The 70th annual Drama Desk Awards took place on May 17 at Town Hall in New York City. Hosted by three-time Drama Desk Award nominee and Tony Award nominee Marla Mindelle, the ceremony was written (to hilarious effect) by Kevin Zak and directed by Asmeret Ghebremichael. Winners were crowned in 32 competitive categories and seven special awards were distributed in a ceremony that recognized achievement in the 2025-2026 season across Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway.
“Schmigadoon!” took home the trophy for Outstanding Musical, and “The Balusters” won Outstanding Play. “Death of a Salesman” triumphed in the Outstanding Revival of a Play category, and “Ragtime” was victorious in the Outstanding Revival of a Musical category.
The performance categories are gender-free and, therefore, crown two winners each. But, there was one tie: In the category of Outstanding Choreography, Christopher Gattelli won for “Schmigadoon!” and the team of Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles won for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”
The first of two special Ensemble Awards went to the cast of “Marjorie Prime.” Actor Christopher Lowell raced to the stage and set off confetti cannons he had brought himself, bringing some added color and vivaciousness to the evening. The award honored Danny Burstein, Lowell, Cynthia Nixon and June Squibb, who appeared in the Second Stage mounting of Jordan Harrison’s play earlier this season. The ensemble of “Spread,” mounted at the Intar Theatre, followed and spoke of the importance of telling authentic Latina stories. Daniel Bravo Hernández, Danny Gómez, Ishmael Gonzalez, Jaden Perez and Luis Vega accepted the statue for their performance in Jesús I. Valles’ play.
Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland accepted the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award for their disparate historical-literary-interpretive works this season “A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God” and “What If They Ate The Baby?” The two encouraged the audience to see shows Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway to support burgeoning artists and, they quipped, “maybe even have a good time.” Additional special awards went to the team behind “Initiative” as well as Diane Paulus and the team behind “Masquerade.”
The 2026 William Wolf Award was bestowed upon Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire — who won Outstanding Revue earlier in the evening for “About Time.” Liz Callaway sang from “Baby,” the 1983 Maltby and Shire musical in which she starred on Broadway, as a tribute. The Harold S. Prince Award was given to former president of Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher. Actors Rodney Ingram, Kissy Simmons, Sierra Boggess, Ainsey Melham and Zachary Noah Piser sang a mashup of Disney tunes, including “Go the Distance” from “Hercules,” “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid,” “Santa Fe” from “Newsies” and “Out There” from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
During the ceremony, the Drama Desk announced that the 2027 awards would take place on May 23, 2027, at the Shed.
See the full list of 2026 winners below. Winners are marked in bold and with an asterisk.
Outstanding Play
“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”
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”
