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Shucked, Some Like It Hot Lead 2023 Drama Desk Award Nominations

Top-contending plays include Life of Pi and Love.

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A scene from the Broadway musical Shucked at the Nederlander Theatre
(© Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Nominees for the 2023 Drama Desk Awards have been revealed, with the new Broadway musicals Shucked and Some Like It Hot in the lead with 12 and eight nods, respectively. On the dramatic front, the most-nominated new plays are Life of Pi and Love, coming in at five nods each. Winners will be announced the week of May 29, with a ceremony to follow on June 6.
The complete list is below:

Outstanding Play

A Case for the Existence of God

Fat Ham

Leopoldstadt

Love

Prima Facie

Wish You Were Here

 

Outstanding Musical

& Juliet

Between the Lines

F*ck7thGrade

Shucked

Some Like it Hot

White Girl in Danger

 

Outstanding Revival of a Play

A Raisin in the Sun

Death of a Salesman

Endgame

The Piano Lesson

Ohio State Murders

Wedding Band

 

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

A Man of No Importance

Into the Woods

Merrily We Roll Along

Parade

Sweeney Todd

 

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play

Hiran Abeysekera, Life of Pi

Kyle Beltran, A Case for the Existence of God

Will Brill, A Case for the Existence of God

Brittany Bradford, Wedding Band

Jessica Chastain, A Doll’s House

Sharon D Clarke, Death of a Salesman

Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar

Denise Manning, Amani

Audra McDonald, Ohio State Murders

Wendell Pierce, Death of a Salesman

John Douglas Thompson, Endgame

Kara Young, Twelfth Night

 

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical

Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd

Nicholas Barasch, The Butcher Boy

Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods

Andrew Burnap, Camelot

Micaela Diamond, Parade

Andrew Durand, Shucked

Callum Francis, Kinky Boots

J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like it Hot

Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along

Somi Kakoma, Dreaming Zenzile

Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along

Anna Uzele, New York, New York

 

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play

Emily Bergl, Good Night, Oscar

Danielle Brooks, The Piano Lesson

Amelda Brown, Love

Ray Fisher, The Piano Lesson

K. Todd Freeman, Downstate

Francis Guinan, Downstate

Nick Holder, Love

Arian Moayed, A Doll’s House

Brian Quijada, Wolf Play

Miriam Silverman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window

Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt

Kara Young, Cost of Living

 

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical

Kevin Cahoon, Shucked

Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like it Hot

Robyn Hurder, A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical

Mark Jacoby, A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical

Tarra Conner Jones, White Girl in Danger

Julia Lester, Into the Woods

Alex Newell, Shucked

Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along

Phillipa Soo, Into the Woods

Mare Winningham, A Man of No Importance

 

Outstanding Direction of a Play

Zi Alikhan, On That Day in Amsterdam

Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Public Obscenities

Miranda Cromwell, Death of a Salesman

Adam Meggido, Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Max Webster, Life of Pi

Alexander Zeldin, Love

 

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

Jeff Calhoun, Between the Lines

John Doyle, A Man of No Importance

Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along

Thomas Kail, Sweeney Todd

Jack O’Brien, Shucked

 

Outstanding Choreography

Andy Blankenbuehler, Only Gold

Tislarm Bouie, the bandaged place

Edgar Godineaux, The Harder They Come

Casey Nicholaw, Some Like it Hot

Susan Stroman, New York, New York

Jennifer Weber, KPOP

 

Outstanding Music

Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, Shucked

Michael R. Jackson, White Girl in Danger

Tom Kitt and AnnMarie Milazzo (vocal designer), Almost Famous

Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, Between the Lines

The Kilbanes, Weightless

 

Outstanding Lyrics

Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, Shucked

Jonathan Hogue, Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical

Michael R. Jackson, White Girl in Danger

Adam Schlesinger, The Bedwetter

Scott Whittman and Marc Shaiman, Some Like it Hot

 

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Jonathan Hogue, Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical

Robert Horn, Shucked

Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, Some Like it Hot

Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, and Tye Blue, Titanique

David West Read, & Juliet

 

Outstanding Orchestrations

Bruce Coughlin, A Man of No Importance

Jason Howland, Shucked

Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, Some Like it Hot

Kenny Seymour, The Harder They Come

Daryl Waters and Sam Davis, New York, New York

 

Outstanding Music in a Play

Ben Edelman, Zane Pais, and Sinan Refik Zafar, Letters from Max, a ritual

Mauricio Escamilla, the bandaged place

Suzan-Lori Parks, Plays for the Plague Year

Ian Ross, Wuthering Heights

Daniel Schlosberg, Montag

 

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play

Jason Ardizzone-West, Wedding Band

Beowulf Boritt, Ohio State Murders

dots, Public Obscenities

Tim Hatley, Life of Pi

Natasha Jenkins, Love

John McDermott, Chains

 

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical

Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York

David Korins, Only Gold

Scott Pask, Shucked

Walt Spangler and Brendan McCann (production props), Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical

Michael Yeargan, Camelot

 

Outstanding Costume Design of a Play

Kara Branch, According to the Chorus

Enver Chakartash, Public Obscenities

Qween Jean, Wedding Band

Sarah Laux, Wish You Were Here

Emilio Sosa, Ain’t No Mo’

Roberto Surace, Peter Pan Goes Wrong

 

Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, Some Like it Hot

Tilly Grimes, Shucked

Jennifer Moeller, Camelot

Clint Ramos and Sophia Choi, KPOP

Anita Yavich, Only Gold

Donna Zakowska, New York, New York

 

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play

Isabella Byrd, Epiphany

Jiyoun Chang, The Far Country

Natasha Chivers and Willie Williams (video), Prima Facie

Allen Lee Hughes, Ohio State Murders

Cha See, On That Day in Amsterdam

Japhy Weideman, The Piano Lesson

 

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical

Ken Billington, New York, New York

Jeff Croiter, Only Gold

Heather Gilbert, Parade

David Grill, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’

Natasha Katz, Sweeney Todd

 

Outstanding Projection and Video Design

Simon Baker, Wuthering Heights

Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi

Caite Hevner, Between the Lines

Josh Higgason, White Girl in Danger

Nicholas Hussong, On That Day in Amsterdam

Johnny Moreno, Public Obscenities

 

Outstanding Sound Design of a Play

Justin Ellington, Ohio State Murders

Tom Gibbons, Hamlet

Josh Anio Grigg, Love

Lee Kinney and Daniel Kluger, You Will Get Sick

Ben & Max Ringham, A Doll’s House

Mikaal Sulaiman, Fat Ham

 

Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical

Peter Hylenski, Almost Famous

Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann, Into the Woods

John Shivers, Shucked

Joanna Lynne Staub, Weightless

Jon Weston, Parade

 

Outstanding Wig and Hair

Campbell Young Associates, Almost Famous

Cookie Jordan, The Piano Lesson

Mia M. Neal, Ain’t No Mo’

Earon Nealey, Twelfth Night

Mitsuteru Okuyama, Chushingura 47 Ronin

Luc Verschueren, A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical

 

Outstanding Solo Performance

Jodie Comer, Prima Facie

David Greenspan, Four Saints in Three Acts

Jessica Hendy, Walking With Bubbles

Anthony Rapp, Without You

Tracy Thorne, Jack Was Kind

 

Unique Theatrical Experience

Asi Wind’s Inner Circle

Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Plays for the Plague Year

Zephyr, Cirque Mechanics

 

Outstanding Fight Choreography

B.H. Barry, Camelot

Rocio Mendez, Día Y Noche

Rocio Mendez, How to Defend Yourself

Unkledave’s Fight-House, soft

 

Outstanding Adaptation

A Doll’s House, by Amy Herzog

Arden of Faversham, by Jeffrey Hatcher and Kathryn Walat

black odyssey, by Marcus Gardley

Oresteia, by Robert Icke,

Wuthering Heights, by Emma Rice

 

Outstanding Puppetry

John Leader, Wuthering Heights

James Ortiz (design), Kennedy Kanagawa (as Milky White), Into the Woods

Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, Life of Pi

Kirjan Waage, The Immortal Jellyfish Girl

Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award

Stephen McKinley Henderson

Ensemble Award
The cast of Soho Rep’s Public Obscenities – Tashnuva Anan, Abrar Haque, Golam Sarwar Harun, Gargi Mukherjee, NaFis, Jakeem Dante Powell, and Debashis Roy Chowdhury

Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award
Ryan J. Haddad

Featured In This Story

Some Like It Hot

Closed: December 30, 2023

Shucked

Closed: January 14, 2024

Prima Facie

Closed: July 2, 2023

Fat Ham

Closed: July 2, 2023

Leopoldstadt

Closed: July 2, 2023

& Juliet

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