Theater News

2012 Drama Desk Award Winners Announced

Once, Tribes, and performers Tracie Bennett, Danny Burstein, James Corden, and Audra McDonald are among the winners.

Audra McDonald
(© Tristan Fuge)
Audra McDonald
(© Tristan Fuge)

The 57th annual Drama Desk Awards were presented tonight, Sunday, June 3 at The Town Hall.

Stage and screen stars Brian d’Arcy James and Brooke Shields co-hosted the show, which was written by cast album producer, playwright, and two-time Drama Desk Award winner Bill Rosenfield and directed by multi-award winning director Mark Waldrop.


Once won for Outstanding Musical, while Tribes won for Outstanding Play. Acting winners included Tracie Bennett, Danny Burstein, James Corden, and Audra McDonald.

In addition to the competitive awards, special awards were given to the ensemble of Sweet and SadJon DeVries, Shuler Hensley, Maryann Plunkett, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, and J. Smith-Cameron; actress Mary Testa; actor Nick Westrate; The New Victory Theatre, and playwright Stephen Karam, who is the recipient of the newly created Sam Norkin Off Broadway Award.

A full list of nominations follows, with the winners marked in bold:

Outstanding Play

David Henry Hwang, Chinglish

Dan LeFranc, The Big Meal
Members of the Plastic Theatre, Unnatural Acts
Itamar Moses, Completeness
Lynn Nottage, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Nina Raine, Tribes

Nicky Silver, The Lyons

Outstanding Musical

Bonnie & Clyde
Death Takes a Holiday
Leap of Faith

Newsies The Musical
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Once

Queen of the Mist

Outstanding Revival of a Play

A Little Journey

Death of a Salesman
Edward Albee’s The Lady from Dubuque
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Lost in Yonkers
Richard III

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Carrie
Evita

Follies
Jesus Christ Superstar

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess

The Threepenny Opera

Outstanding Actor in a Play

James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors

Hugh Dancy, Venus in Fur
Claybourne Elder, One Arm

Santino Fontana, Sons of the Prophet
Joseph Franchini, The Navigator
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Death of a Salesman
Kevin Spacey, Richard III

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Tracie Bennett, End of the Rainbow

Sanaa Lathan, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Linda Lavin, The Lyons
Jennifer Lim, Chinglish
Kim Martin-Cotten, A Moon for the Misbegotten

Carey Mulligan, Through a Glass Darkly

Joely Richardson, Side Effects

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Danny Burstein, Follies
Kevin Earley, Death Takes a Holiday
Raúl Esparza, Leap of Faith
Jeremy Jordan, Newsies The Musical
Norm Lewis, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Ricky Martin, Evita

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Miche Braden, The Devil’s Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith

Jan Maxwell, Follies
Audra McDonald, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Kelli O’Hara, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Bernadette Peters, Follies
Molly Ranson, Carrie

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Bill Camp, Death of a Salesman
Jim Dale, The Road to Mecca
Tom Edden, One Man, Two Guvnors
Bill Irwin, King Lear
Jefferson Mays, Blood and Gifts
Will Rogers, Unnatural Acts

Morgan Spector, Russian Transport

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Stephanie J. Block, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Anna Camp, All New People
Kimberly Hébert Gregory, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Lisa Joyce, The Ugly One
Joaquina Kalukango, Hurt Village
Angela Lansbury, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Judith Light, Other Desert Cities

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Phillip Boykin, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Matt Cavenaugh, Death Takes a Holiday
Michael Cerveris, Evita
Michael McGrath, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Patrick Page, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Andrew Samonsky, Queen of the Mist

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Marin Mazzie, Carrie
Jessie Mueller, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Elaine Paige, Follies

Sarah Sokolovic, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

Melissa van der Schyff, Bonnie & Clyde

Outstanding Director of a Play

Jo Bonney, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
David Cromer, Tribes
Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, These Seven Sicknesses
Sam Mendes, Richard III
Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman
Tony Speciale, Unnatural Acts

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Christopher Ashley, Leap of Faith
Jack Cummings III, Queen of the Mist

Doug Hughes, Death Takes a Holiday
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Eric Schaeffer, Follies
John Tiffany, Once

Outstanding Choreography

Rob Ashford, Evita
Warren Carlyle, Follies
Breandán de Gallaí, No?tú
Christopher Gattelli, Newsies The Musical
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Sergio Trujillo, Leap of Faith

Outstanding Music

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, Once
Michael John LaChiusa, Queen of the Mist
Alan Menken, Leap of Faith
Alan Menken, Newsies The Musical
Frank Wildhorn, Bonnie & Clyde
Maury Yeston, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Lyrics

Don Black, Bonnie & Clyde
Jack Feldman, Newsies The Musical
Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, Once
Michael John LaChiusa, Queen of the Mist
Maury Yeston, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Douglas Carter Beane, Lysistrata Jones
Janus Cercone and Warren Leight, Leap of Faith
Joe DiPietro, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Joy Gregory, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World
Michael John LaChiusa, Queen of the Mist
Thomas Meehan and Peter Stone, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Music in a Play

Mark Bennett, An Iliad
Mark Bennett, Richard III
Tom Kitt, All’s Well That Ends Well
Gina Leishman, Septimus and Clarissa
Grant Olding, One Man, Two Guvnors
Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik, Carson McCullers Talks About Love

Outstanding Revue

Newsical the Musical: End of the World Edition
The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman

Outstanding Orchestrations

Bill Elliott, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Larry Hochman, Death Takes a Holiday

Martin Lowe, Once

John McDaniel, Bonnie & Clyde

Michael Starobin, Queen of the Mist

Danny Troob, Newsies

Outstanding Set Design

Jon Driscoll, Rob Howell and Paul Kieve, Ghost The Musical
David Gallo, The Mountaintop
Roger Hanna, A Little Journey
David Korins, Assistance
David Korins, Chinglish
Derek McLane, Follies

Outstanding Costume Design

Gregg Barnes, Follies
ESosa , By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
William Ivey Long, Lucky Guy
Jessica Pabst, She Kills Monsters
Martin Pakledinaz, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Catherine Zuber, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Lighting Design

Kevin Adams, Carrie
Neil Austin, Evita
David Lander, One Arm
Brian MacDevitt, Death of a Salesman
Kenneth Posner, Death Takes a Holiday
Paul Pyant, Richard III

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical

Acme Sound Partners, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Jonathan Deans, Carrie
Clive Goodwin, Once
Kai Harada, Follies
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Jesus Christ Superstar
Jon Weston, Death Takes a Holiday

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play

Quentin Chiappetta/mediaNoise, The Navigator
Gregory Clarke, Misterman
Gareth Fry, Richard III
John Gromada, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Stowe Nelson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War
Shane Rettig, She Kills Monsters

Outstanding Solo Performance

Baba Brinkman, The Rap Guide to Evolution
Suli Holum, Chimera
Jeff Key, The Eyes of Babylon
Cillian Murphy, Misterman
Denis O’Hare, An Iliad
Stephen Spinella, An Iliad

Unique Theatrical Experience

Give Me Your Hand
Gob Squad’s Kitchen (You’ve Never Had It So Good)
Noctú
The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill, Vol. 1: Early Plays/Lost Plays
The Ryan Case 1873
White

Click here for more information.

Click here for TheaterMania’s Guide to Theater Awards.

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