation
and her Children, by Rosie Glen-Lambert and Hailey McAfee
Are the Bennet Girls Ok?,by Emily Breeze
**Oedipus, by Robert Icke
Pride & Prejudice, by Abigail Pickard Price, with Sarah Gobran and Matt Pinches
Room 204, by Zusammen Theatre Project (Dennis Flanagan and Anjelica Fellini)
The Imaginary Invalid (Molière in the Park), by Lucie Tiberghien
Outstanding Revue
**About Time
Baile Cangrejero
I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical
Unique Theatrical Experience
Amaze
**Burnout Paradise
Color Theories
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Rheology
Slanted Floors
NYC Theater: The Phantom of the Opera Review - Dazzling, Mesmerizing, Captivating
SPECIAL AWARDS
by the Nominating Committee
The resonant quartet of Second Stage Theater's revival of Marjorie Prime—Danny Burstein, Christopher Lowell, Cynthia Nixon, and June Squibb—who palpably tap into the emotions that make us human, even when playing AI versions of their characters, in Jordan Harrison's prescient play about memory, aging, technology, and grief.
The cast of Intar Theatre's Spread—Daniel Bravo Hernández, Danny Gómez, Ishmael Gonzalez, Jaden Perez, and Luis Vega—for creating warm camaraderie and individual vulnerability, bringing heft to Jesús I. Valles's sharply observant and deeply compassionate coming-of-age tale of adolescents bravely facing challenges, current and future.
To the creative and performance collaborators Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland for their disparate historical-literary-interpretive works this season A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God and What If They Ate The Baby? Their absurdist sensibilities test the parameters of several genres and movement styles, including immersive historical drama, physical theater games, and 1950s American domestic realism, and invite new appreciation for all of them.
Additional Special Awards
The epic yet intimate Initiative gave us the full high school experience, making five-plus hours in the theater somehow feel like no time at all thanks to the collective of writer Else Went, director Emma Rosa Went, and the extraordinary ensemble cast of Olivia Rose Barresi, Brandon Burk, Greg Cuellar, Harrison Densmore, Carson Higgins, Andrea Lopez Alvarez, Jamie Sanders, and Christopher Dylan White. Collaborating over almost nine years, the Initiative team tapped into the world of D&D to illuminate the magic that can be found in devoting time to process, showing how the richness of a shared language can conjure community, produce ambitious art, and captivate audiences.
Diane Paulus, and the outstanding team of creative collaborators she assembled for Masquerade, Off-Broadway's immersive reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe's The Phantom of the Opera that has infused expansive ingenuity into a well-worn tale. Paulus's "creative workshop" of directors, designers, stage managers, butlers, and more has crafted an experience that exemplifies the value of rigorous theatrical collaboration across all departments and disciplines.
Other Awards
The William Wolf Award (Given by the board of the Drama Desk)
Named for a former president of the Drama Desk, the William Wolf Award honors individuals who've made valuable contributions to the New York theater and entertainment community. The 2026 Wolf Award goes to Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire, collaborators ever since they met in college seven decades ago. In addition to their musical shows and witty, insightful cabaret songs, the two have been mentors to countless young theater artists and have devoted enormous time to charitable causes.
The Harold S. Prince Award
The Harold S. Prince Award, first presented to its namesake posthumously, honors an individual whose outstanding contributions to the theater—onstage or off—reflect a distinguished body of work and a lasting impact on both the industry and its audiences. Former President of Disney Theatrical Productions, Thomas Schumacher has been named the 2026 Harold S. Prince Award honoree, celebrating his extraordinary and enduring contributions to the world of live theater.
