Thoroughly Modern Millie cleaned up at last night’s 47th annual Drama Desk awards, scooping up five prizes including Outstanding New Musical. The award for Outstanding Play was a split decision between Edward Albee’s controversial
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia and Mary Zimmerman’s Greco-Roman pool party
Metamorphoses. The Drama Desk annually honors excellence in New York theater both on and off Broadway; a complete list of winners and nominess is below.
Elaine Stritch, presenting a slew of awards and picking up two for her smash one-woman show, was irrespressible as usual; when she and co-author John Lahr won for Outstanding Book For a Musical, she chided him for starting the acceptance speech without her. “You were out here getting all the hoo-ha,” exclaimed Stritch to Lahr, who in classic deadpan style responded: “For once.” Later, when given the nod for Outstanding Solo Performance, Stritch delivered a long and often moving thank you to the Drama Desk, her colleagues–and herself. “It’s only in retrospect that I realize how hard I worked,” she said. “My discipline blew me away.” On a more serious note, Stritch said of her work on stage “I think I’m close to licking fear–and, boy, is that a wonderful feeling.”
Mary Zimmerman of Metamorphoses fame wasn’t in town to receive the award for Outstanding Director (she’s in Chicago working up her next opus, a collaboration with Philip Glass called Galileo Galilei), so cast member Erik Lochtefeld did the honors, reading a clever and cute note from Zimmerman that included her statement “I’m truly astonished”–rather suspicious, considering that she wrote the sentiment in advance.
Host Rue McClanahan had some great moments at the podium; at one point, she boldly made eyes at hulking technical director John Kelly, who’d been brought out to help present the award for Outstanding Set Design. The prize went to Tim Hatley’s stunning, double-balconied Private Lives, but the laugh went to Kelly. When McClanahan asked him to name the biggest difference between working on a play and a musical, Kelly answered “about three years of employment.” As it turned out, Private Lives was a multiple winner: Lindsay Duncan was cited for Outstanding Actress in a Play (she gave much credit in her speech to co-star Alan Rickman) and the show itself won for Best Revival of a Play.
The program included several performances of tunes from nominated musicals. Louise Pitre did “The Winner Takes it All” from Mamma Mia!, Sutton Foster performed the jubilant “Not For the Life of Me” from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Brian d’Arcy James knocked out “At the Fountain” from Sweet Smell of Success. Sherie Rene Scott sang “A Summer in Ohio” from The Last 5 Years (now closed), which won for both Outstanding Music and Lyrics, and Patrick Wilson did a lovely Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’–though it was a bit jarring to see old Curly in a suit and tie.
Following is a complete list of this season’s nominees, with the winners indicated by asterisks:
Outstanding Play:
Franny’s Way by Richard Nelson
*The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? by Edward Albee
*Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman
The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute
Thief River by Lee Blessing
Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks
Outstanding Musical:
The Last 5 Years
Sweet Smell of Success
*Thoroughly Modern Millie
tick, tick…BOOM!
Outstanding Revival of a Play:
The Crucible
Cymbeline (Theater for a New Audience)
Morning’s at Seven
Noises Off
*Private Lives
The Seagull
Outstanding Revival of a Musical:
*Into the Woods
Oklahoma!
Outstanding Actor in a Play:
*Alan Bates (Fortune’s Fool)
Liam Neeson (The Crucible)
Bill Pullman (The Goat)
Alan Rickman (Private Lives)
Dallas Roberts (Nocturne)
Jeffrey Wright (Topdog/Underdog)
Outstanding Actress in a Play:
Robin Bartlett (Everett Beekin)
*Lindsay Duncan (Private Lives)
Anna Paquin (The Glory of Living)
Sarah Jessica Parker (Wonder of the World)
Mercedes Ruehl (The Goat)
Meryl Streep (The Seagull)
Outstanding Actor in a Musical:
Norbert Leo Butz (The Last 5 Years)
Raul Esparza (tick, tick…BOOM!)
Brian d’Arcy James (Sweet Smell of Success)
*John Lithgow (Sweet Smell of Success)
Patrick Wilson (Oklahoma!)
Outstanding Actress in a Musical:
Laura Benanti (Into the Woods)
*Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Garret Long (The Spitfire Grill)
Louise Pitre (Mamma Mia!)
Sherie René Scott (The Last 5 Years)
Vanessa Williams (Into the Woods)
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play:
*Frank Langella (Fortune’s Fool)
Will LeBow (Nocturne)
Brian Murray (The Crucible)
Keith Nobbs (Four)
Sam Robards (The Man Who Had All the Luck)
David Warner (Major Barbara)
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play:
Jennifer Coolidge (The Women)
Kathleen Doyle (Kilt)
Linda Emond (Homebody/Kabul)
*Katie Finneran (Noises Off)
Elizabeth Franz (Morning’s at Seven)
Kathleen Widdoes (Franny’s Way)
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical:
Justin Bohon (Oklahoma!)
Norbert Leo Butz (Thou Shalt Not)
Jerry Dixon (tick, tick…BOOM!)
Gregg Edelman (Into the Woods)
*Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma!)
Marc Kudisch (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical:
Liz Callaway (The Spitfire Grill)
*Harriet Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Judy Kaye (Mamma Mia!)
Andrea Martin (Oklahoma!)
Karen Mason (Mamma Mia!)
Kerry O’Malley (Into the Woods)
Outstanding Director of a Play:
Howard Davies (Private Lives)
Richard Eyre (The Crucible)
Carl Forsman (The Voice of the Turtle)
Neil LaBute (The Shape of Things)
Bartlett Sher (Cymbeline) (Theater for a New Audience)
*Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses)
Outstanding Director of a Musical:
Nicholas Hytner (Sweet Smell of Success)
James Lapine (Into the Woods)
*Michael Mayer (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Trevor Nunn (Oklahoma!)
Scott Schwartz (tick, tick…BOOM!)
George C. Wolfe (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty)
Outstanding Choreography:
Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
*Susan Stroman (Oklahoma!)
Christopher Wheeldon (Sweet Smell of Success)
Outstanding Book of a Musical:
John Guare (Sweet Smell of Success)
*John Lahr, Elaine Stritch (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty)
Jonathan Larson, David Auburn (tick, tick…BOOM!)
Richard Morris, Dick Scanlan (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Outstanding Music:
*Jason Robert Brown (The Last 5 Years)
Marvin Hamlisch (Sweet Smell of Success)
Jonathan Larson (tick, tick…BOOM!)
Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Outstanding Lyrics:
*Jason Robert Brown (The Last 5 Years)
Craig Carnelia (Sweet Smell of Success)
Jonathan Larson (tick, tick…BOOM!)
Kevin Murphy (Reefer Madness)
Dick Scanlan (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Ben Schatz (Dragapella Starring The Kinsey Sicks)
Outstanding Orchestrations:
*Doug Besterman, Ralph Burns (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Jason Robert Brown (The Last 5 Years)
Jonathan Tunick (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty)
Outstanding Music in a Play:
Crispin Cioe (True Love)
Nona Hendryx (Blue)
Peter John Still (Cymbeline) (Theatre for a New Audience)
*Willy Schwarz (Metamorphoses)
Outstanding Set Design of a Play:
John Lee Beatty (Morning’s at Seven)
Michael Brown (World of Mirth)
David Gallo (Wonder of the World)
*Tim Hatley (Private Lives)
Derek McLane (The Women)
Douglas Stein, Ruppert Bohle (36 Views)
Outstanding Set Design of a Musical:
Beowulf Boritt (The Last 5 Years)
Bob Crowley (Sweet Smell of Success)
David Gallo (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
*Douglas W. Schmidt (Into the Woods)
Anthony Ward (Oklahoma!)
Outstanding Costume Design:
Jenny Beaven (Private Lives)
Bob Crowley (Sweet Smell of Success)
Susan Hilferty (Into the Woods)
Dick Magnanti (Reefer Madness)
*Isaac Mizrahi (The Women)
Martin Pakledinaz (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Outstanding Lighting Design:
Frances Aronson (Psych)
*TJ Gerckens (Metamorphoses)
David Hersey (Oklahoma!)
Natasha Katz (Sweet Smell of Success)
Peter Mumford (Private Lives)
Kenneth Posner (Monster)
Outstanding Sound Design:
John Collins, Geoff Abbas, Jim Dawson (To You, The Birdie!)
Mark Huang (Cressida Among the Greeks)
Scott Lehrer (Franny’s Way)
*Dan Moses Schreier (Into the Woods)
Matthew Spiro (36 Views)
David Van Tieghem (The Glory of Living)
Outstanding Solo Performance:
Simon Callow (The Mystery of Charles Dickens)
Dave Gorman (Are You Dave Gorman?)
Charles Nelson Reilly (Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly)
Reno (Rebel Without a Pause)
T. Ryder Smith (Underneath the Lintel)
*Elaine Stritch (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty)
Special Awards:
*Paul Huntley, hair and wig designer, for Lifetime Achievement
*Bill Rosenfield, record producer, for his contributions to the preservation of musical theater recordings
*The Mint Theatre Company for presenting and preserving little-known classics
*The Worth Street Theater Company for its Stage Door Canteen shows for workers at Ground Zero
