Theater News

The Prom Interrupts Tootsie Sweep to Win Top Prize at the Drama Desks

Read the complete list of winners from the 2019 Drama Desk Awards ceremony.

Santino Fontana, composer David Yazbek, and book writer Robert Horn all took home 2019 Drama Desk Awards for Tootsie.
Santino Fontana, composer David Yazbek, and book writer Robert Horn all took home 2019 Drama Desk Awards for Tootsie.
(© Tricia Baron)

The 2019 Drama Desk Award winners were announced last night during a ceremony at Town Hall, hosted by Michael Urie. Take a look at the complete list of nominees and winners (bolded with an asterisk) below.

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Outstanding Play

Fairview by Jackie Sibblies Drury
The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth *
Lewiston/Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter
Usual Girls by Ming Peiffer
What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck

Outstanding Musical

Be More Chill
The Hello Girls
The Prom *
Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Tootsie

Outstanding Revival of a Play

Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine
Henry VI: Shakespeare's Trilogy in Two Parts
Our Lady of 121st Street
Summer and Smoke
The Waverly Gallery *
Uncle Vanya

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Carmen Jones
Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish *
Kiss Me, Kate
Merrily We Roll Along
Oklahoma!

Outstanding Actor in a Play

Jeff Biehl, Life Sucks.
Edmund Donovan, Lewiston/Clarkston
Raúl Esparza, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Russell Harvard, I Was Most Alive With You
Jay O. Sanders, Uncle Vanya *

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Midori Francis, Usual Girls
Zainab Jah, Boesman and Lena
Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery *
Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Damon Daunno, Oklahoma!
Santino Fontana, Tootsie *
Steven Skybell, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show *
Beth Leavel, The Prom
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Oklahoma!
Anika Noni Rose, Carmen Jones
Stacey Sargeant, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Charles Browning, Fairview
Arnie Burton, Lewiston/Clarkston
Hampton Fluker, All My Sons
Tom Glynn-Carney, The Ferryman *
Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Harriett D. Foy, The House That Will Not Stand
Megan Hill, Eddie and Dave
Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird *
Ruth Wilson, King Lear
Alison Wright, Othello

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Corbin Bleu,Kiss Me, Kate
André De Shields, Hadestown *
Sydney James Harcourt, Girl from the North Country
George Salazar, Be More Chill
Patrick Vaill, Oklahoma!

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Stephanie Hsu, Be More Chill
Leslie Kritzer, Beetlejuice
Soara-Joye Ross, Carmen Jones
Sarah Stiles, Tootsie
Ali Stroker, Oklahoma! *
Mary Testa, Oklahoma!

Outstanding Director of a Play

Sarah Benson, Fairview
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, The Jungle
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman *
Tyne Rafaeli, Usual Girls
Taylor Reynolds, Plano
Jeff Wise, Life Sucks.

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Noah Brody, Merrily We Roll Along
Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown *
Scott Ellis, Tootsie
Daniel Fish, Oklahoma!
Joel Grey, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish

Outstanding Choreography

Camille A. Brown, Choir Boy
Warren Carlyle, Kiss Me, Kate *
Denis Jones, Tootsie
Lorin Latarro, Twelfth Night
Rick and Jeff Kuperman, Alice by Heart
David Neumann, Hadestown

Outstanding Music

Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Joe Iconis, Be More Chill
Peter Mills, The Hello Girls
Mark Sonnenblick, Midnight at the Never Get
Shaina Taub, Twelfth Night
David Yazbek, Tootsie *

Outstanding Lyrics

Chad Beguelin, The Prom
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Joe Iconis, Be More Chill
Peter Mills, The Hello Girls
David Yazbek, Tootsie *

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Scott Brown and Anthony King, Beetlejuice
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Robert Horn, Tootsie *
Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, The Prom
Dominique Morisseau, Ain't Too Proud

Outstanding Orchestrations

Larry Blank, Fiddler on the Roof
Simon Hale, Girl from the North Country
Daniel Kluger, Oklahoma! *
Charlie Rosen, Be More Chill
Daryl Waters, The Cher Show

Outstanding Music in a Play

Paul Castles and Jongbin Jung, Wild Goose Dreams
Justin Ellington, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie
Justin Ellington, The House That Will Not Stand
Nick Powell, The Lehman Trilogy
Jason Michael Webb and Fitz Patton, Choir Boy *

Outstanding Set Design of a Play

Miriam Buether, The Jungle
Es Devlin, Girls & Boys
Maruti Evans, The Peculiar Patriot
Mimi Lien, Fairview
Matt Saunders, "Daddy" *

Outstanding Set Design for a Musical

Rachel Hauck, Hadestown
Laura Jellinek, Oklahoma!
Laura Jellinek, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
David Korins, Beetlejuice *
Rae Smith, Girl from the North Country

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play

Dede M. Ayite, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Dede M. Ayite, If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka
Ásta Bennie Hostetter, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie
Toni-Leslie James, Bernhardt/Hamlet *
Nicole Slaven, Henry VI: Shakespeare's Trilogy in Two Parts

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical

William Ivey Long, Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long, Tootsie
Bobby Frederick Tilly II, Be More Chill
Michael Krass, Hadestown
Bob Mackie, The Cher Show *
Paloma Young, Alice by Heart

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play

Amith Chandrashaker, Boesman and Lena *
Amith Chandrashaker, Fairview
Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Jungle
Simon Cleveland, Spaceman
Yi Zhao, The House That Will Not Stand

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical

Adam Honoré, Carmen Jones
Bradley King, Hadestown *
Jamie Roderick, Midnight at the Never Get
Barbara Samuels, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Scott Zielinski, Oklahoma!

Outstanding Projection Design

Peter England, King Kong *
Katherine Freer, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy
Alex Basco Koch, Be More Chill
Peter Nigrini, Beetlejuice
Joshua Thorson, Oklahoma!

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play

Tyler Kieffer, Plano
Fitz Patton, Choir Boy
Nick Powell, The Ferryman *
Jane Shaw, I Was Most Alive With You
Mikaal Sulaiman, Fairview

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical

Simon Baker, Girl from the North Country
Drew Levy, Oklahoma!
Brian Ronan, Tootsie
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown *
Mikaal Sulaiman, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future

Outstanding Wig and Hair Design

Campbell Young Associates, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Cookie Jordan, Eddie and Dave
Paul Huntley, Tootsie
Charles G. LaPointe, Beetlejuice
Charles G. LaPointe, The Cher Show *

Outstanding Solo Performance

Mike Birbiglia, The New One *
Carey Mulligan, Girls & Boys
Liza Jessie Peterson, The Peculiar Patriot
Erin Treadway, Spaceman
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag

Unique Theatrical Experience

All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, Theater Latté Da/Laura Little Theatrical Productions / Sheen Center *
Love's Labor's Lost, Shake & Bake
The B-Side:Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons, The Wooster Group
What to Send Up When it Goes Down, The Movement Theatre Company

Outstanding Fight Choreography

U. Jonathan Toppo, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Claire Warden, "Daddy"
Claire Warden, Slave Play *

Outstanding Puppet Design

Michael Curry, Beetlejuice
Sonny Tilders, King Kong *
Tschabalala Self, "Daddy"

The following Special Awards were presented as well:

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.


Only new elements of Hadestown, Torch Song, and Choir Boy were considered, with The Boys in the Band ineligible because they did not provide tickets to nominators.